All my clams not doing well

[JB NY]

I always try do 24 hours. But anytime I had an emergency I've done less. I've done 10% water changes with mixed only for an hour. I've even dumped in 5 gallons, mixed only about 15 minutes. Minor flood last year, and I needed to get it in the tank right away. No harm done anytime I've done it.

HTH

 

[Flame*Angel]

I just went downstairs to check the salinity of the new water. It was cloudy with white bits floating around and smelled like a swimming pool. This is RO/DI water I made about 4 days ago with fresh filters. There was maybe 4" of CS water still in the bucket though. Still, it could make that much difference?! No way I was taking a chance - I dumped it, scrubbed the bucket, scrubbed the two powerheads and heater I keep in there and am making new water.

 

[Flame*Angel]

No clams dead this morning anyway, I was almost afraid to look in the tank when I came downstairs.

 

[Chris Lakies]

Hi Susan,

Sorry your having problems with your clams!

I recently switched from a 55 (using all Instant Ocean) to a 120 AGA like yours, mixed all new salt (Bio-Sea MarineMix) for the tank and refugium/sump total of about 160 gallons. Let it run with live rock and algae in the refugium for about a week and a half and then moved everything from my old tank. Don't know if it was luck, but everything looks to be doing about 50% better with the growth rate of my Squamosa the best I ever had. It's been about two months.

 

[Flame*Angel]

Yeah, everything else in my tank seems to be doing better than ever too. I would like to stick with the CS salt but not if it means my clams are dying.

The new bucket of IO salt I mixed up today is looking good, nice and clear. I'll be doing the water change in the morning I think, I just checked the salinity and had to add another bit of salt to bring it up. I don't want to take any chances.

The remaining clams are holding their own. The biggest isn't gaping today, just not spreading his mantle as much as usual. The big crocea looks fine, maybe gaping a tiny bit but not much. The small gold maxima is still fine. The only one I'm worried about now is the 4" blue maxima. It's still the same, mostly closed.

 

[rotterdamcowboy]

I always try do 24 hours. But anytime I had an emergency I've done less. I've done 10% water changes with mixed only for an hour. I've even dumped in 5 gallons, mixed only about 15 minutes. Minor flood last year, and I needed to get it in the tank right away. No harm done anytime I've done it.

HTH

I've had to do this on occassion, with more postive effects resulting than negative effects. I *suspect* a contributing factor to the success of using IO - instantly - is the flow rate of the pump used to mix the salt water. Whenever I did this, I dropped in a hoard of powerheads or a large pump capable of 600 gph or more. I think this helps take the *bite* of the raw salt out of the resulting saltwater, that's to be used instantly.

Of course, I'm speculating - but in my own experience, it's worked well.

BTW, Susan - I had only recently had the pleasure of stumbling across your website & all the pictures of your beautiful clams, just earlier this week - so when I read this post - I was rather shocked & saddened to hear about your loss. For what it's worth, I'm very sorry & you have my sympathy.

Best of luck to you & your precious little critters in overcoming whatever is going on with your tank. Keep us posted.

--> cowboy

 

[Flame*Angel]

Thanks cowboy.

I did a water change with IO salt this morning. No big changes so far. I suspect it's gonna take time and more water changes. I'm totally swamped with work but I'm going to try my best to do as many back to back water changes as possible for the next while and hope for the best.

 

[Flame*Angel]

Update

Update

I did a 30g water change this afternoon with IO water again. I believe the demise has stopped at least. Three of my remaining four clams look fine, there is one 4" blue maxima I'm still worried about. Hard to tell at this point if he's going to make it or not but I'm optomistic.

So it looks like the switch in salt was the problem. I haven't changed anything else, still feeding my phytoplankton. I did lose a tiny montipora digitata frag though. It was only a little over an inch high and I don't think I noticed the white tips until it was too late. No more salt experimentation for me.

 

[justletmein]

Re: Update

Re: Update

Just curious what observations changed. The other day before doing an IO change you said:

The only one I'm worried about now is the 4" blue maxima.

Then today:

Three of my remaining four clams look fine, there is one 4" blue maxima I'm still worried about.

So it looks like the switch in salt was the problem.

I'm glad to hear everything is looking up, one way or the other.

 

[Flame*Angel]

I'm not being very descriptive I guess. Before the first IO change I wasn't as worried that the others would die but they weren't really normal either. Today they are. I've noticed that they seemed to go through stages of gaping, closing, withdrawn mantle and then death. A gaping clam is unhappy but not necessarily doomed. I figure when a clam has been closed for a few days it's a more serious sign.

 

[justletmein]

I see, well I'm glad they're doing better. Hopefully clam #4 will pull through.

 

[robthorn]

another cs bioassay user bites the dust

another cs bioassay user bites the dust

so sorry to hear of your problems angel but I am one of the extreme bleachers from bio assay and this week I have started changing to IO I have one 1 1/2 green maxi that is having trouble not opening much and I only showing partial mantle . The other 2 maxi's are doing well though. good luck saving everything. Don't you feel like we got suckered?

 

[Vili_Shark]

Hi Flame,

When was the last time you introduced a new clam to your tank??

Was the Crocea last? when was it?

 

[thephoenix48]

clam problems

clam problems

Judging from vili_shark's question I think I know where he/she is going. The problem may not be your salt but your clams. I am becoming convinced that over the last few months the clams that are on the market have a problem. It is all anecdotal but I think too many of them are dying for no apparent reason at all. Fine one day and gone the next in some cases. In others they will have pinched mantles and respond to a fw dip or two and then gone. I have lost a half dozen in the past month. The hardier species such as squamosa and gigas seem to be doing fine. The croceas and the maximas did not. I would like to hear from other clam keepers and suppliers to see of they share any of my suspicions.

 

[Flame*Angel]

Sorry for not getting back with an update. The 4" blue maxima died. I was very down about it. I lost 3 clams altogether (two maximas and a crocea) and have 3 remaining (also two maximas and a crocea). I did introduce one new crocea about two and a half months ago but I can't blame him, he's still with me and never did show any signs of disease. When the last one died I made myself examine it for signs of predation or disease but I couldn't see anything other than dead shrunken clam meat.

The three remaining clams all seem perfectly fine but I'm still nervous. I've done many water changes and I figure all of the Crystal Seas is out now. Everything in the tank seems to be flourishing. Especially the aiptasia

I've had more than my fair share of problems since being in the hobby but losing three clams was, by far, the most frustrating.

 

[zenya]

Susan,

Sorry to hear about you losses

, I've switched to the Crystal Seas salt myself but except for the bleaching of one Acropora I had no proplems at all. Not with
Tridacnids anyway. I'm not sure why you had this problems though and understand your switching back to the IO salt,FWIW. Hopefully things will pick up for you soon.

 

[Vili_Shark]

In my reef , I started with CS moved to IO and now I'm with Seachem, no changes what soever with the corals or clams.

I thought of something else, but since you introduced your last clam 2.5 months ago, so it might not be the case I thought of.

I think the same as thephoenix48 , I witnessed many clam deaths the last couple of months in some friend's tank that been running perfectly for years.

All the problems started due to wild T.maximas that were recently introduced to their tanks.

 

[sahin]

Hi Susan. How is the tank holding up lately?

I'm sorry to read about your tank problems. It was about a year ago that I found your site and had a look around.
Its a beautiful setup and I know how much frustrated you must be with all the problems. Before it was the flatworms and now the dreaded clam disease.

Glad to know that not all the clams were lost. Its very sad that you lost the others.

Good luck with the tank. Hopefully things will be much better from now on.

 

[Flame*Angel]

I dunno guys, I'll probably never know for sure what killed 3 of my clams. I'm blaming the switch to the new salt because of the coincidence in timing. I did also lose a new montipora digitata frag around the same time but otherwise everything else seemed quite happy with the new salt.

If it was a clam disease it would have had to come in on the newest clam but that clam didn't, and still isn't, sick. I had all the other clams too long for it to have been any of them. Also, there were no indications of a disease - no coughing, no slime excreted, no bleaching. No signs of predation. Just severe stress.

My 3 remaining clams appear perfectly healthy but I'll be keeping a very close watch over them and will let some time pass before I consider replacing the lost clams.

Otherwise all is great in the tank. I uploaded a new set of photos today actually. I skipped last months set for two reasons - I was just too depressed over losing the clams to look back through pictures of them when they were healthy and I've been silly-busy with work.

 

[mia1974]

I am just adding some experiences I have had lately with salt-mixing and subsequent clam reactions...


I went through an episode of the dreaded "clam disease" last summer. A series of FW dips cured the clams (remaining ones anyhow) of the problem and I hadn't seen any hints of the symptoms whatsoever until just this past month when I decided to switch my TM salt over to the CS salt...it could just be coincidental but the symptoms reappeared within a week of switching over, and I had to give yet another FW dip as a result. I have switched back to TM and have not seen any problems with my clams since (knock on wood)... perhaps the return of the clam symptoms were stress induced as I did notice all the other stress reactions on other animals attributed to mixing CS with existing salts-eg. coral bleaching /tip recession...

Susan: I hope all your remaining clams remain healthy and that it was just some sort of fluke that caused the demise of the others...
Take care,
Janine