Crocea Clams are some of the most sought after clam varieties for the saltwater home aquarium! Let’s dive in deeper to these incredible and colorful clams!
Crocea Clams, or Tridacna crocea, come from the family Cardiidae. They can be found in the waters of the Indo Pacific. They’re not just wild collected though! Great strides have been made in the industry from companies like ORA (Oceans, Reefs, & Aquariums) who has a Mariculture farm in the Marshall Islands, where they grow and farm these amazing clams and other varieties too!
Crocea Clams are typically the smallest of the Tridacna clams varieties (Derasa, Maxima, and Crocea), but this doesn’t make them any less special! Only growing to about 6 inches maximum, these little-giant clams are the perfect size for Reefers of all tank dimensions! While small, Crocea are some of the most vibrant clams, exploding with color under intense white lighting! Shades of Gold, Blue, Green, Orange, & Purple can form some beautiful patterns. These colors combine with stripes, blotches, dots, and streaks, making each Crocea unique in its own way.
Similar to Maxima Clams, place your Crocea Clam in some hard rock work, where they can anchor down with their foot and stabilize. Somewhere near the middle to upper portion of your tank or in very high lighting conditions, where the flow is also low to moderate. These easy and simple placement keys will help your Crocea Clam thrive and grow!
Crocea clams are some of the hardiest clams you can introduce to your aquarium! It all begins with selecting clams that are healthy from the beginning. Look for clams without gaping mouths and pinched mantles. They should respond strongly to casting shadows above them. If they’re not responding by closing shut to shadows, chances are good the clam is very stressed and may not do well long term. The foot should also be intact on the underside of the clam. Colors should be vibrant and with well defined patterns, faded colors or loss of pattern also indicate stress.
Acclimating your Crocea Clam to your aquarium is of the utmost importance! You can’t just place the clam in your tank immediately upon arrival. You should float the clam in its bag in your tank for around 15 minutes before opening the bag. This will allow the water temperature to match your tank temperature. Then, place your clam in a container with the water it came with. Remove around 15% of the water it came with and replace it with an equal amount from your tank. You should then begin to drip acclimate slowly, around 2-4 drops per second, over the course of 45 minutes to 1 hour until salinity is matched with your aquarium water and the water volume has at least doubled. This process really helps the clam get used to your tank water and to not shock or stress the clam from putting it in your tank right away.
What do you feed your clam? They primarily rely on photosynthesis to survive, so must be placed in at least moderate to high lighting. Phytoplankton is a great food to feed your clam to enhance their nutritional intake. It’s also important to ensure you have tank water that is rich in nutrients that they can intake through filter feeding as well. Ensure they get adequate flow too so that nutrients can be constantly brought to them through your water column.
Crocea Clams will thrive best in salinity of 1.026, calcium of 450 ppm, magnesium of 1350 ppm, alkalinity of 9 dKH and tank temperature of 78 degrees fahrenheit. Keeping your parameters steady and stable is key to their long term health!
Crocea clams are extremely pleasing to the eyes! They can look different colors under different lighting, angles and at different times of the day where your lighting spectrum changes. There’s such a wide variety of colors and patterns that no two crocea clams are the same! If you’re looking to introduce a hardy, colorful and shimmering clam to your tank, then Croceas are a great clam to get your feet wet!
