grrrr LFS....ugh

[imtheonlylp]

so i went to my LFS a week ago, bought a crocea clam...beautiful specimen....bright blues and purples....before purchasing, asked the guy there (he's been there a loooong time) if my hermit crabs would bother it, as they like other softies like button polyps, etc...."no, they wont bother it, he will close up if they come near"....so i bought it...$30....gone...clam did excellent over the weekend, even though my nassarius's tried to mess with it a few times (i threw them in the sump-jail)....so tuesday morning i wake up to a clam buffet orchestrated by my hermit crabs!!!!! nnnoooo!!!!! well by then the clam was nearly gone, so there was no sense in taking him out to try and revive him elsewhere...im about to call the guy at the LFS to see if there is any kind of compensation since HE DID tell me, not once, but 5x, that the hermits wouldnt bother it (as that was my determining factor in what to purchase that day)....anyone else gone through any kind of horror story like this? how did it come out? did the LFS compensate? at least a half-off store credit? thats all im asking...$15 would even make me happy and keep me going back there....otherwise, online vendors it is from now on....

 

[scchase]

Actually I would be willing to bet that by the time the hermits got to it it was already a goner. Clams can die for no apparent reason faster then you imagine and when they do its open season. Any healthy clam is virtually impervious to damage except from nippers such as butterflys and angels.

 

[smithcreek]

If the nassarius was interested in the clam it was dieing already. I had a clam that was injured in a shipping screw up (shipper used his own zip code instead of mine on the address) that took 2 months to slowly die. The nassarius didn't have any interest in the clam until the same day I finally decided to pull the plug.

 

[acrodave]

i keep hermits wiht my clams . i have red and blue legs and nassarius . i think that is a false bash on the fish shope

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I tend to agree. Your clean uop crew is doing just that- cleaning up. What type of hermits do you have? If you knew they were predatory on other corals, I dont know why you wouldve tried a clam in the first place- despite what the employee told you. But nonetheless, dont blame the snails or crabs- their just doing their jobs.

 

[imtheonlylp]

i have a couple of scarlet hermits and blue-legs....i absolutely refuse to believe the clam was already in bad shape or going downhill, as it was opening up beautifully, mouth fully open, accepting cyclopeeze and such...actually im thinking of removing all the hermits and snails in the hopes that a DSB, overkill skimmer (rated for 300g on my 75g), and massive flow will keep the tank clean...maybe a different sand-sifter than snails or crabs

 

[jmaneyapanda]

You can do that, but they didnt kill your clam- it died. What do you mean by "Accepting cyclopeeze and such"? New clams shouldnt be stressed, and jetting debris into them IS stressing!

 

[fish02]

Ok, I have 2 croceas in my tank, one is a year and 4 months and the other is 9 months. I have blue leg hermits, a zebra hermit, and 10 nassarius snails. Both are happy, growing fast, and have never been bothered by anything except a shadow and an occasional snail falling on them off of the rocks. When I first got them one was 3 inches and the other was only 2 inches. Now they are sporting a 4.5 inch shell and a 3 inch shell respectively.

Why would you feed your clam cyclopeeze? The particle size is way to big. They only need light and eat Phytoplankton when it's in the water.

Before I got my first clam, I researched the crap out of them. I would say close to 3 months of research before buying because they are the reason why I started my tank.

Read these before the next clam goes in and life should be sweeter with a happy clam.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_4/V4I3/Tridacna/GotTridacna.htm

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/Clam_care/Clam_care.htm

 

[jsl6v8]

I recently had herd of hermit crabs attack one of my clams as well, its suppose to be something they do when the clam is on the end of its life, like ours mine was looking great and had been in the tank for months and in my possession for about 5 months, naturally it happened while I was away on business and my aunt was taking care of the tank, who has tanks as well and isn't just some idiot pouring food and chemicals into the tank, clams can be finicky at times, wouldn't be the first time I've heard of a clam just up and dying on someone for no apparent reason. I don't blame the hermits or my aunt or myself I blame the clam for wussing out.

 

[Serioussnaps]

this is a joke right?

 

[imtheonlylp]

wow, simply ask a question and get hammered? i was simply asking if anyone had ever had this happen to their clam? no, i'm not completely blaming the LFS by far, just saying that if someone there gives you advice on your tank that proves not to be correct (imo), then in order to keep your business, dont you think they would feel a little responsible for giving you such advice when it is what helped you to make a purchase decision in the first place? btw, i just chalked it up as experience and didn't call the store....no, i didnt "bash" them..lol.

 

[KarmaChameleon]

I think that people are trying to say that the LFS guy wasn't really incorrect. I'm willing to bet that the clam was already on its way out (along with all the other people), and that the hermits were eating a dead clam, which is really what they are supposed to do.

 

[MarineGirl411]

Did the LFS tell you to feed cyclopeeze? Clams-phytoplankton, MH or T5 light. They take in tiny particles. They are filter feeders. Cyclops are way too large. It was probably choking on those. It's okay to ask questions. It's better to ask then to not. That is how we all learn. I'm sure all of us have done something wrong a time or two. I've dosed DT's phytoplankton before. What are you using for lights? What are your params? I keep my clam at 400-425 PPM of Calcium and my Alk at 9.0 dkh. I'm sorry your clam passed. =(

 

[Serioussnaps]

I said what I said because I see people buying stuff they really have no clue how to keep and then trying to blame it on an LFS. First, most LFS have no clue what they are really doing....not all but the majority. Here's an example:

I bought a puppy from a breeder. She told me that it had worms. I didnt know how to take care of it so I did nothing despite her telling me it had worms. The puppy got sick and died because I am clueless. Now I am asking for money back from her because I have no clue what I am doing and I think its her fault that I bought something I dont know how to care for.

I have no problems with people asking questions....just do it before you buy.

FWIW the hermits were just eating a doomed/already dead clam.

 

[imtheonlylp]

i understand...yes, the LFS guy did tell me that cyclopeeze would be just fine...marinegirl, i'm using 150w x2 20000k mh's and all my params are excellent...even did a dkH and alk test the other day which i never do and those were just fine too...i drip-dose with calcium and strontium and supplement that with reef-builder every now and then...so water params have been testing excellent, everything else is just fine (ricordias, kenyas, button polyps)...i guess it could be true that the clam could have been dying already, but it looked very well in the LFS and i did do a little research before i got him on light, water flow, feeding, etc...i do know that theyre filter feeders, but so is my ricordia (for the most part), so i know theres plenty of food in the water...i dunno, maybe i just have an aggressive group of hermits lol....sorry if i came across wrong on my initial post, i wasnt trying to "blame" the LFS guy/owner, but just wondering if anyone else had gone through this before and if the LFS compensated a little on their next purchase since it was information they gave in the first place? wasnt trying to stir a hornets nest, i promise! thanks for the replies though...

 

[Slakker]

I highly doubt they'll compensate you unless they have the greatest survival guarantee of all time.

And FWIW, if Nassarius snails were harassing it, it was already dead. Nassarius snails eat only dead matter.

 

[scowiii]

The clam was already probably on its way out. I had a couple of corals that were in the midst of going out and the hermits only ate those and left the healthy one alone. They are scavengers not predators. I would maybe just take him back to the petstore and see if you can get credit back. Most good fish stores will give some sort of guarantee or store credit.

 

[Slakker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10435011#post10435011 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scowiii
...Most good fish stores will give some sort of guarantee or store credit.

Not a single store in my area has any sort of guarantee on their saltwater livestock.

 

[reefkoi]

Accepting cyclopeeze? a clam? Cyclopeeze is way to big, if the nassarius were out with the lights on and near the clam that thing was on its last leg! Your tank may be just fine parameter wise but i agree with everyone else the clam was dying and not from the snails or hermits.