Is it ever ok for a crocea to keep its mantle pulled inside the shell for extended periods? I got my 3 inch crocea two days ago. Was doing ok, no sign of PM. Yesterday I fed the tank with cyclops, DT's mysis and dropped some over the clam too. Today, it is gaping with a withdrawn mantle.
Is my clam dying?
- Thread starter Neurotech
- Start date
smithcreek
New member
Clams don't eat anything the size of cyclop-eeze much less the mysis. You may have dropped some in the clams in-current syphon and ticked him off or injured him. Just leave it and see what happens in the next couple days.
smithcreek
New member
I don't know if you'd call it "research" or more just the experience of the clam experts, but most agree that feeding is not necessary, even for small clams. I guess "research" shows that clams can make enough energy just using photosythesis, and experience has shown they don't need to be fed. Even with the old guidlines of feeding small clams yours would be way past the cutoff.
If you do want to feed, the best is phytoplankton like Phyto-Feast or DT's Phyto. I feed my whole tank phyto once or twice a week, so the clams are getting some anyway. If you are interested in learning a lot about clams get James Fatheree's Book "Giant Clams in the Sea and in the Aqaurium." A pretty quick read, great pics, and answers just about any clam question you can imagine.
How is the clam looking today?
If you do want to feed, the best is phytoplankton like Phyto-Feast or DT's Phyto. I feed my whole tank phyto once or twice a week, so the clams are getting some anyway. If you are interested in learning a lot about clams get James Fatheree's Book "Giant Clams in the Sea and in the Aqaurium." A pretty quick read, great pics, and answers just about any clam question you can imagine.
How is the clam looking today?
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jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
Well said. A little point I'd like to stress is that feeding a clam will not compensate for lack of light. Without the strong light, and energy produced from such, the clam will perish, no matter how much you feed it.
Rovert
Premium Member
Neuro, this seems to be a week of mysterious clam deaths. I just lost two Maximas over the past week, myself.
I'm sorry to hear you've lost your little guy. The reason it's gone is that the other animals in your tank like bristleworms and the hermit crabs did their jobs as detritivores and consumed the remains. I don't believe they were the cause, just the result.
I'd strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with the animal's needs. Even just a little research would tell you that a clam won't eat any food visible by the human eye, and water paramaters are important, too.
Though opinions of the necessity of feeding vary, I believe that the clam was engineered by nature to be a filter feeder, so that it won't hurt to provide them with the food they need.
In any event, do read up a bit more on clams. They're fascinating critters and it'll help you avoid another disappointment in the future. Please feel free to ask here, too, if we can help.
I'm sorry to hear you've lost your little guy. The reason it's gone is that the other animals in your tank like bristleworms and the hermit crabs did their jobs as detritivores and consumed the remains. I don't believe they were the cause, just the result.
I'd strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with the animal's needs. Even just a little research would tell you that a clam won't eat any food visible by the human eye, and water paramaters are important, too.
Though opinions of the necessity of feeding vary, I believe that the clam was engineered by nature to be a filter feeder, so that it won't hurt to provide them with the food they need.
In any event, do read up a bit more on clams. They're fascinating critters and it'll help you avoid another disappointment in the future. Please feel free to ask here, too, if we can help.
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smithcreek
New member
Sorry to hear, that sucks. It wasn't the hermits. Probably wasn't the feeding. Unless you actually squirted a bunch of food directly in his incurrent syphon I think he would have just expelled anything he didn't want. If your tank has been up a while the parameters should be good enough that it wouldn't die in just a few days. Have you looked at pics of pinched mantle disease? Was it showing any signs when you first bought it? Was it attached to anything at the store that they had to remove it from and might have injured it? Sometimes it's just a mystery.
