My clams are hurting

[burton14e7]

They've been in my tank for almost a year and the past couple days they've been closed up and the maxima's frills aren't coming out on one side. chems are gravy....so the culprit is?

1. black clown fish
2. watchman goby
3. rainford goby
4. coral beauty
5. cleaner shrimp

I have a feeling its contestant 4 but contestant 3 is only 3 weeks new to the tank.

 

[rmesola]

cleaner shrimp should be at top of the list

 

[burton14e7]

really, gipetto(cleaner shrimp) is a clam killer?

 

[brianlena2000]

Assuming it is the result of one of those animals I would suspect the coral beauty.

Cleaner shrimp are definitely not clam killers (though they will happily partake in the remains of an already dead one).

 

[mbbuna]

the rainsford goby should be out of the question,IMO that's not the one. ur coral beauty it's a good chance,ur shrimp could be if it hungry.

 

[burton14e7]

Hmm...how to catch the coral beauty..... He's toast. I have a 20 gallon curing rock for my room mates 60....sounds like a good way to test the water.

 

[mbbuna]

ouch ! ive had a coral for 3 years and he was booted from the clam tank about 2 month's after he was put in for niping, but thats just who they are. be nice or u'll come back as a fish

 

[Peabody]

It's gotta be the coral beauty. Even the most astute tank watcher will miss the nipping. It takes 2 or 3 nips a day (less than a second of total time) to scare a clam from opening.

 

[rmesola]

IMO people keep saying that cleaner shrimp only attack clams when they're sick... that's not true...

They will routinely pick on the clam at night if they have the taste for it... that's my experience... I see it happen all the time... I just keep my tank well fed so the shrimp doesn't bother the clam...

that said, the shrimp is no clam killer just a pain in the clam's B... and i think the coral beauty is the culprit... but doesn't mean the cleaner has nothing to do with it... (it's a conspiracy) LOL

 

[burton14e7]

I have been feeding less because of red sand......I've seen my shrimp on the SPS too and he steals food off of the zoo's too....what is a good replacement for a cleaner shrimp to keep things clean