Years ago when I first entered the hobby I was mesmerized by a giant blue clam at a LFS. It was about 5 inches and I had never seen a blue clam with that type of pattern. I was told it was a Blue Squamosa clam, considered at the time to be the holy grail of clams. It was not for sale and even it if was I never would have been able to afford the price tag for such a rare gem.
Nonetheless, I was hooked on clams and always kept a few in my tanks over the years, including a hard to find Blue Teardrop Maxima I acquired about eight years ago. Yes, this type of clam was also pricey at the time but it was not in the same stratosphere as a Blue Squamosa.
Interestingly, I have not seen any Blue Teardrop Maximas recently so perhaps today they would be considered the holy grail of clams versus the Blue Squamosa, which have become more readily available today as aquacultured specimens.
Squamosa Growth Rates and Patterns
Squamosa clams are fast growers and grow larger than Maxima clams. The most common types of Squamosa are brown and beige in color with gold and white markings. The rare ones sport purple and blue coloration. Squamosa clams have very large scutes on the sides of their shells and these scutes are larger and more widely spaced than what are found on Maximas.
Squamosa like light so it is a good idea to have them in a tank with strong lighting such as metal halides, T5s or LEDs. Light is their primary source of food but like all clams they also take in nutrients from the water. Fish poop is a great source of nutrients and some folks do use filter foods as a supplement, although this isn\’t necessary.
If you are a clam lover you will certainly want to consider adding a Blue Squamosa to your collection. You will be hard pressed to find a large one but the small aquacultured ones available today are beautiful and will grow fast and become a true centerpiece.
Additional Resources
If you would like some help with a new tank build, including help designing a custom aquarium, or help re-configuring your current setup then you can visit this page for more information. And if you are looking to add some equipment, I do sell GHL, Pax Bellum, Reef Octopus Calcium and Kalk Reactors and Royal Exclusiv products, including Dreamboxes, which is the equipment I use and recommend. I also sell Reef Brite metal halide and LED fixtures as well as Maxspect & IceCap Gyres.
As for additional insights and information, please explore my many other reef tank and SPS related articles as well as my YouTube channel. For an even deeper dive into reef tank care you can check out my Reef Keeping Master Class. This online course is an immersive and one of a kind educational tool designed to help reef aquarium hobbyists build and maintain a beautiful SPS reef tank. The course is a series of video presentations with some supplemental video from my YouTube channel. There are also quizzes to help students retain and understand the information presented in the course.
Need some frags…..I can help with that as well 🙂 Please visit my SPS Frag store to see what is available.