Clam disappeared?

B

bassplaya12

New member
I bought a blue maxima clam the other day at ARC, not a cheap adventure, and today it is completely gone. the shell is there, but all of the tissue is gone as if something ate it. Does anything actively go after clams or would anything else cause it to completely vanish?
 
Pyramidal snails?

Tiny spiral snails about the size of a grain of rice. If you have any Astraea snails check the underside of one of them. Google pyramidal snails. They can harass a clam without you knowing or seeing it. There one day, dead the next. The fish and clean up crew in your tank take care of the evidence. Lights come on and you've got nothing but a shell. I had 4 clams for a couple of years. Lost em all in like 3 days. Those lil buggers were to blame. Came in on some snails.
 
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Capt_Cully said:
Pyramidal snails?

Tiny spiral snails about the size of a grain of rice. If you have any Astraea snails check the underside of one of them. Google pyramidal snails. They can harass a clam without you knowing or seeing it. There one day, dead the next. The fish and clean up crew in your tank take care of the evidence. Lights come on and you've got nothing but a shell. I had 4 clams for a couple of years. Lost em all in like 3 days. Those lil buggers were to blame. Came in on some snails.
Click to expand...

I don't believe I have any astraea snails but I've seen some of those small spiral shells on the sand. not sure if they are living or not, but I'm going to assume so now. Just sucks because I literally lost 70 bucks in the course of a day :( Most expensive thing I've ever bought livestock wise. Guess I'll go back to buying $10 frags :thumbsup:
 
Like I said, they wiped me out of 4 in 3 days. If I thought of the amount of money I lost in dead fish, snails, clams, corals, etc, I'd get depressed very quickly. Enjoy the journey. Do not focus on the finger that points to the moon, or the moon itself, but all that lay between....
 
what size tank,water parameters lighting do you have?also what size was the clam?also what fish do you have I have bought a few from them and all but 1 are still in my tank.
 
I can't imagine snails would be able to wipe a clam out in one day...would they?!? I had it happen to be before but it was gradual and happened over a one week period. Tried everything to save them but couldn't
 
talon4x4 said:
I can't imagine snails would be able to wipe a clam out in one day...would they?!? I had it happen to be before but it was gradual and happened over a one week period. Tried everything to save them but couldn't
Click to expand...

Agreed. One day seems a little quick... :hmm2: to me. Pyramellid snails are a PITA and do kill clams, but not THAT fast. I'd be looking elsewhere. Water, stray voltage, larger predators, acclimation errors, that sort of thing.
 
one thing about clams

one thing about clams

if something in your aquarium eats them clams will disappear quickly. Once established clams are fairly hardy.
 
Capt_Cully said:
Like I said, they wiped me out of 4 in 3 days. If I thought of the amount of money I lost in dead fish, snails, clams, corals, etc, I'd get depressed very quickly. Enjoy the journey. Do not focus on the finger that points to the moon, or the moon itself, but all that lay between....
Click to expand...

Deep man, very deep.
 
Was it one of them tiny 1" -2" clams in the cup/bowl like frag disc.?

If so i thought i read a while back when i got my clam that they don't do well when they are that small, the reason i cant remember. Maybe it was something to do with the amount of phyto they require when that small. Nothing smaller than 2" was what was told to me.

IMO a predator probably could eat a whole clam that size in one night.

I got my ultra maxima from them 4+ years ago and it is still going strong. I purchased it a little bigger though. I never seen them tiny ones until more recently.
 
That's a small clam! I def remember reading/hearing that you ought to stay clear of the real small ones and that you ought to stick with specimens 3"+ for better success rates.

That being said, I've no clue with THAT stock list, what may have been the culprit, other than what Cully posted.

Do you have any hermits or other types of crabs?
 
well that leaves massive infestation of clam eating worms/snails or the muscle detached and is stuck somewhere in your tank or filtration ........ i would go on a hunt for remains again ive had a clam die and detach pretty quickly i only had one mantis havent seen him in months i heard they get quiet for month at a time when they molt.... but my exp. is limited with them other than the clam i lost to one and another thread i read where a guy caught a mantis inside an almost empty clam shell it was eating.
 
1-2" clams are tough. If you attempt another Tridacna I would suggest getting at least a clam that's at LEAST 3" or larger and cheaper... like a B grade crocea.
 
Small ones need to be fed phytoplankton until they get enough mantle and zooxanthelae in it to meet more of their needs for organic carbon via photosynthesis. I don't think it would starve that fast though. More likely some type of infection or predation, imo.
 
sorry man i paid 75$ for my blue/black ultra maxima clam 4 yrs ago from them, and it was at least 3". I never even seen clams that small until recently. + 85$. Guess prices went up and quality went down in the clam market. I always used to see nice size clams relatively inexpensive.

I would hold out and look around for the right one.
 
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