Omar H
New member
Very unfortunate but true. A couple of weeks ago I started noticing one clam not fully opening. Since I had PM about a year ago I thought it had come back. And then yesterday I saw another clam showing stress signs over its mantle. Yikes! upon closely monitoring, the culprit revealed itself very soon. The Kole tang. Very unfortunate because I really like this fish and was particularly attached to this particular one (for reasons beyond the scope of this post).
I've said this in the past, but need to mention it again. The Flame Angel is the only reason for getting into SW and T. clams the only reason why I got into reefs. Since I only have one tank, I had to choose between the fish or the clams. So far clams have been my first choice and commitment. Having said that, I have restrained myself from getting a Flame Angel and have also in the past taken back some fish because of mantle nipping (a foxface).
Well, as it turned out, the Kole was not only biting at the clams´mantles, but also going after coral polyps. Aberrant behavior? Not really. I've had this fish for more than 2 years and in this time it grew considerably. My theory in this regard (and I also include the foxface for this thought) is that as the fish grew, the tank was not able to supplement its needs in terms of constant foraging, so it turned to the next feasible food item it could find: coral and clam slime. This behavior was not going to change in the present tank conditions, even if supplemented with macroalgae or nori (wich it may not eat at all as this fish eats cyanobacteria, no macroalgae). Therefore, "looking for options" was out of the question, I doubt it that a permanent solution could be found, specially in time to prevent serious damage to my clams.
The Kole was taking out today and taken to the store. To add insult to the aggravation, the fish did not make it alive to the fish store!:mad2: I mean, after two years of a being a very active and healthy animal, I decide to take it to the LFS and manage to kill it in the process! I really felt bad today. At least, the clams have shown immediate improvement...
Remaining fish in the tank are 1 blue tang, 6 chromis viridis and 1 nice, fat, mean six line wrasse.
While I had contemplated getting a third tang to the tank, now I will only keep the blue tang and that's it.
I guess what's needed is come up with a full list of clam safe fish!
Thanks for "listenning"
Omar :strooper:
I've said this in the past, but need to mention it again. The Flame Angel is the only reason for getting into SW and T. clams the only reason why I got into reefs. Since I only have one tank, I had to choose between the fish or the clams. So far clams have been my first choice and commitment. Having said that, I have restrained myself from getting a Flame Angel and have also in the past taken back some fish because of mantle nipping (a foxface).
Well, as it turned out, the Kole was not only biting at the clams´mantles, but also going after coral polyps. Aberrant behavior? Not really. I've had this fish for more than 2 years and in this time it grew considerably. My theory in this regard (and I also include the foxface for this thought) is that as the fish grew, the tank was not able to supplement its needs in terms of constant foraging, so it turned to the next feasible food item it could find: coral and clam slime. This behavior was not going to change in the present tank conditions, even if supplemented with macroalgae or nori (wich it may not eat at all as this fish eats cyanobacteria, no macroalgae). Therefore, "looking for options" was out of the question, I doubt it that a permanent solution could be found, specially in time to prevent serious damage to my clams.
The Kole was taking out today and taken to the store. To add insult to the aggravation, the fish did not make it alive to the fish store!:mad2: I mean, after two years of a being a very active and healthy animal, I decide to take it to the LFS and manage to kill it in the process! I really felt bad today. At least, the clams have shown immediate improvement...
Remaining fish in the tank are 1 blue tang, 6 chromis viridis and 1 nice, fat, mean six line wrasse.
While I had contemplated getting a third tang to the tank, now I will only keep the blue tang and that's it.
I guess what's needed is come up with a full list of clam safe fish!
Thanks for "listenning"
Omar :strooper:
