Tridacna squamosa is a species of giant clam that grows large and reaches sizes up to 40 cm in the aquarium. Therefore, it usually grows quite quickly. Since it has only a very small bysus opening, it can be placed on the sand, but it prefers a hard substrate. It is distributed from South Africa to the Red Sea and the Marshall Islands, although Red Sea populations may also be the very similar species Tridacna costata, whose existence has not yet made its way to CITES authorities. It is a bit less demanding than other Tridacna and does well with lower light and higher nutrients. However, large adult specimens in particular are often sensitive to severe changes in water conditions, such as when transferred to a new aquarium. Normal coloration is brown to beige with a mottled or reticulated pattern. However, there are some rare blue specimens that are also propagated by specialized farms for aquarium culture. Hybrids with T. maxima are also possible. Like all murder clams, this species is protected by CITES and may only be traded as captive-bred specimens; however, most specimens are cultured for human consumption.
We use cookies on our website. Below you can choose whether and, if so, which non-essential cookies you would like to accept and you will receive further information about this.