Ladipyg
New member
Ok...my clam was so far gone...I figured I had nothing to lose by doing a FW dip for 30 minutes. I added a dash of Lugol's to the water and put a very, very small powerhead to in to move the water...I left the container in the sump to maintain temp, set the timer and checked on it every 5 minutes.
The clam had a seriously retracted mantle, but it's foot was okay and it was still firmly attached to it's shell. There was no foul odor coming from it, but it was not responsive or if it did respond, it was very sluggish, so I felt I would go down fighting.
After the 30 minute fresh water dip, I returned the clam to the tank...it settled into the sand and upon close inspection, I could see it had extended it's foot into the sandbed and as near as I could tell without disturbing it further, unto the rock set underneath it. After about 2 minutes, I observed the clam had begun to puff large quantities of water thru itself. Strong enough to send the sand behind it flying. It has done this at intervals for the last 90 minutes or so. Upon last check, the gaping mouth has reduced in size by half. The MH's are off, just the actinic PC's for right now. I shall leave it undisturbed until tomorrow morning.
I believe my problem was caused by replacing my almost depleted Phosphate remover with a fresh batch. I have since removed the Phosphate media and replaced it with ultra carbon and a very gentle flow thru the reactor, eliminating any by-pass problem. Only time will tell if it will recover...I can only hope.
Today...after treatment...but before putting it's foot into the sand.
The clam had a seriously retracted mantle, but it's foot was okay and it was still firmly attached to it's shell. There was no foul odor coming from it, but it was not responsive or if it did respond, it was very sluggish, so I felt I would go down fighting.
After the 30 minute fresh water dip, I returned the clam to the tank...it settled into the sand and upon close inspection, I could see it had extended it's foot into the sandbed and as near as I could tell without disturbing it further, unto the rock set underneath it. After about 2 minutes, I observed the clam had begun to puff large quantities of water thru itself. Strong enough to send the sand behind it flying. It has done this at intervals for the last 90 minutes or so. Upon last check, the gaping mouth has reduced in size by half. The MH's are off, just the actinic PC's for right now. I shall leave it undisturbed until tomorrow morning.
I believe my problem was caused by replacing my almost depleted Phosphate remover with a fresh batch. I have since removed the Phosphate media and replaced it with ultra carbon and a very gentle flow thru the reactor, eliminating any by-pass problem. Only time will tell if it will recover...I can only hope.
Today...after treatment...but before putting it's foot into the sand.
