The FW clam dip method?

[chrisstie]

So of course I tell my mom I need to get off the phone to go dip my clam and she made a very, very raunchy joke about my husband... But in all serious I believe my clam may need a FW dip as the last few days it has been retracted into its shell a bit.

but in all seriousness I am wondering what is the best way to execute a FW dip on a clam? I read how one person will use about 1\4 teaspoon of baking soda to about 3\4 gal RO\DI water to bring the pH up. I also could use my alk two part but am not sure how much to use to safely bring it up to the proper level

I know to get the temperature matched to that of the tank.. I dont know how long the FW dip is supposed to last.

if you have any advice on the best way to do this i'd lovet o hear it- in the meantime i am reading up on the threads returned on my "clam dip" search to see if theres anything else i am missing before doing this
thanks for your help!

 

[mbbuna]

just match the temp, dont try to adjust PH, too hard in fresh water and cant be accurately tested. dip the clam for 20 to 30 min.

 

[chrisstie]

Okay cool thank you. Ihave a container with FW I sat down in my sump so hopefully the temp will be roughly the same - like if you were acclimating a bag of livestock to the water.. 20 mins on the timer... *fingers crossed*

 

[chrisstie]

Well I was out tonight but before I left for dinner the clam was open and its mantle extended beyond what it has been lately. I am hoping tomorrow it will come out and over the shell like it had been when I first got it (the proper way, not the reaching for light way) .. I am hoping your advice and the dip saved it! Thanks to everyone on this forum i found a lot of good info while searching

We'll see how he\she\it is doing tomorrow - it was definitely responsive when my foxface was swimming over it begging me for food.. the shadow probably bothered the poor thing

 

[chrisstie]

Here's a question- the clam is still responsive, but isn't coming out all the way but looks better since the first FW dip.

Is it worth trying another one? or should I leave it alone for al ittle while and see what the clam decides to do

 

[mbbuna]

i wouldnt give it another

 

[chrisstie]

Hmm. okay. What I did do is move it off my sand bed and onto a rock (we'll see if it stays there) a little closer to the light.. its extension is improving but there are still parts of it that are pinched. Not sure what to do for now but watch and wait?

 

[mbbuna]

yes just watch and wait for now. if you dont see any improvement in a few mare days then you can consider another dip

 

[Litefoot Sr]

I agree with mbbuna on waiting at least a few days to dip it again, but with all due respect, I don't agree that it's hard to adjust the PH. There's a big difference between fresh and salt water and why stress out the clam any more than you have to. What I did was test my fresh water with some test strips from my hot tub kit. That's when I realized how different it was from my tank. After experimenting a few times I found that just adding about 1/4 teaspoon brought it very close to my tank and now that I know, it just takes a second to ad some baking soda to the container. I mean I'm sure it's not exactly the same but it's close enough.
Matching the temp. of the water is faster if you drop a heater in the container. I tried putting the container in my sump but it took forever. Even if you don't have a spare, just use the one from you main tank. It only takes about 15-20 min. You don't even have to use a thermometer to check the temp. Just use your finger. If it feels the same, it'll feel the same to your baby.

Good luck.

 

[chrisstie]

Thanks for the kind words. What I ended up doing the first go around was adding a drop or two of my 2 part of alk to the water and testing the pH.. if it was too much i threw out a little bit of the water and added some more until it was just about that of what i keep my tank at.. wasn't too hard

then I just put the container in the sump for an hour or so while i had lunch and cleaned up then did the dip.. I have the time to be able to do it.. and yeah did the finger temp test

My only question would be if i should consider having the container in my main display and if I end up needing to do a second dip (we'll give the little guy a few days to recover, i dont know if its my imagination but he is coming out a bit more) i could do it under lights and have him open up in fresh water so i dont have to move him around a little in the water to make sure its reached all those intimate clam places

wow that sounded wrong lol

 

[carnophage]

I am wanting to get a clam, is a fresh water dip the best way to go before introducing it to my main tank? and you really leave it in the fresh water for 20 minutes??? Thanks for the Advice!!!!

 

[jsl6v8]

hey how the clam doing now chrisstie? I didn't bother to dip the clams I got from SITC, my local fish store, and they both look very well so far.

 

[a4twenty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9885621#post9885621 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by carnophage
I am wanting to get a clam, is a fresh water dip the best way to go before introducing it to my main tank? and you really leave it in the fresh water for 20 minutes??? Thanks for the Advice!!!!

a FWD is used as a treatment for clams with pinched mantle. you should drip acclimate your clams before putting them in your display, then acclimate them to your lights slowly.

 

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9658368#post9658368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Litefoot Sr
I don't agree that it's hard to adjust the PH.

the thing is that test strips and titration PH kits aren't very accurate, especially when using them with RO/DI water. ive done many FWD's and i use to try to adjust the PH using a newly calibrated PH monitor. the reading would jump all over the place and by the time you get the PH where you want it you will have the Alk sky high. i just wouldn't bother with it