Concerned about my maxima...

[GarSrtn]

I added a T. maxima to my tank on Saturday. I placed it on the sandbed, and it has not moved much. It has, however, changed orientation a bit. One end of its shell is now in the sand to the point that its mantel and larger opening is flush with the sand.

I am concerned that the sand may damage the clam, especially if it enters the clam. Is this valid? Should I reposition the clam?

TIA

 

[SeanT]

Let it be.
Maximas tend to wander until happy.
They also have the ability to blow sand and other debris out themselves. As do all the clams.
Kind of cool to watch.

 

[a.p.17]

i would just leave him on the sand for awile. i have ten maximas and all of them are on the sand. they are doing great. is your light strong enough to reach him on the sand? sometimes it seems like the clam will move to a position that will allow them to collect the most light.

 

[a.p.17]

has your tank been running for more than two months? clams seem to do better in very established tanks so i would really watch him closely.

 

[GarSrtn]

The tank is 3-4 mos. old. It was an established tank that was purchased and moved in Feb. The Hamilton light rig has 1-175W 6500k MH and 2-95W WHO Actanics, and they are approx 4" off the water. The tank itself is 24" high; the sand bed is 6-8" where the clam is located.

My water parameters have been within normal limits for some time, with the exception of high nitrates. I suspect the high nitrate readings are related to the test kit or (more likely) the person performing the test. The resultant color of the test has never changed since I've been performing the test.

All other inhabitants have or are doing well. I did place a small piece of rock under the clam in the sand; the rock being approximately 20% the size of the clam. I'm concerned that the rock may not have been big enough.

The clam was acclimated over 6 hours to water and temp prior to introduction to the tank.

 

[ADS]

It sounds like your clam is settling into the sand. Maximas will burrow into sand to find something for their byssal fibers to attach.
The sand will not harm the clam. It will expell most of what enters it's siphon. The parameters are concerning. Could you have another aquarist or LFS check your water? Adam

 

[GarSrtn]

I am hesitant about moving the clam. It must be stressed enough from the relocation and introduction. How long should I wait to see if it has attached to the rock under it? Should I just leave it alone and let it move where it wants?

ADS:
It's not likely either of my LFSs would be able to reliably test my water. I am using a Salifert NO3 kit, but am not sure I am interpreting the results correctly. The color has always hovered around 25ppm NO3 when doing the medium range test. This evening I did the low range test, and the color was very close to 50 (which would be 5ppm). I'm thinking that my NO3 concentration is not as high as I've been thinking it was. What else about the params concerns you?

 

[ADS]

I would leave it alone as long as it is upright.
Parameters that I would be concerned about certainly would be increased nitrates. Does this represent a maturing tank or bioload excess? Both of these may be detrimental to a clams health. Also maintain stable pH, Ca & alk. s.g. should be between 1.022-26 ideally(low worse than high IMO).
Adam

 

[holeinone1972]

If he looks good, there is no problem with him being in the sand.

They are quite capable of blowing the sand out if it is an irratant.

Clams will eat up the nitrates also, as long as they are not sky high.

Rob
ECC

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Rob beat me to the punch: Tridacna appreciate some nitrates!

 

[holeinone1972]

BTW Gary I was really sad that you did not make it to the Williamsport swap.

If you feel like a serious roadtrip come to mine. (end of June)

Rob

ps Some clam farms introduce nitrate on purpose to feed clams.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Rob- I am aware of the June meet at your house. I've already searched out your location on Mapquest!:lol:
I also have not forgotten the sponge frags I want to trade with you. {From a post long ago!}
I also have possible trades to complete with some other reefkeepers in your region. As of right now, I don't know if I'll be able to make it. But I can reassure you that I'd love to be there!

 

[ADS]

I agree w/ Gary and Rob that some nitrates and PO4 are important for growing clams, but a single clam can not process the excess nitrates from bioload imbalance in a system.
Before purchasing a clam, parameters should be stable(I encourage this w/my clients).
There are large clam filters for diverse systems that collectively can process bioload excesses. I don't think that a single clam can do this and it's certainly not healthly. If you need more NO4 or PO4 in your system you can occasionally overfeed. If you begin w/ some imbalance chances are one clam won't correct it.
As Rob said, Clam farms do use nitrates. But this is under ideal natural conditions in raceways that exchange with ocean water.
The studies have shown that while small additions of NO4 increased growth in baby clams excess NO4 was detrimental to their health and actually they grew less.
My suggestion is to identify the cause of the nitrate imbalance whether it be abherent testing or biofilter problem and correct it.
If you can't get someone to test your water-I'm close enough-send me a sample. Adam

 

[a.p.17]

its so cool that the clams just suck the nitrate out of the water. i have 16 clams in my tank and occasionally i overfeed the tank. even then my nitrates are always minimal.

 

[holeinone1972]

While you may not get a reading because the clams are processing them, high nitrates is definately not a goal.

5 ppm are no problem in a reef tank, but I always strive for zero.

Rob

 

[GarSrtn]

Ok. It's definitely moved. It's now in conctact with the glass from my tank. This makes me wonder if I have sufficient light. Is it more likely I am short on light, or that the clam is just being a light hog?

When, if ever, is a good time to see if the clam attached to the rock I placed under it? If it hasn't attached (say it moved off the rock), should I attempt to place another rock under it?

Thanks for all the help people, it's appreciated.

 

[ADS]

If the clam has good mantle extension and coloration is uniform-don't woory. I would however move the clam up on the rockwork now. It's been several days. Adam

 

[GarSrtn]

It died

It died

As an update, my clam died on Saturday, May 24th. After it's death, I did a lot of reading. I discovered that the circumstances around the death of the clam were quite similar to the disease scare of last year. However, responses to a post I made about the clam in another forum indicate that the death was a 'normal' death (possibly related to stress).

I created a page detailing the death and my theory. I would be interested in any feedback about this.

 

[ADS]

Sorry for your loss. It looks like your clam had central bleaching on may18 around it's excurrent siphon. This progressed in the may22 photo to the entire midmantle.
Did it have the bleaching when you purchased it? If not I would look for heavy metal toxicity in your tank. A bad powerhead or pump. I would take them apart and check impeller assemblies. I have found in the past that some cheaper impellers will rust as they wear. Another way to check is to buy a kit which may be expensive or buy a metal adsorbent sponge and put it in the sump. They color change depending on what is in the water. This may help determine the etiolog. Adam

 

[GarSrtn]

I cannot say for certain about the bleaching prior to May 18. I had only seen a photo of the clam, and do not recall if it had any bleaching. The May 18 photo was taken less than twelve hours after the clam was introduced to the tank (it was introduced at 02:00 May 18, the photo was taken roughly 10:00 May 18). Is it possible that this bleaching would have occured that quickly?

What sort of heavy metal toxicity do you suspect? No other inverts show any signs of sickness (snails, crabs, worms, etc.).

I will dissasemble my pumps and powerheads to check for any damage.