Maxima help,,, picture included

samz

New member
I have a 5 maxima's and 2 squamosa's in my 60 gallon reef and they all seem to loose their brilliant colors after a few weeks. I have a 250w Giesemann and 30w Actinic each on for 10 hours/day. The water tests out perfect and I feed DT's every day. I use the GARF method for supplementation adding Seachem products (Reef Builder, Reef Plus, Reef Calcium, Reef Complete and Lugol's iodine. Salinity is ~1.024.
Pictures are attached with the difference in color from day 1 to day 21. Please let me know if you can help me correct this problem. The other coral (Leathers, frogspawn, acropora, mushrooms. etc.) are all doing fine.
 
Picture of maxima on day 1, sorry

Picture of maxima on day 1, sorry

I did not include the picture from day 1. Here you go.
 
Whats your ca. and alk? Whats the distance from the clam to the light? Did you get all 5 clams from the same place?
Jeff
 
I will check the ca and alk tonight. Last time it was checked, 2 weeks ago they were right on the money. As for the distance from the light, the Halide is 10 in. from the surface of the water and the clam was originally 5-6 in. from the top of the water. I have since moved the clam to the substrate which is over 20 in. deep. Do you think that it was getting too much light?
 
Personally I would cease the "GARF method of supplementation", and bring your specific gravity up to ~1.026. For maintaining calcium and alkalinity levels kalkwasser is the most inexpensive, but any of the two part additives are probably the easiest.

Are there any snails (Pyramedelline) bothering the clam? Check at night for these parasitic snails as they are nocturnal.
 
Jim-
Thanks for the advice. Is it o.k. to switch supplements mid-stream? Should I slowly aclimate the Kalkwasser or just jump into it?
Also, do you think that the supplements and salinity would discolor a clam like this?
 
Without knowing your actual routine it would be hard to say for sure. But it could be you're overdosing Lugol's. Of course it could be something else you may (or may not) be doing.

If you've never used kalkwasser before, I would suggest reading up on the subject before attempting. If you go two part additive, you should follow the directions carefully, and test for Ca and alk regularly (every other day perhaps?) until you find your optimum doseage. BTW, what exactly are you calcium and alkalinity levels? Low levels could be the problem as well.
 
Jim-
My levels are as follow:
ca = 480
alk = 13
nitrogen = less that 12.5
amonia = NH3 and NH4 = 0
pH = 8.1

thoughts??
 
Jeff-
When I move them closer to the light, they get worse. The wierd thing is,, I thought that they would not expand as much if the light was to intense. When I move them closer, they expand the same as if they were on the substrate but loose color rapidly.

Could it be that my skimmer is pulling too many nutrients from the water and they are not getting enough to eat? I feed DT's every day.
 
Samz,
Well your numbers certainly look fine (assuming alkalinity is 13Ã"šÃ‚° dKH and not mEq/L!). :D I honestly am at a loss here. No clue as to why your clams are declining. How much DT's are you feeding? Perhaps too much seeing that it's a daily dose? Note that I'm grasping at straws here. Also you mention losing coloration when moved closer to the light. Have you tried the opposite? Wait..."I have a 250w Giesemann". Aren't these HQI (double ended?)? Is there a UV shield in place?

Just some ramblings at this point. :(
 
I have moved them lower in the tank and the coloration improves slightly. Also. I do have a glass shield on the Giesemann 250 (it is the double sided bulb). Do you thinnk that a water change or adding carbon would help?
 
Samz,
From my past experience, it seems that the clams are much happier WITHOUT dosing any supplements (with the exception of maintaining calicum and alk). I spend so much money thinking that adding supplements would be beneficial. I highly doubt it. Back then, I use to dose trace elements into my tank. I followed their dosage and I know that the water quality was worsen. First, my shrimp would shed its shell twice a month (indication of toxic environment). Then my clams would lose its coloration and some died... I think they were suffering from some kind of metal poisoning. These days, I only dose bionic 2 part additive and also some water change once every 2 weeks...Corals and clams look a lot better this way...Good luck!
 
Yes, DT is definitely fine! I would stay away from elemental additives (ie, Iodine, Magnesium, any metals...etc)...:)
 
JEMichael IV
I replaced the bulbs 2 months ago. As for an update on the clams, I have been speaking with a clam distributor here in TX named Jim Norris (itanku.com) and he suggested that I was adding too much Lugols. I discontinued the Lugols and the colors on the clams are better than ever. I think that he solved this problem.

He also has a great selection of clams to purchase online. His prices are incredible and clams are out of this world. I posted pics of a few of them on a different thread titled "pics of new clams"
 
samz said:
As for an update on the clams, I have been speaking with a clam distributor here in TX named Jim Norris (itanku.com) and he suggested that I was adding too much Lugols. I discontinued the Lugols and the colors on the clams are better than ever. I think that he solved this problem.

Hmm...where have I seen this before? :D Congrats on solving your clam problem.
 
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