I have a six inch blue crocea which has been under 3 36" HO T-5 and one actinic for the past 4 months. It looks great and is in a large reef tank with similar lighting on the oppisite end. A fair number of fish share the tank along with many corals. It has been set up for over a year, but half of the live rock was from a smaller tank that was up for 7 years. I could go on, but here's the problem. Today I noticed some brown tissue which looked like part of a fold in the mantel had died, about a cm of area. This did not exist 24 hours ago. It looks like a small part of the mantel is missing since the lights went down I can see a clean edge of the exposed shell. Again I could go on, so additioal info is upon request. Any thoughts out there?
t. crocea
- Thread starter fishchef
- Start date
Ohiomom
New member
Could be something just took a bite out of it..what other fish are in the tank. Are there any stinging coral close to it? Lastly, I had that happen when my sand sifter dumpled a lot of sand on my clams mantle and it stayed there for awhile..so lots of possibilities..more info needed..
My clam certainly looks better today. No dead brown tissue. It is puzzling. No fish in the tank large enough to make a bite this size. The only fish that's even close is a Foxface. What I did notice was a salley lightfoot crab checking out the dead tissue. The Foxface hasn't been damaging corals and I've had him for over two years. I keep him well fed since this tank has no bubble algae, which is why he was in the original tank. No stinging corals even close. Glad to hear that you like T-5's. I bought this clam a little over 4 mo. ago and the shop it came from only likes MH.
Ohiomom
New member
I have had two croceas under 216w t5 for well over a year now with no issues..not to mention I feel they are cheaper to run and to replace bulbs on. I also have all kinds of corals from softies, acans, favias,open brain, plate coral and a few sps..no issues with the lighting..
Thinking the foxface and the sally lightfoot may be an issue but I have never had either so just going off of literature..even a small animal can cause a lot of tissue damage so could have nipped the coral a few times in the same spot..but just guessing.
Thinking the foxface and the sally lightfoot may be an issue but I have never had either so just going off of literature..even a small animal can cause a lot of tissue damage so could have nipped the coral a few times in the same spot..but just guessing.
I'm going to keep an eye on it. The sallies usually get invoved when something is dieing. They pick mostly at algae. Yes, recently I did read about the fox not being totally reef safe, not exactly what I was told when I bought him. He did do some damage to some fuzzy mushrooms. Chewed them right down to the rock. They are now one of the largest colonies in the tank. Guess the fox is no longer interested. Recent reading says to keep them well fed so they won't go looking. He has a new buddy to play with and keep him busey...a Purple Tang. Thanks for the input.
