Clam expelled some kind of white knobby object

[paintballer768]

Last night, my clam must have expelled this odd thing. The clam is right next to 2 rocks, and in the gap between the rocks (and coincidentally right between the clam and them like a triangle), was this white knobby looking thing. Well today, its about 3" over from the clam. Do to the time of day and me needing to go to school soon, I wont be able to see if the clam actually opens or not until the afternoon. It is responding to hands over it.

My theory is that it could be a wad of byssal threads or something, but I dont have enough knowledge of clams to say for sure.

What could this be? And if its bad, how can I help the clam recover? I will get pictures this afternoon, as tempting as it may be to remove this from the tank (worried about ammonia).
Please help!!!

 

[a4twenty]

i think your guess is right, it is probably some byssal thread and if he dropped it on his own there shouldn't be any problems. try to post a picture later and we can tell for sure.

 

[paintballer768]

Ok I will. Would this be caused by stress or some kind of condition? I just want to make sure its doing ok. According to my mom, its opened all the way like normal, so I think it should be ok.

 

[paintballer768]

Okay I just got home. The white knobby thing is obviously byssal threads at this point. It was blown around a bit from its original location this morning, but definitely threads.

Heres whats wondering me now. The clam isnt opening as much as it normally does. Im processing pictures now. Hopefully some of you experienced clam keepers could help me out.

 

[paintballer768]

Here is it normally.

 

[sailfintang]

It appears that the clam has moved its position in order to better suit its needs. Is there more light in the area where the clam is now? I can't really tell what I am looking for in the picture? But from what I see it appears the clam moved on iits own which is nothing to worry about. They can do this and what gets left behind is bysal thread or a large stringy white clump. If the clam likes this spot it will not move again.

 

[a4twenty]

i would try to move him up now while you have the chance. crocea'a are the most light loving of the tridacnids and he probably let go to go in search of more light.

what K is your 150W halide?

 

[paintballer768]

Its a 14k. It seemed to move about a 1/2 inch over to the right, and attached to a different rock. Its been a few hours since I posted the above pictures and it seems that it opened up completely like it has been normally. Ill keep an eye on it for now to see if it goes on any more adventures.

sailfintang, its a single bulb over a 19.5" tank, so I think the coverage is pretty good where the clam was and where it is now. Bottom center of the tank is got direct exposure to the bulb, but its roughly about 15-19" from the water surface. No signs of bleaching or losing color. Its actually gained more shiny green spots since I got it from the FS about 2 weeks ago.