crocea turning brown

ozadars

ozadars

New member
Hi there,
I have had my crocea clam for about 2 months and it started to change color in the last month. It was totally blue but now just the center is blue and most of its mantle is brown. I have him under 250W 10000K MH and 40W actinics at the top of my 20gal nano reef. It has grown around 1cm in this time and I think its normal even fast growth for a crocea. My parametres are normal, do you think browning can be because of extra zooxanthellae production? If so is there any thing I can do?

Thanks,
 
it is turning brown because there is not enough light, brown is a color that inverts use to absorb more light, so you might need to change yoru lighting, your bulb might be too old, you could try switching to a lower K or Higher K for better coloration.
 
My bulbs are new, a few month old. I also have 250W Metal Halide and 40W 03 actinics over a 20gal tank, isnt this lighting enough? It might be due to K rate but I have seen lots of clams with gorgeous coloration under 10000K MH and actinics. I will try another clam and see if it will change color too.
 
What time frame did it take for him to change color??? The 250 MH are enough to keep his color. With that being said, something else has happened to cause the reduction of symbiotic algae .
 
It started around 20-30 days ago and I think the color changing hasnt finished yet. What can cause the over production of zooxanthellae? It is 3-4" and I dont feed it, can this be the problem?
 
It is 3-4" and I dont feed it, can this be the prob
Click to expand...

IME, this would not be the cause. Could be many things, such as lack of nutrients, over heating and low oxygen. Could be a pathogen that has killed the pigmentation in the mantle. :(
 
I dont have a heating problem but it might be due to low oxygen. However I added a protein skimmer last week so now it should be solved. I want to try it with another clam and see if browning will happen again.
 
There are 2 main causes for brown coloration. The first is lack of light (par) and the second is too high of temp, which also leads to a lack of oxygen.

What is the temp around the clam during mid-day? If you have a digital Thermometer with a probe you can easily place the probe by the clam.
 
Piggybacking, as I have an almost identical situation with same type and size clam from Premium Aquatics, also 2 mo ago acquisition. Here is my situation:

Yesterday I noticed the edges were slightly curled up and very dull in color. I have it in a rock crevace in the front corner of the tank. Fully extended the flesh touches either the rock or glass or sometimes even both. Bad?

I tested all water parameters and everything is fine (Ca 430, dKh 9.2, sg 1.026, pH 8.3, temp 77-78, ammo 0, nitrate either 0 or trace). There was I thought a slight funny smell when I got home but an hour or two later I decided I imagined it as I couldn't smell anything abnormal from the tank.

I reached in to try and move it more to the center of the tank, near the other clam in the substrate, directly below lights. But I couldn't budge the clam. It was quite secured to the rock. Is it unsafe to pry it loose or should I do that to try and get it in more direct light (currently it is slightly shaded).

I tried to target feed DTs but it was closed fully as I released the stuff just above it.

Any ideas/suggestions?
 
You can move a clam but it is dangerous to the clam and it takes patience ( lots of it)

The Clam will attach itself to the rock by means of a byssal gland ( a soft tissue that extends from the clams stomach). You can cut this gland with a sharp knife where it is attached to the rock (NOT WHERE IT COMES OUT OF THE CLAM !!!)

Be very carefull and try not to damage the gland with ragged cuts. the clam will be ok and reattach in a day or so...

Hope this helps
 
clam

clam

Go to the premium aquatics site they have a forum that links to the fish and chips site, very good info about this.
 
Basilhog: Premium Aquatics does not have a forum.

Graff: Thanks. I don't have the "rocks" to cut yet. I might try rocking it gently back and forth a couple times a day to try to coax it off the rock.
 
Let's see, how to reply to this? I always get a chuckle when the oblivious reply to posts years after the fact, asking if items are still for sale.

So, yeah, I'm sure they have done nothing to change their site in 15 months. They aren't too innovative over there.
 
dang it... thought I could get some info on a browning crocea and the thread has just been resurected fot this????
 
Seriously. If it helps to know at all, mine just got better. Was told that it can happen within 6mos of first putting it in a tank and that as long as light and parameters are fine it'll adjust. Don't know if that's true, but keep the lights and parameters ok, esp pH, and perhaps all will be well.
 
1cm growth in 2 months is about 5 times what is considered "good" growth for a crocea. These are by far the slowest growing of all tridacnids.

Turning brown? May be due to lighting at times, or may not be. There is no solid evidence that points at any cause to tell the truth. Only anecdotal evidence.
 
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