In a 173-page document, the United States government has announced a proposal to list all species of giant clams under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, sometimes referred to as NOAA Fisheries), an agency within…
Waikiki’s Iconic Giant Clam Gone to Reef Tank in the Sky
It was ten years ago that we had the pleasure of celebrating the 30th anniversary of a world famous mollusk, the Waikiki Aquarium’s very large and very old Tridacna gigas giant clam. Alas, here we are a decade later and while…
We’ve Never Seen Maxima Clams this Green!
Maxima clams are easily the most variable species of Tridacna which is to be expected for a reef animal that has a natural distribution across more than half of the globe from the Western Indian Ocean all the way to the…
New Research Reveals how to Breed Bigger and More Colorful Crocea Clams
Crocea clams are one of the smallest species of Tridacna, much prized in home reef aquaria since they exhibit a range of colors and patterns which can very greatly in their patterning. At their most basic the boring Tridacna crocea clams…
Giant Clams Can Manipulate Light To Assist Their Symbiotic Partner
Special cells in giant clams shift the wavelength of light to protect them from UV radiation and increase the photosynthetic activity of their symbionts, shows research KAUST. Using special cells, known as iridocytes, the clams can manipulate light via layers…
Giant Clam Poop Could Help Corals Recover from Bleaching!
Last September a study was published taking a close look at giant clam poop, more accurately described as fecal pellets. We previously shared this story but wanted to circle back to it to really drive home one interesting point about…
Red Sea Tridacna Clams Shine Best Under Daylight
Red Sea cams haven’t been in the aquarium hobby for over two decades but at long last, they have begun spreading around Europe through Dejong Marine Life and America via ACI Aquaculture. The three species from the fabled Red Sea…
Giant Clams in the Aquarium, a New Book by James Fatheree
There’s a lot going on in the realm of our favorite reef bivalves, from the newly arrived Red Sea cultured clams, to the revision of Indian Ocean species, and now we even have a new book. Giant Clams in the…
First Cultured Red Sea Clams Splashdown at ACI
Red Sea clams include some varieties and color patterns of Tridacna maxima that are at once familiar, but have been unavailable to the aquarium hobby for over two decades. Not only are there some interesting forms of the well known…
Tridacna elongatissima ‘Resurrected’ in the Western Indian Ocean
Tridacna elongatissima is a species of giant clam that was first described from the Western Indian Ocean all the way back in 1856. Somewhere along the way the characteristics of this species were thought to be synonymous with Tridacna maxima…
