Squamosa Clam needs help

[SDFISHMAN]

Will yesterday the mantle on my squamosa was wide open. Today it looks very unhappy and its not extending out.. What can I do.. Its in my daughters tank with another clam a crocea that looks good but he doesn't. Anything I should check for??

 

[mbbuna]

have you made any changes at all?

 

[SDFISHMAN]

No after I noticed him I did a 25% water change.. The tank has been running the same a little over 4 months..

 

[mbbuna]

you haven't added any new fish? changed a light bulb? started or stopped an additive? can you please list all water parameters. and how long have you had the clam?

 

[SDFISHMAN]

Alright the PH is alittle low

PH 7.8
Ammonia 0.ppm
nitrate 10ppms
nitirte 0ppms
alk & ca I need to find my test kit..

I dose B-Ionic A +B 3ml everyother day. I feed Phyto-feast 3 drops everyother day ( not a direct feed ) I've had the clams for about a month now..

 

[mbbuna]

is there any way you can post a pic of it? that might help alot

 

[knumbnutz]

pH of 7.8 may be an issue. Remember pH is a logrithmic scale so being a "little off" can be serious stress to your fish and coral. Slowly try and raise your pH into range, and by slowly no more than +0.1 a day. If you wanna know "how to" raise your pH read Randy Holmes-Farley's thread on marine chemistry.

Also, 10 ppm Nitrate is getting kind of dangerous as well. Do a water change and see if you can bring the Nitrate closer to zero. I've read that clams like the Nitrates, but only in very small quantities. Even with a 0.0 ppm {zero} reading on Nitrates there will still be enough in there for your clams. Again small water changes over time. Don't rush to get the nitrates to zero.

Be patient, take your time, and listen to mbbuna's advice. That should help things a bit. Best of luck, keep us updated of your progress.

PS What kind of lights are you running on your tank? And do you have any sort of deep sand bed refugium set-up or other filtration method?

 

[fastjunkie]

SDFISH,
I'm having the same issues with my squamosa.I've had this guy for years.Anyway,I noticed my ph was at 7.8 so I started to use a little ph buffer.I raised my ph a little too fast over a few day period which really irked him to the point of not opening at all.Now that I'm starting to get my ph prob under control..he's starting to open up more day by day.Hang in there...I'm sure it will come around.

 

[SINNERMF]

Have you had air bubbles in your tank? If air gets trapped in the gills it will die. Maybe try to tilt the clam so the "big hole" is facing up and see if anything comes out.

 

[SDFISHMAN]

I found out what the problem was It had pyrimid snails on the shell.. I talked to Barry the owner of clamsdirct and after 3 day of taking it out of the tank and brushing it with a tooth brush its under control thanks for all the help.. BTW I'm doing a kalk drip now and alk my PH has been stable..