Baby Maxima

[TerraC]

Hi Guys...

just a bit of advice..

bought this baby maxima at the weekend. he's about 2" long. whilst acclimatising I noticed he had a bad pyramid snail infestation. I cleaned these off and scrubbed the shell in a container of tank water after acclimatising him for an hour. I have been watching after lights out for the past two nights and not seen any signs of more snails but I will keep looking.

no-one is bothering him but he doesnt seem to be opening up fully? Is he still settling in do you think? I was going to place him on a rock so he could attach then move him to the top of the rocks for extra light but he's attached himself to the glass bottom already! pic below...

150w BLV Metal halide directly above him, tank is 36"x20"x24"

He's my first Maxima.. Had a deresa for over a year. What do you guys think? am I just a worried maxima noob?

 

[a4twenty]

you will need to cut his byssal thread as far form the clam as possible, use a razor right along the glass. this will allow you to remove the clam to give him a real good look over and now you can put a small flat rock under him for easy movement ( he's going to want to be close to the light ). i still see lots of white dots in the scutes that may be pyramids or just sand. keep looking for the snails and could you list your water params and list out your other livestock please.

 

[TerraC]

ok i'll have a go at getting him onto a flat bit of rock tomorrow evening with a view to moving him further up once he's attached.

no sign of any pyramid snails after dark with a torch so far. there are some white grains of sand in the scutes at the moment.

Ca 420, DKH 7, PH 8.0, NO3 10, NO2 0, SG 35ppt Current tank operational for 14 months with livestock taken from a previous 3+ yr old system.

housed with a copperband butterfly, Coral Beauty, Flame Angel, Pair of common clowns, mandarin, firefish and 4 Chromis. CBB, CB & Flame have always left previous Derasa alone and have shown no interest in this maxima during my evening viewing. Hermit crabs persisted in cleaning the clam for whole of first day of introduction but have not really been near since.

thanks..

Ray

just to add. I've been watching this guy in my LFS tank since november. he's not changed in all this time but i guess LFS didnt check him and keep him free of pyramids.

 

[a4twenty]

i would be very suspect of the CB and Flame, they are known clam nippers. try cutting a pop bottle in half ( or similar ), drill or cut a few holes for flow and place it over the clam. if he opens up then he is being bothered, if not then the fist are off the list for now.

your alk is a little low, how do you maintain your Ca and ALK?

 

[TerraC]

thanks for the advice...

I change 5gal per week and replace with fresh saltmix. I also top up with Kalk 2 - 3 times per week otherwise top up with fresh RO.

I keep having the odd problem with falling ALK which I correct with a Seachem buffer. I need to check my mg ASAP.

just to clarify deresa is still alive, think my first post may have been a little confusing, typed "had" instead of "have had" ...

 

[basser1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12009957#post12009957 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TerraC
thanks for the advice...

just to clarify deresa is still alive, think my first post may have been a little confusing, typed "had" instead of "have had" ...

Or just type "have"!

 

[a4twenty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12009957#post12009957 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TerraC
I need to check my mg ASAP.

sounds like a wise place to start

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12009957#post12009957 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TerraC
just to clarify deresa is still alive, think my first post may have been a little confusing, typed "had" instead of "have had" ...

thats ok, i meant fish not fist

 

[TerraC]

Ok when i got home from work tonight he's open a lot more I have managed to detach him from the glass bottom with a razorblade along the glass. he's now balanced on a flat rock and hopefully will attach quickly.

 

[a4twenty]

good to hear, did you try covering him or did he just open up more?

 

[TerraC]

I had the intention of covering him up when I got in from work last night but he was already out and opened up a lot more.

Spent some time watching the tank/clam last night after i'd moved him to the flat rock. (quality time with my clam? I need to get out more ) Everyone is ignoring him which is a good sign.

Hopefully he will attach himself to the rock quickly and I can get him up higher in the next day or 2.