finneganswake
In Memoriam
I'm on my third day with what I thought was a gold teardrop maxima--it's starting to turn green, which is a good and a bad thing at the same time. It's good because it looks better, but it's bad because I wanted the gold one so that I could place it lower in the tank since they are less light-demanding. Anyway, it's gaping somewhat, which I believe is pretty normal for a new clam that is adjusting to the tank, but for the most part, the mantle is starting to open up. However, there is one small patch of the mantle close to the inhalant siphon that isn't opening up; upon closer inspection, there is a tiny tear (maybe a millimeter) at the edge of the mantle. I don't think it was there before, although it is possible I overlooked it. If I didn't, I wondered if one of these two things could have caused it. First, this area wasn't expanding yesterday, and when I looked at it, there was a small grain of sand trapped near it. I got a turkey baster a flushed it out, but I think I squeezed too hard because the clam closed up VERY quickly--I'm wondering if closing this quickly could have torn the mantle. Another thing that might explain it (I really hope it isn't this) is that my cleaner shrimp was picking around the clam this morning. It didn't seem to be eating, and the cleaner shrimp pretty much picks at everything in the tank, including the fish, and it never seems to have any adverse consequences. I've heard that on rare occasions, cleaner shrimp will nip at clams, but it is almost always because they are hungry. I don't think this is the case as I feed my tank somewhat heavily compared to most reefers I know; I don't overdo it, IMO, just once a day, about three minutes worth of food, but most people I know only feed two or three times a week.
Should I be worried about this? Again, the rest of the clam seems to be expanding at about the rate I would expect it to. If this is something to worry about, what should I do?
Should I be worried about this? Again, the rest of the clam seems to be expanding at about the rate I would expect it to. If this is something to worry about, what should I do?
