Clam Dying??? :(

[coral_addict]

Hey y'all. Got a clam problem over here. We got this clam back in September, a nice Maxima. It looked great back in september, but lately the left side has started to permanently close up. It looks a bit like pinched mantle to me. We had a hammer near it for a while, and we didn't think it could touch but it may have. Started looking bad around the time we added that hammer, another hammer, a torch, and a six line wrasse, but I don't know if any of those had anything to do with it. We're fairly worried, as it's a nice clam and we don't want it to die. I'll post pics of the tank and the clam. If anyone has any advice that would be great!

Our tank is a 120 rimless. 2 AI Hydra 52 LED's on the top of the tank about 2 feet above it. We just started running carbon tonight, so hopefully that helps. Thanks in advance!

 

[coral_addict]

Here's the clam in September:

 

[coral_addict]

Hm... So I can't seem to upload any of the other images... But basically you can see the shell on the left side of the clam in two separate places. The mantle isn't curled but it no longer extends out past the shell in a couple spots. It also isn't attached to the shell in the picture above.

 

[coral_addict]

So we moved the clam out of the sandbed and into the rock structure, higher up. It looks a little better but when it's open you can still see some of the shell where the mantle should be covering. Does anyone have any advice????

 

[MondoBongo]

i would do a pest check. specifically for pyramid snails. they're tiny little buggers that tend to congregate around the foot area during the day and then come out at night. so if the clam isn't attached, just gently pick it up and roll it over (under water if possible) to inspect the area around the byssal opening.

it's also worth checking at night around the shell, and the edge of the mantle.

keep an eye out for anyone or any thing that might be picking on it. what else do you have in your tank, name everything that moves.

 

[coral_addict]

Fish include:

sixline wrasse
yellow tang
one false perc
lawnmower blenny


We did find some small snails along the shell of the clam last night, but they all looked like very tiny turbo snails, not pyramid snails. We picked them off anyway. I took some pictures with my iPhone 6, but when I try to upload them here it says upload failed every time, and I don't know why. Is a freshwater dip an option?

 

[MondoBongo]

freshwater dips i cannot speak to as i've never done one on a clam. if you do decide to go that route, make sure you match temperature, and if possible ph.

however, i would be wary of those snails, even if they don't look the part. might be worth keeping an eye out, and removing any ones you find.

 

[Reefer40b]

My clam did this when it was being attacked by my blenny, I made a cover for him and he is now looking a ton better since he isn't under a ton of stress from the blenny. Does it have any damage to the mantle, nips?

 

[coral_addict]

It doesn't look like there's any physical damage to the mantle, it's just closed up. I think it's starting to look a bit worse now though. We moved it up to the top of the tank, but it was moving itself up there so we just moved it back to the sandbed.