I Am Having The Worst Luck With Clams

[RayD]

I have been through tow clams now and have another coming this weekend as a result of a local calm draft.

Everything in my tank does awesome with magnificent colors and great growth. Except clams.

Does it take a few tries until one likes your environment? I've found that to be the case with fish and some corals.

 

[organism]

hmmm, probably not, if you're having trouble keeping clams it may be more to acclimation issues or water parameters. also, if you're getting them from a source that doesn't do careful acclimation, they could be on their way out before you even get them in

 

[RayD]

I'll take my time acclimating this new one. This will be my last clam until my new tank is setup anyway.

I'm hoping water quality is not an issue as I take great care to watch things in the tank.

We'll see how it goes. Thanks for the input.

 

[critterkeeper]

Just curious - are you buying small clams? In general they don't fare nearly as well as larger ones.

If you've been trying small ones, go for a larger derasa and see if that works.

Of course your loses could just be bad luck too...

 

[RayD]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8012365#post8012365 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by critterkeeper
Just curious - are you buying small clams? In general they don't fare nearly as well as larger ones.

If you've been trying small ones, go for a larger derasa and see if that works.

Of course your loses could just be bad luck too...

I just lost a larger Derasa clam that did awesome for about six weeks and then one day it just started going down hill until it died. What I especially hate is it takes them a while to go so you watch them wither away to nothing.

Could very well be bad luck. I agree.

Wish me good luck, a new Crocea is coming this weekend. I'll be very cautious with this one. If this one doesn't make it I'll spare the clam population and give up for a while.

 

[Bebo77]

the best way to keep clams i have found is like this...

when acclimate keep the bag in the water and drip acclimate until bag is full. Test ph to make sure that they are the same. If the same place clam in middle of the tank. If PH is still off dump 1/2 from the bag in the sink and repeat fill again.. do this until PH is the same for the bag and tank


For your tank... keep Ca at 425+
keep ph 8.1/8.2 ish
Keep alk between 7&9
Keep temp stable no more than a 3 degree swing per day.

last make sure the clam gets moderate flow and lots of light where you place it. I have 5 clams in my tank and all are doing very well following that procedure...

 

[RayD]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8012868#post8012868 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bebo77
the best way to keep clams i have found is like this...

when acclimate keep the bag in the water and drip acclimate until bag is full. Test ph to make sure that they are the same. If the same place clam in middle of the tank. If PH is still off dump 1/2 from the bag in the sink and repeat fill again.. do this until PH is the same for the bag and tank


For your tank... keep Ca at 425+
keep ph 8.1/8.2 ish
Keep alk between 7&9
Keep temp stable no more than a 3 degree swing per day.

last make sure the clam gets moderate flow and lots of light where you place it. I have 5 clams in my tank and all are doing very well following that procedure...

Thanks Gabriel. The only issue I may have is finding a well lit spot that has moderate flow. Most of the tank is pretty good flow with a wavemaker changing it up.

But I'll try!! Appreciate the comments.

 

[Bebo77]

i have a "clam rock" on the bottom corner of my tank away from pumps...

clams love it there..

you can see them bottom left.. sorry for the crappy picture

 

[jmaneyapanda]

are sure there are no parasites (pyr snails)? these could specifically target clams.

 

[RayD]

You mean these?

I think we have a winner! Pardon the bad pic but you get the idea. These were all over the foot area of the clam.

I'll be on the lookout for these guys in the future.

THANKS!!

 

[jmaneyapanda]

thats them. these are almost certainly what caused tghe demise, especially if gone unchecked. You might want to look into a helpful fish to ghelp control these (sixline, leopard wrasse, etc)

 

[RayD]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8022272#post8022272 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
thats them. these are almost certainly what caused tghe demise, especially if gone unchecked. You might want to look into a helpful fish to ghelp control these (sixline, leopard wrasse, etc)

I've had the same Six Line Wrasse in the reef for 2 years. He's gotten to be a pretty good size. Problem is that once the snails get under the clam they're out of sight of the Wrasse.

Got my new Crocea today. We'll be taking care of him manually doing every other day visuals and cleanings until the problem is erradicated.

At least I know it wasn't the tank itself.

THANKS EVERYONE!!

 

[jay24k]

You need to check the clam every night after the lights go out and non stop pick em off. IT will take a long time but after awhile they should be gone.

 

[j_chu]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8023189#post8023189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RayMartini
I've had the same Six Line Wrasse in the reef for 2 years. He's gotten to be a pretty good size. Problem is that once the snails get under the clam they're out of sight of the Wrasse.

Got my new Crocea today. We'll be taking care of him manually doing every other day visuals and cleanings until the problem is erradicated.

At least I know it wasn't the tank itself.

THANKS EVERYONE!!

saw in this pic that the crocea is placed in the sand. would this be ok? i read that they need a piece of rock to be anchored on. would they be just fine on the sand? thanks!

sorry for hijacking a bit on the thread...wanna learn more before my purchase..thanks!

 

[RayD]

I have a good sized piece of rock buried about 1/2" in the sand that the Crocea is happily attached to. So much so that it's impossible to take it off the rock to look underneath for snails.