help opinion on deresa

[TerraC]

I've had my deresa for over a year. found him today looking slightly skew.. any idea what's happened or if there is anything I can do.

i got him to close up for this pic. apologies on quality it's from a camera phone. as you can see one side of his shell is skew to the other.

any advice. will it move back? he's been open fine today and all week. params are as per usual.

 

[skinz78]

can you get a pic of the clam when opened up? It doesn't show much sign of shell growth, what are your lights, cal, alk, and mag?
Also what fish and inverts do you have?

 

[TerraC]

Ca 420, DKH 8, Mg 1380 and lights are 1x 150w Halide 1x T8 Actinic tube.

I have had him for a year, came from a friends tank who also had him for about a year. he's doubled in size in the past 2 years.

I have a Copperband, Flame Angel and Coral Beauty.. Known clam nippers I know but they have NEVER touched this clam.

Other fish: 4x Green Chromis, 1x Mandarin, 2x Clowns, 1x Firefish.

I'll post a pic of him open tomorrow with a better camera.

 

[skinz78]

You need to cut a plastic bottle in half and fill it with small holes for circulation. place the bottle over the clam to shield it. I bet one of the fish is nipping.

 

[TerraC]

i think you might be right. The clam has corrected it's skew and is now level again. it's been open all day today and shows a small nick on the mantle so looks like something has had a nibble.

I'll keep a close eye on things.. bottle trick is a good idea thanks...

 

[ROB2005]

I have a Copperband, Flame Angel and Coral Beauty.. Known clam nippers I know but they have NEVER touched this clam.

They may do it at night when you are asleep or when you are away.

 

[skinz78]

Also they actually know when you are watching and are doing it when you're not. Like children sneeking candy.

 

[scubajsm]

This looks like ligament degeneration. My derasa had this ld and the shell was out of alignment (in the beginning) and would lay on it's side. I tried to prop it up w/o any luck. Mine would sometimes fully expand, and seem to be getting better,but then it would have days were it was shut all day. It also would somewhat retract and respond to light, but it finally died.

 

[TerraC]

any links or any information on ligament degeneration you could post?

clam is certainly behaving oddly. Partially open. Fully open.

I literally sat for 2 hours last night watching the tank from the other side of the room well out of sight and saw no-one go anywhere near. I'll try the bottle trick tonight and leave it on for a few days just to be sure.

 

[scubajsm]

I read it in one of my clam books, I will look it up when I get home. I thought that there was info here on rc that I had also read on it, it was back in Feb. this year when I saw it here on rc.

 

[TerraC]

Hi guys.. quick update.. He's still alive...

tried the bottle trick but he's still looking the same.. Bottle's been over him since 23rd April.. He's still alive, looking sharp and strong as an ox but wont open more than about 20mm. He's about 150mm long.

Heard on another forum clams not liking strontium at high volumes??.. which rang a bell. I had some of this in a cupboard and added some in a mad fit of "why the hell not it's supposed to help corals" a few weeks ago.. :uzi: somebody shoot me!..

I can feel a rather large water change coming along, see if that helps.

forgot to add. SG has crept up to 1.028 too which I need to bring down a bit. NO3 20, NO2 0, CA 420, MG 1380, Temp 77F, PO4 0

 

[Freed]

How tall is your tank? How far away from the top of the tank are your lights? 150 watt might not be penetrating far enough into the tank to get to your clam. Might look like it is but...

 

[TerraC]

tank is 24" tall. halide is about 6" off the water.. Clams been great for a year using this lighting rig?! New BLV 14k bulb installed in February..

 

[TerraC]

did a 30% water change. he's looking a bit better. see how he gets on over the next few days.