Newbie to clams

[jrp1588]

My girlfriend surprised me over christmas with my very first clam. Unfortunately, it was a little baby 1.25" maxima, that died just within Live Aquaria's guarantee despite looking extremely healthy. I suspect a worm got at his foot.

In those ten days, I read a ton about them, and I'm hooked. With the money she got back, plus some of my own, I ordered a 3" maxima and a 2.5" derasa from diver's den. I've currently got them acclimating on the floor of my bare bottom tank.

 

[Greybeard]

Gorgeous. I had a squomosa years ago, grew from about 2.5" to over 9". Unfortunately, it was killed, along with nearly everything else in my tank, when a bunch of grape calurpa went sexual and polluted the entire system.

I'll eventually be adding a few clams to my new system, just not there yet.

 

[laga77]

I suspect a worm got at his foot.

Probably not. Unfortunately, ordering clams online has gotten to be a real risk even from LA/DD. The last three times I ordered clams, 2 from DD and 1 from Pacific East, they all were delivered with either missing or damaged feet. None survived. IMHO, the people processing the order just grab the clams and put them in a bag without regard to how they are attached. The foot gets damaged and the clam dies from either stress or a bacterial infection. Just two weeks ago this happen with an order of two clams from DD. Yes, I got a refund, but that is not the point, there are two dead clams now. Two days after getting my refund, I found two clams at a LFS. I purchased these clams and 10 days ago they are doing great in my tank. Good Luck with yours.

 

[MrCaveman]

Any clam with a damaged foot likely not going to survive. when I purchase one at LFS I first wave my hand over the clam to see if they react. Then, I look at the clam's mantle, if there's any weird discoloring such as pale white I tend stay away from that one. Next Ill ask If I can inspect the clam's foot. I learned this while working at an LFS, Maximas and Croceas naturally grow on rock, It's best to get a clam that has attached itself to a small piece of rock meaning its foot is healthy and protected. Derasas and I believe Squamosas grow more on sand. (However my squamosa is on a rock). If you need to cut a clam from the rock, carefully cut as far away from the shell as close to the rock as pussible by gently pulling lifting it up a few inches to get a clear access to the byssal threads the clam uses to attach itself with a NEW razor blade. I wont buy a crocea or maxima that's not attached to substrate because it usually means its foot is damaged and probably was carelessly yanked off of what it was attached to a the wholesale or distributor.Then I inspect for pyramid snails. Slowly drip acclimate all clams up to an hr. Ive had my Maxima a year and half and squamosa for a year. Also clams generally like a gentle flow going across its body from it's intake and out of its siphon. Clams will move too, it means that theyre find a spot that they like. Derasa and Squamosa much hardier; squamosa are really fun because they grow very quickly and get quite large

 

[jrp1588]

The clam that died arrived attached to a marble sized piece of rubble. I suspect a worm got him because when I pulled the shell, there was a worm coming out of a hole in the rock right below him. I've seen a bristle worm off and on in the same spot since.

As for the new clams go, they are reactive to light and motion, and feet are intact. The maxima came attached to a few bits of rubble, but probably half of his foot is exposed, which makes me nervous. The derasa wasn't attached to anything, but has since stuck himself to the bottom of the tank.

 

[laga77]

Derasa`s like sand. If yours is a bare bottom, get a container of sand, like a shallow bowl, to place the Derasa in. Be very careful not to damage the foot.

 

[jrp1588]

Derasa`s like sand. If yours is a bare bottom, get a container of sand, like a shallow bowl, to place the Derasa in. Be very careful not to damage the foot.

All the sources I read said they'll do just fine in a bare bottom tank. I'm not about to stick a bowl in my tank. haha

 

[MondoBongo]

The clam that died arrived attached to a marble sized piece of rubble. I suspect a worm got him because when I pulled the shell, there was a worm coming out of a hole in the rock right below him. I've seen a bristle worm off and on in the same spot since.

As for the new clams go, they are reactive to light and motion, and feet are intact. The maxima came attached to a few bits of rubble, but probably half of his foot is exposed, which makes me nervous. The derasa wasn't attached to anything, but has since stuck himself to the bottom of the tank.

bristle worms will not hurt a healthy clam. i've had plenty that have taken up residence under my derasa over the years, they don't bother it.

however once the clams expire, the bristle worms are some of the first on the scene to help clean up.

correlation does not necessarily equal causality.

 

[jrp1588]

bristle worms will not hurt a healthy clam. i've had plenty that have taken up residence under my derasa over the years, they don't bother it.

however once the clams expire, the bristle worms are some of the first on the scene to help clean up.

correlation does not necessarily equal causality.

I'm aware of the bad rep bristle worms get, and I didn't believe it myself as I was researching. Lots of people said that if they can get to their foot, there was a potential danger. Of course there was lots of debate on the topic.

I'm no clam expert, but the clam that died had an intact foot and never gaped. It died too quickly for starvation, and looked great until I found it dead one morning.

Not saying I 100% think the worm did it, but don't these clams usually show signs of stress before dying?

 

[MondoBongo]

i've found it is usually the opposite. they typically look fine right up until they're not. i ordered a large derasa from DD maybe about two years ago or so at this point, and it looked awesome for the first week, then in the span of 48 hours just died. no idea why. it was free from any visible pests or parasites, had good mantel extension, good reactions, etc... but it just up and died.

what did the growth edge of the shell on yours look like? i didn't know enough to check mine when it expired, but that's the best indicator of long term health that i've found.

here is what the growth edge on my derasa looked like about a month ago.

 

[jrp1588]

i've found it is usually the opposite. they typically look fine right up until they're not. i ordered a large derasa from DD maybe about two years ago or so at this point, and it looked awesome for the first week, then in the span of 48 hours just died. no idea why. it was free from any visible pests or parasites, had good mantel extension, good reactions, etc... but it just up and died.

what did the growth edge of the shell on yours look like? i didn't know enough to check mine when it expired, but that's the best indicator of long term health that i've found.

here is what the growth edge on my derasa looked like about a month ago.

Well that's somewhat disconcerting. I can't remember what his shell looked like, and I tossed it over the weekend. So, what's wrong with the shell on your derasa? It looks like he's got new growth to me, but perhaps I don't know what I'm looking for.

 

[MondoBongo]

sorry i should have specified, this is my second derasa that i got after the first one died. there's nothing wrong with this one, that's what the growth edge should look. just wasn't sure if you were familiar with what it looked like on a derasa or not, they all look slightly different depending on the species.

this guy has been with me a while, he started out smaller than the where the lowest starfish are on him. he's done quite well, even with my penchant for accidentally dropping rocks, tongs, and what have you on him.

 

[jrp1588]

Thanks for the tip. I remember reading about growth edges, but I forgot to check that one. I'll give them a look when I get home, though I don't suspect there's much I can do if they don't look good. I'm growing SPS corals pretty rapidly, so conditions should be pretty good for clams.

 

[MondoBongo]

no there's not much you can do once you've already got it. but it helps if you're choosing them in person, or trying to figure out what happened.

short term health indicators:

1. strong reaction to shading
2. good color in mantel, should look vibrant, not washed out
3. good mantel extension
4. when shut is strongly shut

long term health indicators:

1. shell growth edge

 

[jrp1588]

no there's not much you can do once you've already got it. but it helps if you're choosing them in person, or trying to figure out what happened.

short term health indicators:

1. strong reaction to shading
2. good color in mantel, should look vibrant, not washed out
3. good mantel extension
4. when shut is strongly shut

long term health indicators:

1. shell growth edge

Well all the short term indicators are good for sure, but they were on the dead clam as well. Now I'll be anxious at work all day until I can check for growth rings. haha

 

[jrp1588]

Looks like both clams have good growth edges. The derasa has attached himself to the bottom of the tank, so I guess he likes his spot well enough. I just moved my maxima up in the tank today. He seems to be enjoying the extra light.

 

[csb123]

Beautiful !