Oh boy...clam ditched its foot

[MechEng99]

I have a tridacnid clam (blue) about 3-4", and last night I found him lying on his side. I saw nothing wrong with him, inspected all around him, and he seemed fine. I just set him back upright and left him alone.

Today, I found him on the sand bed upside down, and where he originally was, was his foot. I'm completely at a loss how this happened. There's nothing in the aquarium to knock him over (reef only).

What now? Will his foot grow back? He looks 100% fine...but I know something isn't right.

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
PH - 8.2
Calcium - 450
Phosphate - 0.03

New lightbulbs a month ago too (before I got the clam.)

If pictures are needed, let me know.

Thanks!

 

[MechEng99]

I should correct myself...it's a crocea...I don't know why I wasn't more specific above.

I feed the tank a combination of cyclopeeze, micro-vert, marine snow, spirulina flakes, and brine shrimp (some of that stuff is leftover from my really really ignorant days) every other day.

 

[MechEng99]

Update: the clam didn't lose its foot, it lost its byssal gland. Don't they do this when they're older? In that case, is it fine?

 

[skinz78]

It should be fine, they sometimes detach themselves if they don't like their current location and want to move. Do you have any pic's of the clam?

 

[SugarFox03]

My maxima did that yesterday. I found him in the morning on his side in the sand. I put him back there I wanted him, and he stayed...so far.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

my crocea did a couple swan dives off the rocks i put him on too...i flipped him over and found a couple small pieces of LR attached to the byssal threads...i cut of the threads and stuck back on the rock...things are good now...he has a real grasp on the new rock and seems to be very happy...

i havent heard of them leaving thier gland behind...but then again i am very....very new to clams, i know they move around if they arent happy or if someting they don t like has changed in the tank...