Grrr... Gigas help

[Mrs Smith]

Hi all,

I don't generally post here, but figured that this would get me a good, quick response - if there's anything I can do.

Tank is 135g, 30sump, 20 fuge, 3x 250W MH plus actinic VHOs. Circulation is 3 Maxijet 1200s on a wavemaster, plus the return from the sump. Feed DTs every couple of days.

Added a 3.5" Gigas from Barry at Clams Direct about a week ago. It acclimated fine, and was opening up nicely. Came home this evening to a gaping clam with the mantle well drawn down. (read: it looks awful.) It is not very reactive to light, but can still expell water. I don't see any mucus.

We had a bout of the dreaded clam bacteria this summer - wiped out a 3" squamosa and an 8" derasa. Needless to say, I'm concerned that this is a possibility. (The tank was clam-free for 4 months...)

However, we have a perfectly happy 2" ultra maxima that has been in the tank for 2 months. It is right next to the gigas, and hasn't batted an eyelash (if clams, had eyelashes, of course.)

Here's another twist: the tank was infected about a year ago with dog whelks. (It's a long, sordid story of a natural disaster and a mix up at a MO place...) I pulled 2 little ones off the gigas this evening. This is the first time I've noticed any of them near the clams, as I pull them out whenever I see them. (They are about 2mm long) Would just two of them produce this rapid change?

Given how far the clam has retracted, I'm not holding out much hope. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most welcome. Watching this turn of events after losing my others this summer is absolutely heartbreaking.

Thanks,
Danielle

 

[K. Lee]

What are your water parameters? Gaping can be caused by light shock, ie. placing a clam that's been underlit, or in a bag under full metal halide lighting. They need to be acclimated just as corals do, tho I don't know if you did this.

No experience with your "dog whelks", but if they are, and it is likely they are carniverous being welks, they could eat a lot of clam flesh, I am sure. You might want to check the clam's bottomside for any more unwanted guests.

 

[Peabody]

Yes, what are your temp, ph, SG, CA, alk, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate please. I hope we can help!

 

[cyclist1]

Yes, what are your temp, ph, SG, CA, alk, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate please. I hope we can help!

81, 8.1, 1.026, have not checked but have been adding B-Ionic at the recommended doses, 0, 0, not detectable. It was acclimated over a period of 2 hours (slow drip). We acclimated it to the lighting by reducing the lighting period for a few days. My guess is the welks. They seem to multiply like rabbits. We will keep an eye on it, although I fear it may be too late.

Andrew

 

[Peabody]

I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. I remember hearing a talk here in Baltimore at the National Aquarium, and they said they can't keep clams in their big reef tank because of whelks. I guess they just could never get rid of them because they do not need a mollusk to survive like pyramid snails do.

All the best to you and your clams!
Jeff

PS. How long has it been since you've checked PH and ALK? Those are very important to clams! (The reccomended doses of B-Ionic don't work for me...my clams just suck that stuff up!)

 

[cyclist1]

I checked them tonight. Our tank has been stable for months. Our refuge is on a reverse daylight cycle to prevent pH swings, and I have been monitoring alk. Everything else in the tank is happy and growing like weeds.

 

[Peabody]

I'm sorry, I meant CA and ALK.
It does sound like your tank is in great shape....I'm just trying to rack my little brain to try to help Best of luck.

 

[cyclist1]

We just pulled 5 more of the Whelks off of our two clams. They seem to be drawn towards our clams after lights are shut down. We shut down the lights on that side of the tank to give them a rest and the whelks attacked.

 

[Mrs Smith]

It's gone. And if not completely, the scavengers will have devoured it by morning. I just snuck down and did the flashlight thing. I really wish I hadn't... :sad1: All the night creepy-crawlies have descended, and the mantle is so shrunken...

Well, thanks for replying all. They can just go downhill so quickly - I really hate feeling powerless - especially with this clam, which I've wanted for quite awhile.

Now I just wonder about my maxima. (Risk it or give it away...) So no one out there has seen these whelks? They are black, with a white stripe... I can get a pic, although these are little guys. A certain MO place accidentally shipped some out as nas snails last year, and a friend who ordered them got these instead. The company made it right with him, but through a natural-disaster-related-coral-rescue, we got one, and it multiplied.

Thanks guys, even though we couldn't save him. Sniff, sniff. I hate that...

Danielle

 

[piercho]

Dr Shimek is collecting snails that are parasites of clams. If the snails did parasitize your clam, he would like to have the snails that you have sent to him. Follow this link: http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57486

If you can get useful shots of the snails, post them on his forum (Dr Ron), and he may be able to give you a better identification and some additional information about the snail.

It seems strange that the snails would target one clam and not both.

 

[Mrs Smith]

I was under the assumption that he was only looking for the pyramallid snails - these are totally different. I might offer anyway - I know that someone was going to send him some of these a while back...

As for why the one clam and not the other, I've been hashing that out with another local clam keeper this morning. Since the Gigas was still new to the system, it was probably still coping with some shipping stress, and was more vulnerable. We'd been slowly ramping up lighting times, but it was taking a seemingly long time to get used to it.

Sigh.
Danielle