Unhappy clam
- Thread starter adova
- Start date
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
what kind of clam is that? that byssus doesn't look right. appears to me it was damaged.
adova
Premium Member
I believe it is a Squamosa. It is quite possible that some pyramid snails were bothering it in the main tank before I moved it to QT.
Yesterday, the mouth was gaping very large. I found an old post by you, Mondo (I believe), about tying up the clam to allow it to heal and not stress its muscles. Other than that, I am not sure what to do...
Shawn
Yesterday, the mouth was gaping very large. I found an old post by you, Mondo (I believe), about tying up the clam to allow it to heal and not stress its muscles. Other than that, I am not sure what to do...
Shawn
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
ah, i am actually on the other side of that debate. i am against tying them closed. they aren't able to "rest" if you tie them closed. the action of them opening is actually due to the tension of a ligament, so for them open is resting.
closing required a muscle action to work against the tension of that tendon.
i'm not familiar with T. squamosa as far as personal experience, but the foot on my T. crocea does not look like that. i'm thinking at some point this clam may have sustained physical damage to its byssus, perhaps someone more familiar with this particular species will chime in.
the foot on my T. crocea fills the byssal opening completely, and looks very smooth and milky. so while i can't definitively say that the foot area of your clam looks damaged, i am suspicious that it may have been.
closing required a muscle action to work against the tension of that tendon.
i'm not familiar with T. squamosa as far as personal experience, but the foot on my T. crocea does not look like that. i'm thinking at some point this clam may have sustained physical damage to its byssus, perhaps someone more familiar with this particular species will chime in.
the foot on my T. crocea fills the byssal opening completely, and looks very smooth and milky. so while i can't definitively say that the foot area of your clam looks damaged, i am suspicious that it may have been.
adova
Premium Member
Yes, I agree that it looks damaged. I never checked it when I picked him up form the store. He looked very healthy from the top when I got him, but that obviously does not mean everything.
Sorry for the identity mistake on the tying issue - I see your name associated with so many clam posts that I got mixed up. It was actually BonsaiNut on this thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81032
So - is there any proactive course of action?
Sorry for the identity mistake on the tying issue - I see your name associated with so many clam posts that I got mixed up. It was actually BonsaiNut on this thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81032
So - is there any proactive course of action?
OrionN
Moved on
several things:
1. that opening is too big for a Squamosa and too small for Crocea. Most likely a Maxima, how ever the contour of the shell that I can see seem to be Crocea. A good picture of the mantel would likely really help ID it.
2. Leave the clam alone. Do not try to tied it shut. This will only harm the clam.
3. The bysus opening seem rough. The thread was cut, or rip free. This can be a problem. I cannot tell for sure.
The only thing you can do is to provide optimal condition for him and hope for the best. Remove all the parasitic clam everyday until it is all gone, otherwise leave the clam alone. More you mess with it, the more you stress it out.
1. that opening is too big for a Squamosa and too small for Crocea. Most likely a Maxima, how ever the contour of the shell that I can see seem to be Crocea. A good picture of the mantel would likely really help ID it.
2. Leave the clam alone. Do not try to tied it shut. This will only harm the clam.
3. The bysus opening seem rough. The thread was cut, or rip free. This can be a problem. I cannot tell for sure.
The only thing you can do is to provide optimal condition for him and hope for the best. Remove all the parasitic clam everyday until it is all gone, otherwise leave the clam alone. More you mess with it, the more you stress it out.
