Hitchhiker baby clam on a snail!!

D

dufferdan

New member
Last Sunday I went to my LFS and bought some Trochus snails. I also needed some empty shells for my hermit crabs which they gave me for free. The shells were from various types of snails. I noticed that one looked kind of deformed, it had an odd lump on it. I didn't care because they were just for hermit crabs.

Anyway, a day or so later I noticed that one of the shells was moving, it was the deformed one, and it wasn't because a crab moved in. Bonus! free snail! I'm not sure what kind of snail it is though, its kinda like a Nass but its not a Nass.

Continuing on... today I'm looking at my tank and see this snail with the lump. It's clos to the glass so I can see it better. Hey, that lump looks like a clam!! It has the zig-zap mouth, and its slightly open!! Then one of my Nass snails glides by (they all come out after I feed the tank) and the mouth closes. The clam is alive!

I think this is really neat! I never found any cool hitchhikers when I got my liverock so I felt kinda jipped.

So... I need help with I.D. what is it? and with how I can take care of it. Is it going to be OK on the back of a snail? Should I kill the snail so that I can keep it in one spot and upright? The clam is about the size of my baby finger tip.

I have a pic I will try and post it.

Cheers
 
Please post a clear close up. I would kill the snail so the clam can be oriented to the light. If not the snail may knock off in a back corner and then so will your clam. Freed
 
Picture of baby clam piggybacking snail

Picture of baby clam piggybacking snail

Had to figure out how to post a picture. hope this works
 
It looks like the clam may be of the Tridacnid type because of the scutes on the shell opening. Could be wrong but looks like the typical maxima or crocea shell. Freed
 
I decided to kill the snail and try and keep the clam. The snail is the kind that will sometimes bury in the sand, so if the clam needs light it wouldn't stand a chance.
I have never had a clam, let alone a baby. How fast do they grow?
Any, suggestions on how to best care for it would be appreciated.
 
dufferdan said:
I decided to kill the snail and try and keep the clam. The snail is the kind that will sometimes bury in the sand, so if the clam needs light it wouldn't stand a chance.
I have never had a clam, let alone a baby. How fast do they grow?
Any, suggestions on how to best care for it would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Your clam does not need light and will likely not live long in your tank. Don't kill your snail. Vast majority of clams do not require light except the Tridacna sp. clams. Just leave them along. IMO, if it survide this long on the shell of the snail (from larves settlement until this size, then it means that it does not require light.
Minh
 
If it is a Tridacna species it will not need light for the first 2-3 inches of its life. Will need to be fed phytoplankton or similar I believe. After the first 2-3 inches it will then need light to survive. Please ask around to see exactly what type of food you should feed it for the first 2-3 inches of its life and exactly how to feed it as well. Freed
 
Please post a more close up picture of the shells and one of the mantle if it opens up for you. Thanks, Freed
 
Freed said:
If it is a Tridacna species it will not need light for the first 2-3 inches of its life. ....
. Freed
Click to expand...
This is not true. Light supplies most but not all their reqirement. They need more suplemental feeding when they are younger, but they always require light.
Minh
 
Last edited:
I need help posting photo's. I lose too much detail after I resize the photo inorder to meet the limitation set for posting photos by the forum.
?
 
I can't seem it get a closeup detailed photo the right size for posting.
I can see with a magnifying glass that the mantle has tiny tiny spots, maybe green. very hard to see clearly with the lense I have.
I need a photo posting lesson. Or I can email a photo to someone who can post it properly. The file sizes of the photos range from 730kb to 900kb.
 
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