Eliminating Ventricaria from Tridacna shells.

[piercho]

When I begin moving coral, clams and plants from tank1 to tank2, I want to try and leave Ventricaria ventricosa behind. I have a plan to prevent Ventricaria from comming with coral and plants. I don't know what to do with my two Tridacna, though. I've got a big squamosa and a medium maxima, both over 5 years with me, and I don't want to part with either.

So... Sarah or Horge or anybody with ideas how to "sanitize" a clam shell of algae and spores with a living clam inside? The only notion I have is to wire brush the shell with muriatic acid followed with limewater. It will be risky to scrub near the shell hinges and opening, where I might damage the clam. Then the clam will go into a Ventricaria-free intermediate tank for a month to see what grows out before it goes into tank2.

Hey, I just posted a how-to-kill-plants question! Hope I'm not going all BB-mentality on ya'll!! -> :spin2:

 

[Samala]

How-to-kill-plants is totally acceptable if you dont like one or a few. There are so many macroalgae in the sea, there's bound to be some we wont find beneficial.

A weak muriatic solution applied to the shell may kill spores in the same fashion as a kalkwasser paste. Extreme chemical environment. I cant think of any algacides that I would use with a live invertebrate in the immediate area. Same for bleach.

If the clam can be provoked to totally retract for the few moments you do the wash/scrub/rinse procedure it will help immensely of course. Maybe you should tape something absorbent around the hinges to avoid drips into the animal's house. (?)

I think the proposed quarantine is ideal, and maybe even necessary. Perhaps you could repeat the procedure if you feel it would help, maybe on a weekly schedule or so.

I'm curious to know what the knowledgeable clam folks will say honestly. Or is this not a common problem?

>Sarah

 

[piercho]

Most people use large quantities of live rock which often has Ventricaria. I don't know if this is because Ventricaria is exceedingly common in the wild, or if the rock picks it up while it waits in dealer's tanks. I suspect, like with Aiptasia, it is the later. You know Aiptasia gets onto the rock in dealer's tanks because Aiptasia is of Atlantic origin, while reef rubble is harvested in the Pacific. Anyway, Ventricaria is not a problem in most people's minds, and they live with it. I wan't to exclude Ventricaria and creeping Caulerpas because they can get established in coral branches and excacerbate base recession, and are difficult to eliminate by nutrient limitation.

The clam will close when removed from the water, but the living tissue is still vulnerable at the seam of the shell. Full strength Muriatic is pretty potent stuff. Do you think I could use a weaker acid and achieve the same result? What about 5% acetic acid - white vinegar? Its a lot less potent than Muriatic but still potent enough to erode the shell surface.

 

[Samala]

Do you have the package for the muriatic? Does it list anything like "12M" or "2M" or so? That will give us an idea of the concentration of the acid in solution.. and how strong it is to some extent. Usually the publicly available stuff is on the weaker side.

Vinegar might work. I've never tried using acetic acid to induce sporulation before and kill spores. If you used vinegar I would definitely repeat it once and (of course) quarantine.

Could you use putty of a sort to form a reverse moat/ridge to keep any liquids away from the seams?

>Sarah

 

[piercho]

From a generic MSDS:
Muriatic Acid: HYDROCHLORIC ACID, 33 - 40%
Molecular Weight: 36.46
Chemical Formula: HCl

The brand I've used is labeled "20 Baume Hydrochloric Acid 31.45% by weight" Could not find a labeling for 12M, 2M, etc. It's a potent and fastworking limestone etch and a very effective decalcifier.

The largest opening to be protected is the bysal opening where the clam has a foot and has a gland that allows it to attach to the substrate. The hinge will shut tight enough to protect the clam from the wire brush and acid spray but some some fluid may seep through the hinge if too much fluid is used near it.

 

[graveyardworm]

Here's what worked for me. Manual removal, and competiton for nutrients. I had bubble algae covering everything, crowding out corals, floating up in mats which would clog powerheads. No amount of manual removal could knock it back. Added a refugium with cheato and caulerpa coupled with manual removal, and now there's very little left. Not really the answer your looking for.

You could just try removing it from the clam with tweezers, but this wouldnt be 100% positive removal. Lately I've been experimenting abit with actually injecting individual vessels with kalk paste, but I cant say for sure if this completely kills the vessel or not.

I would like to add that it was regularly reappearing on my clam but now it has been some time since it grew there.

 

[piercho]

Ventricaria in clam scutes is not a problem because it does no damage, IMO. Ventricaria in finely branched coral heads is the problem I want to avoid. When a head of Pocillopora or Birdsnest starts to recede at the base â€"œ and it inevitably will â€"œ a low-light optimized plant occupies that new territory. If that plant is Ventricaria, it will exacerbate and accelerate base recession in the coral. I agree Ventricaria can be limited by nutrient reduction. But I don’t want it limited to a bubble or two growing in my coral heads. The goal here is elimination.

I think that HCl is too risky because it works too fast, and I don’t really know by how much I should dilute it. I think I’ll wire brush to remove the bulk soft material, then brush with a weak acid (vinegar) followed by a base (limewater) to hopefully kill the spores.

The clams shut pretty tight but the bysal opening remains exposed. So I'll do the treatment on a towel with due care not to let acid or base too near the seam or bysal opening.

That is the plan. Any additional inputs are solicited. Tank2 is yet to be plumbed so there is plenty of time.