OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef

[Bax]

Jonathan

I've been out of town trapped in a HoJo's Express with a malfunctioning wireless internet connection all last week. I missed you rather generous photo update.

Very nice!

You shouldn't be so stingy with the pics!!!

 

[jnarowe]

Thanks. It's not out of lack of desire, but lack of skill! :lol:

 

[jnarowe]

So I went to check on the tank and clean up any mess that Gabriel and I might have left, and discovered a crocea in dispair. These pictures show a strange ribbed form grown into the shell and a thin web over the clam. I blew the webbing away and the clam did react, but clearly it is not in good shape. I have read that a fresh water dip can help with certain clam ailments but I could not get it to break free of the rock without damaging it more. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[melev]

When clams look like that, it is pretty much over in 24 hours.

If it looks better to you than that picture, you can gently remove it by cutting the byssal strands at the base (as close to the rock as possible), and then do a 30 minute RO water dip.

Temp and pH should match, and then bring it back to the reef water.

 

[jnarowe]

yeah it looks pretty bad. any idea what the ribbed tube is on the shell? right now it is covered with the webbing again. I'll pull it out tonight and see what happens. Can I just twist it off or do i have to cut it?

 

[jnarowe]

and how do I get the pH of RO/DI water up to 8.2?

 

[jnarowe]

so I used some baked baking soda to bring the RO/DI pH up and I am waiting for it to warm up. I got the clam out of the tank and found several vermitids on it which I snapped off. In the last picture you can see a tubular formation in the middle right of the clam shell. That has some kind of worm in it that retracts when I try to extract it. It does not appear to be invading the clam along the shell, but it has a very hard ribbed tube that is a lot like a vermitid. Hopefully the fresh water bath will kill it. The clam is still alive but really in bad shape. It does not clamp the shell at all now.

 

[melev]

That sounds bad to me.

That is a vermetid, the larger kind that I usually spot in my tank. Did you dip it for exactly 30 minutes yet?

 

[gkarshens]

Thanks again Jonathan for having me over. I had a blast. The frags did pretty good. The bushy blue ones look a little rough this morning but still have all their flesh. The other ones already have polyps out!

OK, here are a couple pics. I will email you the rest to do with as you please.

FTS

PB

3 Tangs

 

[jnarowe]

Hey Marc. I did the dip but when I dropped the clam back into the tank, a cleaner shrimp jumped right on top and had a field day. I think the clam may have expired during the dip. I couldn't extract the vermetid but I did harrass it enough that I might have killed it. If the clam has any life in it at all today, I will zap the vermetid with vinegar.

 

[jnarowe]

cool Gabriel. You can post them if you want, or I can do it. Glad to hear you made it back OK. Had a great time and feel free to post about the tank.

 

[jnarowe]

Well I got home about an hour ago and the clam is barely alive. That damn vermetid lived through the FW dip so I pulled it out and cut open the worm's tube. I then pulled the bugger out and tossed it in the trash.

So my question is, how can such thin webbing harm the clam? Does it have a sting or is it somehow caustic?

Not much hope for the clam but we'll see what happens.

 

[jnarowe]

so except for the clam things look good on the reef today. A couple of interesting developments though:

1. The yellow tang that was being harrassed to death is now out in the general population like nothing was ever wrong. He is getting his figure back and I must say it does seem unusual. I have no idea why he was being picked on and even less of an idea how he came back into the fold. He really looked skinny and highly distressed and that was for over a month. Now he is out hunting with the rest of the fish.

2. First noticed while Gabriel was here, and now I see more. The Purple LTA is loosing tips of tentacles. I have seen them floating around in the current as well as stuck to a couple corals. WTH???

 

[sherm71tank]

.......

 

[jnarowe]

what does that mean Sherman??? Are you out of beer?

 

[sherm71tank]

Oh dear!!!! I tried to to tell you about them damn LTA's!!! And yes, I am out of beer! I'm really sorry about missing out on Gabriel's visit. I wish I had some advise on the clams you have, they are so pretty! I hope it's the only one.

 

[jnarowe]

dude, do you think there is any more of the 9mm??

 

[sherm71tank]

I dunno about that 9mm. I do think that you are the devil though! I have the next three days off. Gimme a call!!!! I have a kitchen pass!!!

 

[jnarowe]

Me, the devil??? Pleeeeaase...who's got the rocket truck with giant slicks?

Clam is getting picked at by shrimp...

 

[rdmpe]

Bummer about the clam. From what I've read, when they go it is pretty quick. Hard to spot predators on them until you notice some actual distress...

My RBTA has lost some tentacles. I was freaking out one day because I thought a tentacle might get shredded in the CL pump and then spray stinging cells all over my tank :eek1: But nothing ever came of it. And the RBTA seems to be OK. At first I was thinking it was because it had too much flow hititng it. But everyone tells me that if there was too much flow that it would move. So far it has never moved from the initial spot that I found for it. But it does get blown around a little bit. Sometimes the RBTA tentacles look like they are going to twist off at the base!

Another thing about that RBTA, I had that thing for about 5 months and the clownfish totally ignored it. Now, finally, the clownfish is hosting it. Very cool.