Gaping Squamosa - advice needed

[Ken2001]

I've got a large T squamosa (plus a couple of other, smaller clams, that are currently very healthy) that has started to gape. It is about 8 inches, it's incurrent syphon is gaping, and the mantle is very retracted, particularly around the excurrent syphon. The clam's mantle had been nipped at by a pinktail trigger. I've moved the clam to another tank where it will not be abused, but I'm not seeing much improvement. Reading Knopf, I'm not too encouraged about the prognosis for this animal, but wondered if anyone else who has had clam gaping can give some advice on how to help it.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[MiNdErAsR]

Best thing you can do is provide a good stable environment, and perhaps provide food in the form of living phytoplankton. After that you just have to let nature take it's course. Clams can make a comeback if not too far gone, and without stress. Good luck.

IMO

 

[Ken2001]

Thanks Minderaser,

A couple of local reefers were visiting last night and one took one look at the clam and said "It's dead." I said "No, it's still alive" and just then the clam quickly shut tight because we had stepped in front of a light. Nevertheless, he said it was going to die -- then again, the he's a pretty dour guy and inclined to be pesimistic.

At this point, the clam has hung on for about four days, looking no better, but no worse either. I'll put some DTs in the tank tonight -- something I'd been holding off on since I didn't want to introduce anything that might irritate it.

One question though -- in the short term, will the dramatic change in light -- from a pair of 250W HM 10Ks in the display tank where it was, to a pair of 55W PCs in the little tank it's in now, be a problem for it as it tries to recover?

Thanks, and I'll post again if there's any change.

Ken

 

[MiNdErAsR]

Hmm...weaker light? Not sure if I'd go that route. IMO I'd try to keep things as stable as possible.

 

[traveller7]

Was the clam in the display very long?

Was the clam in the display very long?

As Jim suggested, stability is first.

Did the clam ever really acclimate to the display system? Have you had it for an extended amount of time or is this a fairly new specimen?

If the clam has been under the more powerful lighting for an extended period of time, moving it to the PC's will add quite a bit of stress. You'll likely need to keep the water very clear, add DT like stuff, and keep the clam in shallow depth.

Good luck.

 

[Ken2001]

Well, the clam died over the weekend -- actually, on Friday, while I was out of town. I looked in on it around midnight Friday when I got in and saw it was completely collapsed and dead. By the time I looked at it again the next morning, the shell was completely emptied by shrimp/pods/bristleworms.

To your questions:
Lighting -- moving it to lower lighting was probably stressful, but was the only realistic option since it was impossible to get the pinktail that was nipping the clam out of the display tank without tearing the entire reef down.

Age of clam (in my system) -- about two/three months. It appeared to be very happy, fully extended, didn't try to move around much like smaller squamosa do when unhappy with their placement.

Contributing factors towards death:
1. Pinktail trigger -- obviously, despite what I had read, even pinktail triggers (supposedly a more docile and reef-safe trigger) are not safe around clams (although, it has not (yet) bothered my other smaller clams.
2. Wild-caught -- after looking at the clam shell closely, I am coming around to the opinion that it was wild-caught, rather than captive raised. On the bottom of the shell, two smaller spiny oysters are attached, plus some other small oysters on the shell, as well as other various critters such as worm snails. The skutes (or whatever you call the "fins" that coat the sides of the shell) were all intact though, not worn down as you would expect to see in a wild-caught clam.
3. pyrcamid (sp?) snails -- I noticed a number of tiny snails, white with an elongated cone shape, located around the basal opening. Could these have possibly been predatory snails? If so, than I've noticed similar snails clustered around the foot of my astrea snails.

Lessons -- hold off on clams until the trigger is gone; look more carefully to make sure the clam isn't wild caught, and figure out whether there are predatory snails in the system.

Anyway, thanks Minderaser & traveler7 for your thoughts and advice.

Best regards,

Ken

 

[jim norris]

Ken,
IMO yes those snails are the cause of your squamosa's death. Also as you have notice they will attack and kill larger snails. They must be removed. If you have other clams and larger snails they will become infected and death will follow. Sixline wrasses will eat these snails but at night is when the snails are most active and the sixlines are sleeping. I would remove any clams and snails and brush the smaller (rice) snails off, I do this under running water in the sink. Do this everynight until you have them undercontrol. Yes it can be done!
Jim