Clams Myth or Fact!

Sorry to post in ASAP, but I'm picking this up on 2 hours and need to know for sure..

I have always been told when handling clams, you should NEVER allow it to come in contact with air.

I can not see why, since one they close up & two when they open backup underwater, they can expel the air back out.

I would normally do this with a zip lock bag or small container.. Here is the issue, this clam is bigger than the size of a football & not I'm not even joking!!

I have acquired livestock from a friends doctor's home that he no longer has time for.. So I'm taking all of the stock from his 90gal.

Thanks in advance!

 

bump

 

i have several large maximas and just got over a never ending gha out break during this time i had to remove the clams including what they were attached to so i could remove the hair algae off their shells that meant taking them out of the tank several times and scrubbing the hairalgae off of them which i am sure they werent crazy about ,they tend to spit streams of water but they seemed fine didnt see any ill effects

 

Hmmm. I would err on the side of caution and try to keep in underwater if you could. But then again thats a huge clam! Bump for someone to else to chime in!

 

Thanks for the input guys... Yes it is a monster.. I'll post some pics after..

 

need help quick!!! How to burp a clam? - Reef Central Online Community

its seems there are mixed ideas on clams and air.

 

Hm, good question.

How would you normally do it (if clam was small enough)? Would you have to mix some of the old water (from LFS) with your tank water to prevent the clam being in contact with air?

 

i have had them out for some time quite often and as the reef cent thread said they really arent affected by being out of water

 

Yeah, that is just what I just read.. Ah we'll see.. I'll try to side with caution as much as possible.. Thanks to all... K+ to everyone that responded..

 

Tridacna are exposed to air and fresh water routinely in the wild during periods of low tide of course this the exposure time is dictated by the negative tide value. I have never had an issue with exposing them to air and I agree burping them is a good safety measure.

Congrats.