Shrimp in my Teardrop Clam

[jda]

Has anybody ever seen this before? It is a little clear shirmp with black spot. I tried to get a good picture but cannot. It is in a 6" orangeish teardrop clam.

Just wondering. Thanks.

 

[MiddletonMark]

I heard about one around here just recently ... same deal. A large orangish teardrop maxima with a shrimp living in it.

You got yours recently?

 

[jda]

Got it about two months ago. The clam has a mouth that you can fit a golf ball into. It is a pretty clam. It is getting oranger by the day. By far the favorite of all my clams.

I guess that the shrimp is not hurting it any.

 

[Peabody]

Congrats on a rare find....I used to have one in a squamosa. THey are completely harmless, and REALLY cool to have

 

[Travis]

The clam has a mouth that you can fit a golf ball into.

Is the mouth open to the point where you could just slide a golf ball in without it even touching the mouth? Or does it have a big mouth that is pretty much closed and you would have to open it to get the golf ball in?

If it is the latter then great, sounds like an awesome clam. Also, very interesting about the shrimp. Could be some type of symbiotic relationship.

If it is the former then the clam is most likely gaping pretty bad which isn't a good sign. Could be that the shrimp is irritating it or your 175 watters aren't intense enough.

 

[jda]

The clam is just that big to have a mouth that large. Perfectly healthy.

I upgraded to 250W DE HQI Aquaspacelight a couple of months ago. Don't think that light will be an issue.

If a piece of food goes into the mouth, then the shrimp hustles over there to get it. Kinda neat.

 

[Travis]

The clam is just that big to have a mouth that large. Perfectly healthy.

Glad to hear that. I wasn't quite sure what you had meant earlier.

If you ever manage to get picture of the shrimp in the clam PLEASE do post it.

 

[CAPT PETE]

Check this out. Very interesting.
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=23428&highlight=

 

[Travis]

Thanks CAPT PETE. Those shrimp look pretty cool. And according to that thread they ARE commensal.

 

[jda]

Thanks everybody. That is exactly what my shrimp look like. I wonder if I have a pair or just one. I will keep an eye out. I had no idea that tear drop clams were so tough to keep. Mine seems to be doing just fine. It looks like it has layed down new shell since I got it.

 

[SeaView]

I once had a maxima with a pair of commensal crabs living inside.
Cool find.

 

[Xmodius]

Wow, I just found one of these little, transparent shrimp on my T. Crocea. It is about 1 cm in length, and almost completely colorless and transparent except for a couple of white dots which might be its eyes. It is very difficult to photograph, but I'll try to get a good picture.

 

[Xmodius]

Clam shrimp

Clam shrimp

Pics, cropped, shrunk, color and contrast adjusted to make the transparent shrimp more visible.

 

[clsund]

Very cool. See something interesting everyday in this hobby.

 

[boogs]

Good pics - very cool find!

Scott

 

[Tangfan]

So these shrimp are commensal. I just had a large squamosa clam die yesterday. I thought these guys were the culprits, guess not. Attached is a pic.

So I can't figure out why my clam died, here is the thread if anyone can help. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=379690

 

[Tangfan]

here is the other one.