new blue maxima not looking good

wtrbug

New member
I've had this clam since Tuesday. It just isn't opening up. I've looked up PM and I'm getting worried. Should I give it more time or fresh water dip it? Other then Chem pure in the back of my red sea 130 I don't have a good way to run carbon. Suggestions please.
 
Here's a picture. Hope this works.
 

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What are you running for lights? I cant tell is the mouth open far? At night look very close to the mantel about an hour after the lights go out. There is a pest that can bother it. "Cant think of the name of it right now" Has it opened anymore then that since you got it? Is it open in the morning? It might be PM but check the other things first.
 
thank you for your response. I'm running steve's leds 14000k full spectrum. I have a dresa next to it that is doing great. The dresa has been in my tank for 3 months or so. The maxima looks the same really no change since Tuesday . At night it closes up more just like the dresa. The maxima pulls it's right side in anytime I walk past the tank so it seems very responsive. It's left side is more retracted and less responsive. Yes that is it's mouth. I'm not sure I'd say it's gaping. But it very well could be.
 
I lost many clams in the past not knowing the main issue but one thing that made a big difference for me was using GFO. Make sure to use it and test for high phosphates.
 
Check it tonight for Pyramidellid snails. after the lights go out for about an hour. Do a google search on them so you know what your looking for. Did you light aclimate this clam. Sometimes they get used to not having much light then when they get good strong light they pull the mantle in. If no pests then tomorrow if he doesnt look some better then yes I would do a fresh water dip. If you have some place in the shade you might try moving him there now just to see if he opens more.
 
victorvie. I am not sure where you got that info from but I would disagree. Clams like some P04 and removing all of it is not good. Most reefers that keep lots of clams dont run GFO for that reason. But yes you dont want high P04. Dersas are the most sturdy of all the clams so the fact that your dersa is doing well is not saying that a maxima is going to like the same parms. What are your parameters?
 
After looking closer at the pic PM disease normally shows the lip rolled toward the center. Yours is not!
Some info that may help you. If you really think its PM then try this

Over the years, reef enthusiasts have learned the common misconception that the only way to treat PMD is with a twenty min fresh water dip. This is not true and more often than not you will cause more harm than good. A fresh water dip is extremely stressful and should only be done as a last resort.

My first step to treating PM is try and see what is triggering it and then remove the trigger. IE: if you have GFO, a nipping fish, stinging coral, etc remove it ASAP. Once that has been done I highly recommend running as much carbon as you are able to and push as much flow through it as you can. Once carbon is running, I change mine out every two days during the first week of treatment. After that, I change it every four days till the PM is no longer present. If running carbon doesn't make a change in appearance of the clam in one weeks time then I recommend doing a twenty min fresh water dip.

When I do a fresh water dip, all I do is take a bowl full of new RO/DI water, float it in the tank for ten to twenty minutes to equalize the temperature. Once the temperature is the same as the display tank's water, I place the clam fully submerged in the bowl of fresh water. Over the next fifteen to twenty minutes, I gently use a turkey baster and blow the water all over the clam to ensure a good washing of fresh water. Once done, I place the clam back into the display tank in the lowest stress location I can find.

I hope you have found this article helpful and if you have any further questions, please post them up and I and others will help where we can.
 
Good call on the lights. I'll turn them down a little. Tonight I'll check it out after dark. I do a 10 gallon water change every 7 days using red sea pro coral salt. I add 20 grams red sea abc+ on day 3 and red sea no po4 1ml per day. I make my own Rodi always 0 on tds meter. My water stays pretty consistent. Thank you so much for your advise
Chem pure elite Purigen I change these two every 60 days.
PH 8.1
KH 9.5 3.4 Meq/L
CA 440
ammonia 0.2 if that
No2 0.05
No3 2 maybe
I use red sea test kits.

Also run a chiller set at 78
 
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I tried. No burp. Should I leave him tilted mouth water in up or siphon water out up? Or level. Just trying to cover everything. Thanks for all the help and advise.
 
Is that torch to the left stinging him? I would wedge him in between a couple of rocks (I just have mine sitting in rocks on my sandbed), discontinue the chemi-pure (heard a lot about it doing things to clams), and move it away from anything away that could be stinging it.

Clams will take awhile to open up fully after being moved into a new tank as a general rule. I have a similar looking Maxima that is still not opened up as fully as it could be. I remember my 12 inch squamosa took months before it got fully happy.

In terms of phosphates and nitrates, I've kept clams in most every type of tank environment and they'll survive, and I doubt it's a problem if you have a clam doing well near it ;)

Oh, and try not to harass it too much, I have a little Maxima that I almost killed trying to get positioned the way I wanted.

Also,

throw a link to this thread on the clam forum, those guys can be a great help!
 
What does the foot look like? Shredded? How did you acclimate it?

I would place it close to your glass for observation. Watch your fish. I had a yellow tang eat a maxima before. As already mentioned, observe for predatory snails. Do you have peppermint shrimp? They could be another pest to clams.

Give it some time and see if it gets better. The more you mess with it the more it will be stressed?

As a last resort you could try a freshwater dip. Clams and most corals are actually well evolved to handle freshwater in the wild when the tide goes out and it's pouring rain. Make sure to match the ph with baking soda.

Unfortunately, once these guys start heading south there's not much you can do.
 
Thanks everyone for your responses and great advise. I moved him away from the torch. My torch was one of my 1st corals and is getting huge but has always been well behaved. I dripped acclimated almost an hour. I do have a peppermint shrimp he's been in there since I fist added my cuc. I was told when I added my frag of birds nest I'd have to take him out. He's been really good though. I have two Clowns, a gamma and a watchman. I'll keep an eye on him. I'll check after lights out and hopefully tomorrow he like his new spot better.
 
I think he's gone. I removed the purgen and Chem pure elite. I ordered rox o.8 carbon hoping I could run that and make a difference. I did fresh water dip him on Sunday 20 minutes ro/di same temp as tank. Looks like none of it has helped. I'm still scratching my head. I truly thought I was ready to take care of this animal. I've had excellent success with my tank and all of its inhabitants. Looking back I wish I waited longer to dip him. I was feeling desperate and he was looking bad. Thanks everyone for your help.
 

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