Should I try again?

E46Twist

E46Twist

New member
So I recently got a derasa clam from liveaquaria, this Tuesday morning to be exact. I drip acclimated for an hour and then set it in to place in the tank. The clam looked great for two days and was responsive to light. I had it placed halfway up my tank under 164w of leds but I have my whites/reds/greens turned way down. It looked like the foot made good attachment to the rock as well. Morning of day 3 and the mantle was completely gone and the clam was shrunken down into she'll with mouth and vent wide open and the she'll would not close. I am blaming myself but my water quality is great and my corals are all doing great. I also have a bubble tip anemone that is doing great. I really want to keep a clam but this has me thinking there is a mystery element in my tank that is had for the clams.
 
If I can, I'll try to tell you my opinion on what you are doing wrong.

1: drip acclimating something for that amount of time that has been shipped is likely why you are being unsuccessful. My suggestion is to float the bag to equalize the temps for about 30min. Then open the bag and take the SG of the bag and compare it against the SG of your tank. If the gravity in the bag is higher than the gravity of the tank, just pick the clam up and put him in. If the gravity in the bag is lower than the tank, slowly add tank water until the gravity in the bag matches the tank.
Drip acclimation is a load of malarkey if you ask me. Once you open the bag, you have around 30 min maximum to get the animal out of the bag water before the rising ammonia level kills it. I think this is your biggest problem.

2: deresa clams do not like being placed on rock. They like the sand.
 
While I do think drip acclimation for an hour is excessive, it has never failed me when I do it for 10-15 min though. And I must say it is almost an art to find that perfect flow rate not too fast not too small but like borderline trickling works the best for me. I have had clams from Liveaquaria before and the one time I did not do drip acclimation they all died the same way yours did. I have since then do 15 min float, then 15 min drip and they've all been fine.

And Bent is right- Derasa does not like being on rock.
 
Deresa clams are pretty hardy. I first tried a crocea and that didn't work out. Got a derasa a few months later. It's been in my tank for about 4 months and has really grown. I'd try again and do some things different .
 
Yeah I don't get it.. N03 is zero phos is zero, calcium is a little low at 410 but I have been bringing it back up. Ph and alk both good. Sg is 1.024, temp is maybe to high at 79?
 
Dude, Im tellin ya, the drip acclimation is killing them.

U have 30min max to get the specimen out of the bag water and into the tank. And 30min is pushing it.

If you don't believe me, the next order you get shipped do an ammonia test on the bag water as soon as you open it, then again after leaving the bag open for an hour. You'll be shocked.
 
Okay well I had a big order from ORA and got a maxima. I will say that now that I have seen a healthy clam the derasa looked bleak. Anyways I did as you said and it looks good so far.

Two problems from the same source though.. Thing is tiny, I did not have any means to feed such a small clam so I ordered some phyto clam something food that will be in tmr. I feed a really good homemade food with chopped up seafood and then many greens and vitamins, then frozen brine, mysis, and cyclopese. Would a small clam feed off any of that? Should I just mix the clam food into my mix when serving? Second problem, I have extremely high flow I have only a few places where I can even put softies and some lps. The mantle is not getting blown around too much, but the clam got blown over twice and that was it for me so I found a nice crevice to rest it in for now. How bad of an idea is it to glue a clam down? Problem is my flow is random so no matter how I situate it, it was getting blown over.
 
Clams do not need to be fed. If you have fish or corals in the tank they will live off of the zooxanthellae and whatever else is in the tank. You really needed to be more prepared for your purchases. I suggest not gluing a clam. Better to either reduce flow or find a spot for him. Build a barrier out of small rocks in the tank to block flow if you have to.
 
More prepared? I suppose having 8 5 gallon buckets ready for TT when I got my powder blue tang makes me unprepared. You are right I was not prepared for a clam 1/3 of the size of the first one I got which was big enough for this not to be a problem. I found a spot for it but it is not at all optimal. I am going to cut a piece of dry rock or find a nice scrap piece to put under it for it to attach to and then just move it when it gets to a better size. Good to hear about the feeding, I figured it would be happy enough but I would rather be safe than sorry. I'll just mix the food I got into my thawed food, diversity can't hurt.

Clam was looking good today and was very responsive. Like I said before now that I know what a good clam looks like I think the derasa was on its way out when it went in. Possibly from the ammonia but who knows.

Now I just have to worry about my PBTs fat self or a Mexican turbo knocking it down which really shouldn't happen given location.

Thanks for all of the input guys I will keep the clams status up to date and try and add a picture or two tonight if I get home before the last set of lights goes off.
 
Get rid of the nasty water in bag asap. I dump half out after floating bag for 20 min or so. I then add a little water from my tank every five minutes or so. I have deras that's growing as we speak.
 
Clam is still looking good. The derasa always had its mouth shut tight up until it died and was gaping open. The maxima is usually just barely open
 
I was revisiting this thread to warn you about the deresa I got from LA that was murdered by a polyclad flatworm. Now I can't confirm that the polyclad came on the clam, but it's awful strange that the clam didn't act right from day 1. As of now I'm convinced that it did have it from the facility.

But I'm glad things are working out. Got some pics?

If something happens to these clams unexpected and your snails start dying for no reason, I would be extremely suspect and start hunting.
 
flanole said:
Given the previous post, is there a highly respected supplier of clams? I plan to add one in a few months.
Click to expand...

At this point I'd say have your LFS order it so you can inspect it. I'll never buy another sight unseen.
 
Clam is still going strong, I'll have to add pics on my pc. I would also suggest getting a clam from your LFS.
 
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