Crocea Clam Troubles

[24gnanonewbie]

My first clam(less than 3") died 2 weeks ago... kinda srunk inside its shell until it died. I was told that smaller clams are must harder to keep... And that I might have starved it...

So I bought a 6" Crocea Clam yesterday. I drip acclimated it for over an our, and then temp acclimated it before putting it in the tank. It looked good last night... Not all the way out, but some.

I came home today, from church, to find it kinda looking like the other clam that died 2 weeks ago... What should I do, or what do I need to do that I am not? When I came home my Nassarius Snail in the side of the calm....

I have a 70w Metal Halide, and I placed the clam on my sand bed... Here are pics. Let me know what you need to know as far as parameters, and I will test for them.

 

[24gnanonewbie]

Salinity @ 1.024
Ph 8.2
Alk 4.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0

 

[JokerGirl]

Your alkalinity is really low. That may be your starting point.

 

[chrisstie]

Actually that could be high alk if its in the other scale.. Do you have a unit associated with the alk test?

 

[JokerGirl]

True! I didn't even think about that

 

[mbbuna]

list all fish, shrimp and crabs you have

can you post a few clear photos of the snails that were in the clam? take one out of the tank and get a good clear photo of it from the top and another of the opening( just like in this link)

http://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Muricinae/Pages/chicoreus_denudatus.htm

 

[24gnanonewbie]

The KH/Alk was measured in dKH. So it 4.2 dKH... and I have had problems with my ALk levels.

The snail was a Nassarius Snail... Snail Link

For fish: 2-False Perc, 1-Bi-Color Blenny, 1-Scooter Blenny.
Crabs: 3-Scarlet Crabs
Snails: 1-Nassarius, 1-Turbo, 2-Serith
1-Tuxedo Urchin


Update: It did die... but I would like to know what I did, so I can correct it! So please keep the help coming!

 

[mbbuna]

Bi-colored blennys are clam nippers

i know what Nassarius snails are but you may not have what you think you have. if you can post photos of the actual snail you have that will help a lot.

a dkh of 4 is way out of whack, how do you maintain Ca/Alk?

 

[jmaneyapanda]

agreed, 4 dkh is WAY low. to cause a death so quickly, iw ould guess this is your main culprit. I would still address the other ossues Mbbuna mentioned (blenny, snail ID), but dont add any more clams (or stony corals for that matter) until you can figure why your alkalinity is so low, and get it higher.

 

[24gnanonewbie]

I will post a pic later today of the actual snail. Here is one(not a whole shot)

I have tried using (Kent)Nano Reef Part A & B, but to no avail. I was thinking about taking my water into a LFS and having them test it and help find a course of action. I had one guy tell me that my mag might be low, therefore keeping my Alk low...

 

[mbbuna]

just use regular baking soda dissolved in RO water. use this calculator to tell you how much to add but DONT do it all at once. you will need to add a little every few hours for a few days. http://reef.diesyst.com/


for your 24g to go from 4.2dkh to 9dkh you will need to add 2.7 tea spoons, but not all at once. i would take 3/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda and dissolve it in RO and slowly add it to your tank. do this twice a day for two days and you should be there.