PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Came home today to the clam being down in the sand, rather than the rock 3" above him. I noticed a white whispy thing attached to the piece of rubble that the clam was formerly attached to. Uh oh. Got the clam in a bowl so I could inspect him. Yep, looks like it was the foot. He's a goner, right? Seems like a big wound, even if he was still opened up when I got home and saw it. It's quite unfortunate, I used some rubble pieces to prop him up towards the light since he was so small and he attached to a rubble piece instead of the big rock. I guess a crab or snail came along and got on the rubble piece and tipped it off, in turn, putting too much torque on the foot and ripping it off. Very frustrated. Link to comment
Ruester007 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Wow, I wonder how it happened. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Wow, I wonder how it happened. Your guess is as good as mine. He's back in the tank and already opened back up to about how much much he opens. Almost seems no worse for the wear, but I find that unlikely. Link to comment
GHill762 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think I heard it isn't necessarily fatal.. Maybe zeph will chime in.. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think I heard it isn't necessarily fatal.. Maybe zeph will chime in.. I sure hope you are right! If he doesn't die, I guess I'll just have to find a very, very stable spot for him to sit since he will be at the whims of crabs, snails, and gravity! Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Hey, dont worry that much, lots of baby clams shed their foot when adapting. It's definitely a cause for concern but know lots of babies have done this and grown back a new one without problems. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Hey, dont worry that much, lots of baby clams shed their foot when adapting. It's definitely a cause for concern but know lots of babies have done this and grown back a new one without problems. Zeph to the rescue! Thanks for giving me some hope. I was pretty disappointed at the situation! Since you say it is still a cause for concern, are there any steps I can take to help him in his recovery? Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Zeph to the rescue! Thanks for giving me some hope. I was pretty disappointed at the situation! Since you say it is still a cause for concern, are there any steps I can take to help him in his recovery? The best thing you can do for your clams is to turn your skimmer off for a few days. I run my dedicated clam tanks skimmerless and they have been doing tons better. Especially the babies, which have a 10X mortality rate over clams 3" +. If in doubt a fewe days of no skimming is like a shot of steroids for clams. Link to comment
dragonxflare Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 The best thing you can do for your clams is to turn your skimmer off for a few days. I run my dedicated clam tanks skimmerless and they have been doing tons better. Especially the babies, which have a 10X mortality rate over clams 3" +. If in doubt a fewe days of no skimming is like a shot of steroids for clams. Why is running with no skimmer a shot of steroids to clams? I thought they liked clean water like sps? Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 The best thing you can do for your clams is to turn your skimmer off for a few days. I run my dedicated clam tanks skimmerless and they have been doing tons better. Especially the babies, which have a 10X mortality rate over clams 3" +. If in doubt a fewe days of no skimming is like a shot of steroids for clams. Roger that! I'll turn it off. I removed the carbon a few days ago after reading one of your older posts. Link to comment
Chadf Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 My crocea hasn't had a foot in over a year. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 My crocea hasn't had a foot in over a year. Thanks for sharing. I hope I can say the same about the maxima in a year. Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Why is running with no skimmer a shot of steroids to clams? I thought they liked clean water like sps? Because your skimmer is removing your strongest form of clam food from the water column. Mainly DOC. On my clam/ SPS tanks I just run my skimmer on the weekends. Clam only tanks are run without skimmers. I do use carbon on all tanks though. Roger that! I'll turn it off. I removed the carbon a few days ago after reading one of your older posts. Thats ok....I used to run a skimmer and no carbon, but I have found carbon and no skimmer actually works better. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 The weird thing about this whole thing is that the clam looks better today than he has since I got him. His mantle extension and color get a little better day by day. Today is no exception, even with the foot incident and the tumble off the rock. And he's still responding instantly to stimulii such as moving my hand under the light and creating a brief shadow. Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 The weird thing about this whole thing is that the clam looks better today than he has since I got him. His mantle extension and color get a little better day by day. Today is no exception, even with the foot incident and the tumble off the rock. And he's still responding instantly to stimulii such as moving my hand under the light and creating a brief shadow. Clams are fairly resilient. It takes a Good two months for them to show indications of starvation/ malnutrition. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Clams are fairly resilient. It takes a Good two months for them to show indications of starvation/ malnutrition. Definitely good to know. I'm prone to worrying, especially after this episode. Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Definitely good to know. I'm prone to worrying, especially after this episode. As you should be. Very few people in this world have a successfull tank full of clams. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 As you should be. Very few people in this world have a successfull tank full of clams. Heh, very true. Well, this might be my only one for a good long while, so I'm hoping to be in the category of a person in this world with a successful tank with ONE clam! That reminds me... I'll go post on your tracking post! Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Heh, very true. Well, this might be my only one for a good long while, so I'm hoping to be in the category of a person in this world with a successful tank with ONE clam! That reminds me... I'll go post on your tracking post! Yes please do. Im about to update that thread. The lazy has set in. LOL. Link to comment
TJ_Burton Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I am with Zeph,An established tank running skimmerless is the best way to keep tridacna species. It is pretty much "easy mode" for clams.Keep in mind, "skimmerless" doesn't mean "poorly filtered", "dirty water" or anything akin to a poorly maintained or high-nutrient system. It simply means a clean, established tank running without a skimmer. Just wanted to make that clear for the newer folks who may misinterpret it. Link to comment
PRJ Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Thanks for the input, TJ! Link to comment
Boggers Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I have a baby maxima that is just about 1.5-2 inch range. It was just attaching to a rock so not real secure yet. When I came home he was on the sand. Since I have no crabs my best thought was Turbo snail. When I put it back on the rock he was at, he took a walk up my rockwork and found a new spot. Not as good for viewing, but as long as it's happy I am not moving it. Been there for a few weeks now. Hope yours pulls through and does well. Link to comment
ward827 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Good luck PRJ. I also just received a small maxima from CR. Doing great. I've had a 3" derasa in my tank for 4+ months. Grown .5". No skimmer but filtered and clean. I now have a clam addiction! W- Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I am with Zeph, An established tank running skimmerless is the best way to keep tridacna species. It is pretty much "easy mode" for clams. Keep in mind, "skimmerless" doesn't mean "poorly filtered", "dirty water" or anything akin to a poorly maintained or high-nutrient system. It simply means a clean, established tank running without a skimmer. Just wanted to make that clear for the newer folks who may misinterpret it. It took me a very long time to convince myself to turn off my skimmer. I was very concerned that a lack of skimming would have a negative effect on my acro. I have several very large colonies, some well over two feet, that have been growing for years. The lack of skimming has had no negative effect on them whatsoever, and i have actually noticed increased growth in almost all corals and clams. I do think it is important to run carbon if you chose to go skimmerless though. Link to comment
ward827 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 +1^ No skimmer but floss, purigen and chemipure in the back. Seems to be doing the trick. Link to comment
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