What's up with this Crocea?

Tswifty

Tswifty

New member
I'm starting to get a little worried about one of my Crocea Clams. For the past few weeks there's no extension from the mantle (not shinking either), and I have never been able to get it to attach, despite trying a few different locations.

My params are in check... No Phos, No Nitrate, Ca >400, dKH 10-11, Mag 1300-1400... and I use a PFO Mini Pendant 250w HQI w/ Aqualine AB 20k bulb... The tank is 15" deep, and the light is 8-10" above the water.

Here's a picture when I first added it about one month ago:

NewClam1.jpg


NewClam2.jpg


Here's a picture of it from yesterday:

ClamsFrag.jpg


Any ideas...??? As you can see there's a smaller Crocea right next to it, that I have had for a few months now that is doing great.
 
Here's another picture from about a week ago, with the clam in the other location I tried. It stayed put, but would not attach.

Tech2.jpg
 
Definitely not a good sign...

Do take a look at pinched mantle, and like mentioned in the other thread check for snails. Whenever I've seen these similar symptoms in the past the clams generally haven't survived unfortunately.

You can also try the new Clams Direct forum. You'll have to google. Lots of good experts over there that might be able to help you further.
 
doesn't look like pinched mantle, can you list your fish / inverts?

also list what and how you dose the tank pleaseas well as the other major parameters ( pH, SG, temp, etc...... )

as mentioned above, have you checked for pyramid snails?
 
I found out what it is, and the only reason I did was because a hobbyist in the Pittsburgh reef club forum just had this happen.

I turned over the snail to look for Pyramid snails, which I thoroughly inspected it for upon purchase.

Well I remember noticing a dark brown area on the foot, but I always just thought it was a piece of substrate...

Well... Here's the culprit.

PICTURE!

I'm going to get a pair of tweezers to remove it, and hopefully it hasn't done too much damage, but the sucker has been there for a few weeks so it's probably too late, even if I get it removed. :(
 
Last edited:
False alarm... it wasn't a flatworm, I think it's the actual foot that is brownish and all shredded up... like cotton ball.

I'm going to try and get some pictures, because I really don't even know how to explain it.
 
the foot ( and byssal organ ) should be brownish but the cotton ball ( byssus or byssal thread ) should be white.

does the foot looked damaged?

were you there when the LFS removed the clam from their tank??

could they have damaged it??
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13907723#post13907723 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by a4twenty
doesn't look like pinched mantle, can you list your fish / inverts?

also list what and how you dose the tank pleaseas well as the other major parameters ( pH, SG, temp, etc...... )

as mentioned above, have you checked for pyramid snails?
Click to expand...
Fish:
Yellow Tang
Midas Blenny
Yasha Hase White Ray Goby

Inverts:
Super Tongan Nassarius Snails (positive not whelks)
Cerith Snails
Trochus Snails
Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

pH: 8.0
SG:1.026
Temp: 79.9

The only thing I dose to the tank is Kalk from a still reservior via my ATO unit to maintain my Ca & Alk levels.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13907984#post13907984 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by a4twenty
the foot ( and byssal organ ) should be brownish but the cotton ball ( byssus or byssal thread ) should be white.

does the foot looked damaged?

were you there when the LFS removed the clam from their tank??

could they have damaged it??
Click to expand...
I really don't have a ton of experience with clams so, when you say damaged, what specifically should I be looking for?

My girlfriend purchased the clam from a store in PA when I was living in OH, so I was not there to witness the removal. She's pretty sharp when it comes to saltwater corals, fish, etc... though, so I'll give her a call and ask her if she remembers.

The other small purple Crocea I have in the tank is also from the same store in PA... just thought I would list that.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13907477#post13907477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by michika
Definitely not a good sign...

Do take a look at pinched mantle, and like mentioned in the other thread check for snails. Whenever I've seen these similar symptoms in the past the clams generally haven't survived unfortunately.

You can also try the new Clams Direct forum. You'll have to google. Lots of good experts over there that might be able to help you further.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm not too optimistic about it, but would like to figure out what is wrong with it.

Thanks for the tip, I'll head over to the Clams Direct site and see if I can find some help there.
 
I checked out the Clams Direct forum, which is now "Reef Aquarium Forum" I believe.

The consensus over there seems to be just to wait it out, that it is not "pinched mantle" and a FW dip would probably kill the clam at this point.

So I guess I'm just going to play the waiting game for a while.
 
i have to agree with them, as i said above, it does not look like PM.

any chance the midas ( known to be a bit of a nipper ) is nipping at the clam? ( or even the YT )

where do you drip the kalk?? and how stable is you Ca and Alk?? any recent rapid changes in Ca and ALK??

dripping the kalk from a "still" reservoir may be spiking pH, Ca, and ALK quite a bit and this can definitely have a negative impact on your clam, and would show the symptoms you are seeing.

also what is the total water volume in the system??
 
I don't think he is, the midas was just added a few days before the move, and the clam had been exhibiting the symptoms a few weeks before I added the blenny.

I drip kalk into the frag tank, right above the VorTech

The Ca & Alk don't move. I test weekly and see little to no movement. Same with pH. The ATO only dumps in small amounts to replace evaporation via an aqualifter pump.

The total water volume in the system in around 40 gallons (not the current temp setup which is 20g).

Also, as I said before, there is another Crocea in the tank which is not showing any similiar signs. Which is why I believe whatever is effecting the clam is something completely isolated to just the individual clam.
 
Well good luck, hope it pulls around. You said it's been this way for a number of weeks already, right?
 
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