Hi everyone,
This is a long post... I am sorry about that, but I want to be very detailed so you guys can get as much info as possible
I am at a loss as to what is happening with my clams. Here are the details:
I had 30 clams in my 360g mixed reeftank. Some I have had for 2 years. I had 15 maximas, 1 squamosa and 14 croceas...as of today I have lost 3 croceas in the past month and a half. There are 2 more that look to be on there way out-all croceas.
Observations:
2 large croceas begin to look faded about 5 weeks ago...not brown, but a uniform bleaching of the mantle...I can see at times zooxanthellae strands leaving the clam. As well, 3 smaller croceas are showing the bleaching. One of the smaller crocea died about 3.5 weeks ago, the largest crocea died a week ago (it looked pitiful for weeks) and now my second largest crocea will probably not make it through the night. As well, the 2 other small croceas look terrible. the first large crocea to die was located up on the rockwork about 11 inches directly under the MH
I have to admit that with the smaller croceas that bleached there may have been some mantle shading because the clams were so close together... but the larger ones were in the highest lighting possible
Once the clams start to bleach it takes about 1-2 weeks for a noticeable reduction in mantle extension. The clam almost appears to get a sunken in look to it and the mantle conforms to the shape tof the shell (instead of how "fluffy" they usually look).
I have speculated as to whether or not this is the infamous clam disease...I have dealt with this in the past...the symptoms are not the same (pinching)...and I did not encounter bleaching when I dealth with the "disease", besides maximas appeared to be more prone to it.
None of my maximas have shown any symptoms. My huge squamosa is doing great as well. I have noticed a slight reduction in growth all the way around...but most clams are still growing nicely.
All clams until about 6 weeks ago showed great growth rates and excellent color.
Here are some details about the system:
360g
96" long * 24" top to bottom * 36" front to back
4 * 400watt radiums on HQI and 2 * 250 watt DE 20K (photoperiod of 8 hours)-I am increasing this...but this has always worked in the past...bulbs are 5 months old
ETSS 2500 gemini
2 calcium reactors
Mixed sps, clam, lps, few soft
Fish:
2 tangs, 6 anthias, 8 clowns, 4 wrasses, 3 damsels, 4 chromis fed once every 2 days
Clams are found on the sandbed and some on the rockwork. I place them so they are right under the reflector
Parameters:
Ca: 400ppm
Alk: 9 dkH
Temp: 79
Sal: 1.025
Phosphates: undetectable
Nitrates: 0-0.2 ppm, mostly at zero though...could just be my own errors in testing
In an effort to trace the etiology of the problems I have written out a list of things that have changed in the past 2 months:
1. gradual removal of dsb (it has cemented up and although water tests for phosphate and nitrate read zero, there must be some organic phosphate stored up in the bed)....from 4-5 " to 2" I am running ROWAPHOS to collect any possible phosphate liberation while disturbing the sand bed....in terms of clams, doing this doesn't concern me as I will assume that my acros would show signs of dscomfort much quicker than the clams would..and all my acros are fine, in fact they look better than they have in the past 8 months
2. more frequent water changes -while siphoning the DSB...about 10% twice a week for 2 months
3. skimmer running more efficiently...the bioballs were blocked with carbon and there was a decreased amount of foam production about 3 months ago
4. I have always used an acrylic shield over my reflectors. However, we changed the extruded material for cast as it was bowing from the heat. The old reflectors had quite a bit of salt creep...this was done a month or so ago...my reflectors are similar to the lumenarc ones....my hubby swears that the light transmission rates on the shields I use now are rated at 92% and he even forwarded me links to prove it...could the links be wrong? I have seen zero color loss on my acros.
A nutrient deficiency has occurred to me, and a few other people I have asked think that this might be the problem...but how the heck could I have cyano and some hair on my rocks but have a nutirent deficiency? It is also said that the algae consumes the nutrients before it even gets a chance to get into the water column, and that cyano can also fixate nitrogen from the air...
I have never fed my clams. The last new clam was added about 4 months ago...it looks fine
Could this be a lack of light or improper spectrum? I really am stumped with this explanation as that doesn't explain how my clams have done so well up until now and I have always used radiums for the past year
Does anyone have any input that they could offer? I am really sad to see clams that I have had for so long in a state such as this
Thank-you for taking the time to read this ,
J
This is a long post... I am sorry about that, but I want to be very detailed so you guys can get as much info as possible
I am at a loss as to what is happening with my clams. Here are the details:
I had 30 clams in my 360g mixed reeftank. Some I have had for 2 years. I had 15 maximas, 1 squamosa and 14 croceas...as of today I have lost 3 croceas in the past month and a half. There are 2 more that look to be on there way out-all croceas.
Observations:
2 large croceas begin to look faded about 5 weeks ago...not brown, but a uniform bleaching of the mantle...I can see at times zooxanthellae strands leaving the clam. As well, 3 smaller croceas are showing the bleaching. One of the smaller crocea died about 3.5 weeks ago, the largest crocea died a week ago (it looked pitiful for weeks) and now my second largest crocea will probably not make it through the night. As well, the 2 other small croceas look terrible. the first large crocea to die was located up on the rockwork about 11 inches directly under the MH
I have to admit that with the smaller croceas that bleached there may have been some mantle shading because the clams were so close together... but the larger ones were in the highest lighting possible
Once the clams start to bleach it takes about 1-2 weeks for a noticeable reduction in mantle extension. The clam almost appears to get a sunken in look to it and the mantle conforms to the shape tof the shell (instead of how "fluffy" they usually look).
I have speculated as to whether or not this is the infamous clam disease...I have dealt with this in the past...the symptoms are not the same (pinching)...and I did not encounter bleaching when I dealth with the "disease", besides maximas appeared to be more prone to it.
None of my maximas have shown any symptoms. My huge squamosa is doing great as well. I have noticed a slight reduction in growth all the way around...but most clams are still growing nicely.
All clams until about 6 weeks ago showed great growth rates and excellent color.
Here are some details about the system:
360g
96" long * 24" top to bottom * 36" front to back
4 * 400watt radiums on HQI and 2 * 250 watt DE 20K (photoperiod of 8 hours)-I am increasing this...but this has always worked in the past...bulbs are 5 months old
ETSS 2500 gemini
2 calcium reactors
Mixed sps, clam, lps, few soft
Fish:
2 tangs, 6 anthias, 8 clowns, 4 wrasses, 3 damsels, 4 chromis fed once every 2 days
Clams are found on the sandbed and some on the rockwork. I place them so they are right under the reflector
Parameters:
Ca: 400ppm
Alk: 9 dkH
Temp: 79
Sal: 1.025
Phosphates: undetectable
Nitrates: 0-0.2 ppm, mostly at zero though...could just be my own errors in testing
In an effort to trace the etiology of the problems I have written out a list of things that have changed in the past 2 months:
1. gradual removal of dsb (it has cemented up and although water tests for phosphate and nitrate read zero, there must be some organic phosphate stored up in the bed)....from 4-5 " to 2" I am running ROWAPHOS to collect any possible phosphate liberation while disturbing the sand bed....in terms of clams, doing this doesn't concern me as I will assume that my acros would show signs of dscomfort much quicker than the clams would..and all my acros are fine, in fact they look better than they have in the past 8 months
2. more frequent water changes -while siphoning the DSB...about 10% twice a week for 2 months
3. skimmer running more efficiently...the bioballs were blocked with carbon and there was a decreased amount of foam production about 3 months ago
4. I have always used an acrylic shield over my reflectors. However, we changed the extruded material for cast as it was bowing from the heat. The old reflectors had quite a bit of salt creep...this was done a month or so ago...my reflectors are similar to the lumenarc ones....my hubby swears that the light transmission rates on the shields I use now are rated at 92% and he even forwarded me links to prove it...could the links be wrong? I have seen zero color loss on my acros.
A nutrient deficiency has occurred to me, and a few other people I have asked think that this might be the problem...but how the heck could I have cyano and some hair on my rocks but have a nutirent deficiency? It is also said that the algae consumes the nutrients before it even gets a chance to get into the water column, and that cyano can also fixate nitrogen from the air...
I have never fed my clams. The last new clam was added about 4 months ago...it looks fine
Could this be a lack of light or improper spectrum? I really am stumped with this explanation as that doesn't explain how my clams have done so well up until now and I have always used radiums for the past year
Does anyone have any input that they could offer? I am really sad to see clams that I have had for so long in a state such as this
Thank-you for taking the time to read this ,
J
