Duresa Clam & Serpent Star

fishforme

New member
Alright. I've tried a small Maxima clam from Dr. Mac and Sons and after about one week, a few blue hermit and red hermit crabs ate him. I woke up in the morning and the crabs were frenzied around the clam. I was pretty upset but I thought maybe the clam wasn't that healthy to start off with. I waited a few months and then decided to try yet again with a larger 4" Duresa clam from Tropicorium. This guy looked great. I had picked him this time to ensure good quality. I put him on the sand bed where he lived for about 5 weeks (I have 720watts of light over a 90 gallon). Then, all of a sudden, one morning there was a large hole in the mantle right above the mouth. I could clearly see inside his shell and what did I see -- my only serpent star took up residence inside the clam and ate him from the inside out. I was shocked. Another clam died. What the heck am I doing wrong? Can you ONLY put clams in a tank without hermit crabs, without serpent stars, without brittle stars etc... I dose ReefSolutions, Kent Probuffer, DT's and Reef Snow...
 
Re: Duresa Clam & Serpent Star

fishforme said:
Alright. I've tried a small Maxima clam from Dr. Mac and Sons and after about one week, a few blue hermit and red hermit crabs ate him. I woke up in the morning and the crabs were hole in the mantle right above the mouth. I could clearly see inside his shell and what did I see -- my only serpent star took up residence inside the clam and ate him from the inside out. I was shocked. Another clam died. What the heck am I doing wrong? Can you ONLY put clams in a tank without hermit crabs, without serpent stars, without brittle stars etc... I dose ReefSolutions, Kent Probuffer, DT's and Reef Snow...

Depends on the type of serpent star. The black banded serpents seem to inhabit my sand bed (unusual for a 6 or 7 month old tank I think), but I only have one of any real size, plus one that is huge that has more reddish-black bands. Also have a brittle. They are detritus eaters IME. So are hermits though, although I generally do not keep crabs in a reef tank as a rule, except a couple of exceptions right now. I have one blue-legged hermit in my tank, and one tan and white legged tiny hermit that hitchhicked on rock and I felt sorry for him. He always gets a stern look from me, but I haven't had the heart to remove him yet and he is always attached to an algea patch which is very good for him. And I have two emeralds to make sure I don't have hair & bubble algea. I can't imagine that crabs would bother a clam unless it was already dead. A serpent...maybe. Definitely not impossible that the serpent might, especially certain types like a green serpent. Get Daniel Knop's book on Giant Clamms and make sure your tank is set up for a clam and you don't have any predators that might take a bite that you are not aware of.

Also,
DT's and marine snow is redundant. Loose the MS, DT's is worlds better for a clam. Buffer with Kalkwasser. Clams do use calcium to some extent and some other buffers may be harmful to a salt tank. Also, other buffers may affect PH and ALK, and changes in these two parameters is deadly to a clam.
 
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