is my clam in trouble?

[gavin123]

ive had this clam for about 3 months and all of a sudden it detached from it's rock and i ended up never really finding a new place for it. but now it looks like it's in trouble. what do you guys think

 

[natsak1]

Looks like a pinched mantle, but I'm no expert on clams. You may want to check out this link

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/jf/index.php

 

[jmaneyapanda]

That clam is starting a symptom known as "gaping". Unfortunately, once it gets to this point, it is hard to reverse. It is caused by a great number of problems, so it would be hard for us to pinpoint.

 

[gavin123]

ok thank you.

gavin

 

[gsengel]

You should try posting on clamsdirect.com -- I realize you probably didn't buy your clam from them, but Barry's folks are really helpful. (Plus, you may be in the market for a new clam really soon -- they are the best.)

Try to improve you water parameters gently, and keep the tank as stable as possible. You can also feed a bit of phyto (not directly on the clam), but that will add nutrients to the tank so it's a bit of a gamble if you are having water issues.

 

[Vincerama2]

How big is the clam? I heard that clams under 1 inch or so survive more off of phytoplankton than photosynthesis. (To small to have enough surface area for xoozanthelae to provide all they nutrition?)

V

 

[rcypert]

dude what are you feeding that poor guy. I worked at a lfs for a little bit and that looks like a starvin marvin to me.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

rcypert

AS I posted in the other thread- purposeful feeding is not necessary. Most tanks will produce enough particluate for the clam to grow without feeding.

 

[gavin123]

the clam was like 2 inches fully open and i bought it a 1.5 inches. i kept it for quite a while, i think it died from moving it around too much.

 

[Sk8r]

I just had this happen, and reversed it: it turned out I had a lot of phosphate in the system. Water changes will help, whatever your specific cause is. Phosban might help. Skimming like crazy will.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

SK8r- you reversed gaping? Wow, that's quite a feat. Congrats.