whats wrong with my clam :( aiptasia ?

[Jordan_Oreo]

Hey, well I have had a problem with one of my clams. I have a 60 frag tank and I have 7 clams in it along with frags etc, but I have one what I belive is a maxima clam that is about 11inch. And for the past 2 days I noticed it has not been opening all the way, I dont know the acutal words for the part, Iam not clam expert but the flesh is no longer extending all the way. Aswell it seems like its "deflated" it just seems flat and there is somthing comming out off the mouth not shure what it is but its extending out a bit. But today I noticed a aiptasia just below the rim of the clam on the inside so I used aiptasia X to get rid of it very carefuly. It has seemed to get rid of it but could that have been the problem with the clam ? or is there somthing more serious ? Also I have a pair of clowns in the tank and one was hosting it for a long time so when I noticed it not looking well I moved the clam to the other side of the tank and the clown is not touching it , it shares an anemone with my other clown now. But could the aiptasia or clown cause this problem ? any help would be great as I would like to save my clam if pics or any other info is needed I can suply it.
Thanks

 

[RoastReef]

Aiptasia can definitely sting the clams mantle. If you got rid of it then I would just wait and see how things go in the next few days. I was also wondering what your calcium, mag, alk, etc. is at. Seven clams in a 60 gallon tank is quite a few, especially with an 11" one. They are going to use a lot of calcium. But if everything checks out and your other clams are OK, then I think the aiptasia could have been the problem (assuming you checked for pyr. snails, since your others are doing well). Good luck.

 

[acer]

OK - I will add- is Joe's Juice or atipsia X safe to get on the clam? I just picked up a Maxima and the guy who gave it to me also gave me the rock he was on = 5 inch round rock - after a day I noticed there were several atipsia under the bottom edge of the clam - the clam seems Ok - but I bet he woudl really appreciate getting the atipsia out of there. My Concernis with the current I doubt I could get to these atipsia without "spilling" some of the "juice in the mantle of the clam . Advise/options welcome.

 

[RoastReef]

You're supposed to turn off all the flow in your tank when you use aiptasia-x. I've used it for majanos that were right next to the clams base and had no problem at all. As long as you don't get the aiptasia-x "in" the clam I think you'll be fine.

 

[DSR]

There is a thread on here right now about joes and other stuff to kill the little beasties and the potential to kill your clam. I just use tank water and heat it up for one minute in the microwave and then shot the aiptasia with a blast of hot water... kills them dead (most the time).

 

[acer]

thanks

 

[mscarpena]

I know that clowns hosting in clams can also irritate them so that they will not open up all the way. I think it is or was a combination of the both. Also to kill aptasia all I do is put a large calcium chloride pellet directly in the center and push it into the aptasia. It heats up and kills them. Also we all know clams love calcium, but I would not get the calcium chloride pellets on the clam mantle either. ONe day I spilled 2 on a small acan and it recovered in a few days so it is not fatal if you make a mistake.

 

[DSR]

I had not heard of the calcium pellet method of killing aiptasia. I am just scared to put any chemical directly one or near my clams. When I read about using very hot water I was very skeptical. But I tried it and it really did work like a charm. The hot water immediately scalded the little thing to death and I was then able to remove the body without any problems at all. Total time took about 1.7 minutes (i heated the water up in the microwave for 1 minute...so you can see it is really fast). As it is just water I do not expect any issues. However, I wouldn't do it if the aiptasia was right near the mantle.