Maxima Clam Disease?

Pgreco

New member
Ok, SO i really need some help here. I have had this clam for about 4 months in my 15 gallon nano uner 165W of PC light. He was doing fine until a week ago when it started to pinch on one particular side. I checked the shell for snails and irritants and found nothing. Also all my water parameters are in check. HEre are some pics. Any advice is gr8tly appreciated.
 
i dont know so much about the diagnosis of the clam...but the fuzzy stuff is the clams "foot" per se. what it uses to attach to the rocks to hold it in place.
 
Ron Popeil said:
i dont know so much about the diagnosis of the clam...but the fuzzy stuff is the clams "foot" per se. what it uses to attach to the rocks to hold it in place.

No the foot of a clam is neither abyssal gland, or the threads it produces.
 
yes, youre right...thats...what i meant. the foot is what clams dig with in the sand right? in the pictures above, the white mass are the byssal strands that the clam attaches itself to the rocks with...

apologies for the mistake.
 
The mysterious clam disease usually strikes much faster than 4 months.. usually 1 - 1.5 months. But your clam does look as though its in decline, especially if this has been going on for a week. What is your lighting? Especially if your clam is 3" or smaller you might want to consider placing the clam in a large bowl or 1 gal container with tank water and feeding phytoplankton for about 20 minutes. The water should go from greenish to clear in that time.
 
I have him under 165W of PC. I also feed DT's every other day. Looks like he's not gonna make it. I found him on his side this morning. I'll try feeding him in a bowl, maybe that will help.
 
I don't think bowl feeding can make up for that much lack of light. PCs don't punch their PAR through the water like a MH can, and most often just can't cut it for a Maxima. Someone did some experimenting and found that maximas can often do well, but have to be no more than 3 inches from the bulb! It doesn't look like yours is anywhere close to that.

Sorry your clam is not doing well. I beg of you to upgrade to a cheap (perhaps used) MH setup before getting another maxima or a crocea. I put a 175 watt Ushio and 55w Actinic PC on my 15 for $150 when it was all said and done!
 
I would have to agree in saying that the lighting is not enough for the clam. Get a MH

I won't sell clams to customers unless they have a MH.

Feeding is also important.
I feed my clams once a day with 1-2 capfulls of DT's in my 32gallon tank.

I just started my pytoplankton culture and when it is ready I plan to step up feeding of pytoplankton
1/8 to a 1/4 cup a day.

Alex
 
Pgrec, hi there, it appears as if your clam is suffering from lack of light and/or general poor conditions and/or previous stressors.

As newkie siad, a diseased clam would die rapidly, in a matter of days to a month or so Max. You can rest assured that your clam is not suffering from "the" infamous clam infection.
 
Thanks for the input. Would it be possible to save the clam at this point if I put him higher up in the water column? All my water conditions check out, that is ALK, CAL, PH etc.
 
Pgreco said:
Would it be possible to save the clam at this point if I put him higher up in the water column?

The only potential problem w/ moving the clam up on the rock work is securing the clam. Try to find a nice grove in the rock work in which the bottom of the clam will fit comfortably in. Hopefully the extra light intensity at the top may stimulate recovery. Good luck.
 
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