Tang eating clam mantle

gallivanmk

New member
Has anyone heard of this before? I have noticed that for the past few days, my Crocea's mantle has been slightly retracted. Then today, I saw my hippo tang nip it and at a closer look, I noticed at one end of the mantle there are little nip marks with tiny pieces missing. They have been in the same tank for about a month now, but I guess my hippo just decided that the clam looks tasty... Weird. It isn't a constant thing and after a minute the clam relaxes again. Do you think this will pass or should I just go ahead and sell the clam?
 
Yes I would say get rid of the clam. When those guys die it is NOT pleasant. It's like chemical warfare. At least it was for me.
 
unfortunately when a fish starts to nip a clam most of the time it wont stop. you could try feeding the hippo more and always have some nori in there for it to pick at. if the fish keeps doing it the clam will remain closed and wither away.
 
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You can fashion a cage for the clam and increase feeding. The intent would, hopefully, be to cause the Tang NOT to imprint on the clam as food and instead on what you are feeding. Setting up an auto-feeder can help. It has the tendency to cause fish to congregate towards one area of the tank, tho.
 
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