Help from the experienced clam keepers!

B

BnG

New member
What is wrong with my T. croceas? Opinions please.

All of my pars are stable

salinity 1.025

temp 82 +/- 1 degree

Ph 8.2x-8.4x

Nitrate and Phosphate = 0

Ca 425

dKH 9.5

2x250watt DE 13k 75g with a 40g refugium/sump

I run kalk in my auto-topoff and supplement occasionally with Tropic Marin Ca

Ive been feeding them, more than I would like too, ~every other day. 30ml DT's in the water column above them with the pumps turned off.


clam1.JPG


clam1_0.JPG


clam2.JPG


clam2_0.JPG


A day or so after adding them ~09/29
clams_0929.jpg


Thanks
Brandon
 
The other pictures aren't labeled, so I'll assume you put them in the tank on the substrate early on, they looked good, and you moved them up onto the rockwork and now they aren't opening as much as they had in the past? What is the flow in your tank like? Why did you move them off the substrate (if that's what happened)? Why are you feeding so often?

jb
 
Thanks grim

You are correct I put them on the sand bed at first, I moved them up on to the rockwork after they began declining. It started with one then the other followed a few days later.

I lefted them down there ~2 weeks.

I moved them up thinking more light might help and I also came to understand that T. crocea were a rock dwelling clam.

I've been feeding them as much as I have thinking THAT might help, although I've already slacked off somewhat becuase I'm leary of polluting my tank.

The flow in my tank is quite a lot. I run a GRI518 for a return and closed loop scwd powered by a mag18. If that turns out to be their issue they will just have to deal :). They dont appear to be overly blown about or buffeted, but they are obviously "in the breeze" of the CL. More so in their new location than when they were on the sandbed.

Their condition doesnt seem to be worsening beyond what you see. Those pictures were taken the night I posted and they are comparable to their condition when I moved them.
 
How high up in the tank did you move them? I had four in my 29g tank with a 250w xm and a 150w atinic vho. As the lights reach 6 months my clams do the same thing. I lost one I had on the sand and decided that they needed more light. I would recommend moving it higher.
 
It was suggested to me that temperature might be the problem so I have bumped my temp down 2 degrees to 80 and will be watching for any effect that might have.
 
They are approximately 7 inches under the water. The greenish one is closer to 8 inches under.

Higher than their current location is not a very good option, its like surf zone high flow up there. The higher rock locations are closer to the wavemaker nozzles.
 
My experience has been that most clams don't like having their mantles ruffled by alot of current. My tank is a 75 gal with a 6100 Tunze Stream at one end and a 1/2" sea swirl, and 1200 powerhead at the other end. My maximas all do best on the bottom, in a low flow zone. This is just my experience. I would also do a thorough check of your clams for pyrimid snails. Use a magnifying glass when you check, as they can be very small. Size of a grain of uncooked rice or less. They can inflict alot of damage on a clam, and in significant #'s they can kill. Might want to ask questions on the clamsdirect.com forum. Barry is always happy to help out with any questions regarding clams.
 
I agree with acro's assessment. Those clams look irritated. Could be from the flow or a parasite. What about other fish or shrimp in the tank? I would second the advice to ask Barry, as he's a real expert on clams.

Jeff
 
I havent seen anyone mess with them. I have some cleaner shrimp and Potter's angel that I suppose could be suspects, but observe our taking many hours weekly from up close and several feet away. Its behind me as I type. Everyone seems to ignore them.

When they were on the sand it was a high traffic location and they would often flinch at my bigger fishes passing above, but they're not so much bothered by fish passing above them in their current location.

Rgr on barry at clamsdirect. I posted nearly identically there.

I plan to give wwm a shot as well

I am contemplating a fw dip, but that seems so extreme. I am a little leary of that as anything but a last resort. Prying them loose from the rock wont be easy

Brandon
 
I would check for pyramid snails first before resorting to a fresh water dip. MHO, but I think a fresh water dip can cause more stress on an already stressed clam. If your clams are bigger than 3", they may have some stretch to the threads and you can snip the the threads far enough away from the byssal to release the clam. Gently rocking the clam back and forth can sometimes cause them to let go too. I have heard of a piece of ice being placed near the foot to get a clam to release, but I have never used that method.
 
dwarf angels hate clams IME - constantly nipping at them most of the time will cause that sort of mantle retreating. FW dip is not realy such a big deal for a failry healthy clam IMO but generally its done at such time as clam is really weakened already. If you think somethings's irritating the guys then do it FAST rather than wait till they cant handle the FW. Better chance of recovery. Getting 'em off the rocks is the hard part - brand new razor blade as far away from teh shell as possible - really spend some time & make sure that you're only cutting thru the white threads (& expect your clam to toss the rest of the bundle in a few days after it realize it's been cut free).

When youre done with the procedures - you cna put an empty half shell under for them to attach to so that you can always move them later on.
 
Croceas can handle current. They may have some predation in your tank. Croceas can also handle alot of light. Try moving them higher. Also check for stray voltage in your system-clams don't like it either.
Adam
 
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