Help my with this sick clam
- Thread starter AcroSteve
- Start date
AcroSteve
Make my Funk a P-Funk
I will have two tanks soon, so this could be accomplished. BUT I will only have the two tanks for a short amt of time as I am replacing my existing one with a alarger one. The sump/refuge area will not be changed.
Does this defeat the purpose of dipping them and moving them?
Maybe I need to dip all 5 of the clams at the same time.
Does this defeat the purpose of dipping them and moving them?
Maybe I need to dip all 5 of the clams at the same time.
OrionN
Moved on
IME, this pathogen does not seem to have much of a free living phase. I was able to cure the disease from my system by dipped all my clams, with and without visible disease, at the same time and put them back to the same system. However, if you can set up a completly separate system, I would advice that you do it. It would be a sure way to cure the disease from your tank. Having your two tank share the same sump is not two systems.
Minh
Minh
Reefcherie
Premium Member
Minh Nguyen said:
Minh,
Please describe as fully as you can exactly how you went about dipping all your clams - one at a time for a half hour? All at once? I believe I have this same mystery pathogen in my clam tank. I have 8 clams in there and some still look fine, but 2 are starting to look bad, with another showing beginning signs. I have one clam that I don't think I can take out unless I cut the threads... at first I thought I went with water changes, thinking I surely had an issue that I couldn't test for - now I'm definitely thinking pathogen.
Thanks,
Cheri
OrionN
Moved on
Cheri,
My treatment is very simple. Other people seem to elaborated on the procedure much more now. I did not adjust or test for pH. I do have a container for fresh RO water in my stand for several hours to get the temperature to be the same as tank temperature. This was then confirm with a digital thermometer (any thermometer will do). I just put the clams in this RO water for 1/2 hr, then back into the tank. My clams recovered in 2 days. Once I dipped all my clams at the same time, the infection resolved.
I notice that the infection spread by proximity. It does not spread by water movement. I really did not have any choice in put them in Quarantine tank since I don't have one for clams (not MH lights and methods to keep temperature even).
Carefully cut the thread will not hurt your clam. Good luck
Steve,
It is your call. I am sure if your leave your tank clam free for 2 days, it will be enough. If you can set up two system, this is what I would do.. I just dipped all my clams and return them to the same tank. I did move all my clams prior to dipping to one side of the tank for a week, then after dipping, I put them back on the other side of the tank. I don't think this pathogen have much of a free living phase. They do spread from clams to clams when they are near each other. I am sure they do have a short free living phase because without it, they are not much of a thread to clams in our tank.
The above are only my observations as a reefer trying to save my best clams from this deadly disease. I was not a scientist trying to ID and this pathogen. After extensive search, I did not find any reference or documentation of this problem anywhere at the time.
Minh
My treatment is very simple. Other people seem to elaborated on the procedure much more now. I did not adjust or test for pH. I do have a container for fresh RO water in my stand for several hours to get the temperature to be the same as tank temperature. This was then confirm with a digital thermometer (any thermometer will do). I just put the clams in this RO water for 1/2 hr, then back into the tank. My clams recovered in 2 days. Once I dipped all my clams at the same time, the infection resolved.
I notice that the infection spread by proximity. It does not spread by water movement. I really did not have any choice in put them in Quarantine tank since I don't have one for clams (not MH lights and methods to keep temperature even).
Carefully cut the thread will not hurt your clam. Good luck
Steve,
It is your call. I am sure if your leave your tank clam free for 2 days, it will be enough. If you can set up two system, this is what I would do.. I just dipped all my clams and return them to the same tank. I did move all my clams prior to dipping to one side of the tank for a week, then after dipping, I put them back on the other side of the tank. I don't think this pathogen have much of a free living phase. They do spread from clams to clams when they are near each other. I am sure they do have a short free living phase because without it, they are not much of a thread to clams in our tank.
The above are only my observations as a reefer trying to save my best clams from this deadly disease. I was not a scientist trying to ID and this pathogen. After extensive search, I did not find any reference or documentation of this problem anywhere at the time.
Minh
Reefcherie
Premium Member
Adjusting for pH was one of the things I was wondering about. I could buffer the freshwater to adjust for pH...but wonder if the treatment would be as effective. Is it the salinity difference that kills the pathogen or the combination of that plus the lower pH I wonder? I can fit several of them in my 180, which has appropriate lighting, but I know I can't fit all 8.
Knop's book says that the byssal threads can be cut if done cleanly with a razorblade. That is the only way I'll get one of the clams out to do the freshwater dip. I've never done that before. Minh, do you have any experience doing that?
I hope we aren't seeing a new wave of clam pathogen going around!
Cheri
Knop's book says that the byssal threads can be cut if done cleanly with a razorblade. That is the only way I'll get one of the clams out to do the freshwater dip. I've never done that before. Minh, do you have any experience doing that?
I hope we aren't seeing a new wave of clam pathogen going around!
Cheri
OrionN
Moved on
Cheri,Reef Cherie said:
I would tank the rock out to a place where you can easily see the whole clam (in or out of the water). Just push the clam slowly to one side. You will start to see threads under the clam. You can use a sharp blade or sharp scissors to cut the thread. Becareful not to cut the fleshy part, or the foot of the clam. You can cut all the thread, and the clam would be just fine. He may release the whole bundle a few days after you cut it. It look like a bundle of thread attach to a tendon. You should not cut the tendon, but the clam may release the tendon, and it will be just fine and will grown an other tendon with thread bundle.
Minh
Reefcherie
Premium Member
Thanks for the info Minh. I've got a spare 30-gallon tank filled w/ 10 gallons of RO water heating up for the dip. Unfortunately the clam isn't on a rock. The clam tank is a zero-edge shallow tank that operates like a fountain. There is a covered acrylic section in the center where the water comes back into the tank after flowing over the sides into a trough and funneled into the sump - then pumped back up. Without thinking how fast a clam can attach, I made the mistake of putting it on top of the center acrylic piece because it "looked nice" there - without putting a shell or piece of rock under it. It must have loved the feel of the hard surface because it attached within a day or two at most! I should be able to gently rock the clam to the side a little and bring a razor blade right along the acrylic to cut the threads. When he goes back there, he'll definitely be on something so he can't reattach to the acrylic!!
Wish me luck!
Cheri
Wish me luck!
Cheri
Reefcherie
Premium Member
AcroSteve,
I hope you don't feel I'm hijacking your thread, but since I believe you and I are fighting the same battle, I jumped in. I did the deed - 8 clams had a freshwater dip at the same time for 30 minutes. They all closed up, but now, 30 minutes after returning them to the tank, all are at least opening a little. That was the scariest thing I think I've done since I got into this hobby nearly three years ago!
I'm crossing my fingers and toes!
Cheri
I hope you don't feel I'm hijacking your thread, but since I believe you and I are fighting the same battle, I jumped in. I did the deed - 8 clams had a freshwater dip at the same time for 30 minutes. They all closed up, but now, 30 minutes after returning them to the tank, all are at least opening a little. That was the scariest thing I think I've done since I got into this hobby nearly three years ago!
I'm crossing my fingers and toes!
Cheri
Reefcherie
Premium Member
Today, they look terrific w/ the exception of the squamosa which still is showing a little less mantle than before, but it isn't gaping at all. The little teardrop now looks like a survivor (looked practically dead before) and the other that was pinching badly now looks perfect! I don't know if this will last, but I'm sold on the process!
Cheri
Cheri
AcroSteve
Make my Funk a P-Funk
So you made no adjustment to the ph of the ro/di water?
My ro/di has signifacantly higher ph than my tank. Tank is usually around 8.3.
In the past, I have adjusted it down with vinegar. But it only takes a partial drop and is a hastle to get it right.
It would be much easier to not adjust it and only adjust the water temp like Mihn said
My ro/di has signifacantly higher ph than my tank. Tank is usually around 8.3.
In the past, I have adjusted it down with vinegar. But it only takes a partial drop and is a hastle to get it right.
It would be much easier to not adjust it and only adjust the water temp like Mihn said
Reefcherie
Premium Member
My RO water is closer to 7.0, so we used the appropriate amount of marine buffer in the 10-gallons of water and put in a powerhead to be sure it was well circulated. I just felt better not shocking it with more freshwater and much lower pH (the clam tank is rock steady at 8.1=8.4) at the same time. Was it necessary? I have no idea. It just seemed like a good idea to me.
Cheri
Cheri
