shrimp inside a clam...???

[flipteg]

i just bought a maxima clam that is about 3.5" big... when i was watching the calm, i was pretty sure i saw what looks like little shrimp claws coming out of the clam's hole where the gills are visible from... i don't know what is up with it and if it is a parasite...

 

[greenbean36191]

There are a few shrimp that live as commensals inside clams. They're nothing to worry about.

 

[mbbuna]

greenbean is correct. does it look like this?

 

[LeslieH]

Possibly Paranchistus armatus. A friend of mine looked at their frequency in Tridacna near Papua New Guinea and found they were very common. Harmless. They may even function like acro crabs which contribute to the health of the acropora they live on.

 

[flipteg]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11038920#post11038920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mbbuna
greenbean is correct. does it look like this?

hi, i'm not really sure if it's the same shrimp as in the picture... i only saw a glimpse of the claw, but it is semi transparent so it might be the same shrimp...

 

[scubajsm]

I have a shrimp in my squamosa. I had the clam for little over a year and the shrimp has been in there the entire time. Mine looks exactly like the picture above. My clam looks and acts fine and the shrimp seems very happy. Good luck with your new clam.

 

[flipteg]

i saw the shrimp again... the clam has the hole wide open and i saw the shrimp and it looks exactly like in the picture... it's very hard to see because the shrimp is transparent and it is spotted just like the inside of the clam... it looks as if it is semi-invisible...