Hi
I ordered a 3" aquacultured derasa clam from LiveAquaria this week, it arrived yesterday along with an SPS coral frag. I separately drip acclimated both of them according to standard procedures immediately after their arrival on my doorstep. I placed the clam on a rock about half way up in my tank in the middle, in an area of low to medium flow. It had a kenya tree coral sort of close to it, tho certainly not touching. It snapped shut a few times before opening back up again, several hours after making the move into my tank, suggesting to me that it did OK for the transfer.
Both looked reasonably good last night when I went to bed, although I thought I was hallucintaing when I saw something that looked like a bristle worm disappear into one of the clam's orifices, and this morning the clam was I don't know, half way open with the mantle extended and looking ok. Lights (320 watts of LED) were set to 50% of usual today.
Fast forward to return from work this evening and the clam is definitely dead with a big hole in the mantle, which is retracted way in, and my yellow tang intermittently picking at it. Since I decided to write this, my lone hermit crab has also decided to feast.
My tank is a 90 gallon (48wx24hx18d) in pretty good shape... nitrates 0.25, phos 0, ca 480, alk 9, pH 8.1-8.3, and it supports a small amount of SPS, LPS and soft corals with good growth. I only have four fish, all reef safe (clown, benggai cardinal, sixline wrasse, and the tang). I recently migrated the tank from a 50 gallon maybe 2 months ago when we moved, so it is not what I would call a mature tank (but the 50 I had for three years before the upgrade), This is my first clam and the first time I have had one of the lower life forms die so quickly, I have certainly had fish die while in quarantine and always assumed it was a pre existing condition.
Is there something that I did wrong? Expose to lighting too soon (arent clams supposed to need light, but maybe too soon)? Bristle worm attack? Something else? Or is this a case of a bad specimen where I should seek a refund from LiveAquaria (I feel that they have good customer service and if it was something that I did wrong, would not want to inappropriately ask for a refund).
Thanks for your wisdom in advance.
Clayton
I ordered a 3" aquacultured derasa clam from LiveAquaria this week, it arrived yesterday along with an SPS coral frag. I separately drip acclimated both of them according to standard procedures immediately after their arrival on my doorstep. I placed the clam on a rock about half way up in my tank in the middle, in an area of low to medium flow. It had a kenya tree coral sort of close to it, tho certainly not touching. It snapped shut a few times before opening back up again, several hours after making the move into my tank, suggesting to me that it did OK for the transfer.
Both looked reasonably good last night when I went to bed, although I thought I was hallucintaing when I saw something that looked like a bristle worm disappear into one of the clam's orifices, and this morning the clam was I don't know, half way open with the mantle extended and looking ok. Lights (320 watts of LED) were set to 50% of usual today.
Fast forward to return from work this evening and the clam is definitely dead with a big hole in the mantle, which is retracted way in, and my yellow tang intermittently picking at it. Since I decided to write this, my lone hermit crab has also decided to feast.
My tank is a 90 gallon (48wx24hx18d) in pretty good shape... nitrates 0.25, phos 0, ca 480, alk 9, pH 8.1-8.3, and it supports a small amount of SPS, LPS and soft corals with good growth. I only have four fish, all reef safe (clown, benggai cardinal, sixline wrasse, and the tang). I recently migrated the tank from a 50 gallon maybe 2 months ago when we moved, so it is not what I would call a mature tank (but the 50 I had for three years before the upgrade), This is my first clam and the first time I have had one of the lower life forms die so quickly, I have certainly had fish die while in quarantine and always assumed it was a pre existing condition.
Is there something that I did wrong? Expose to lighting too soon (arent clams supposed to need light, but maybe too soon)? Bristle worm attack? Something else? Or is this a case of a bad specimen where I should seek a refund from LiveAquaria (I feel that they have good customer service and if it was something that I did wrong, would not want to inappropriately ask for a refund).
Thanks for your wisdom in advance.
Clayton
