Nassarius Ate New Clam

[bob115]

So I got a clam this last weekend. Gave it a good hour drip acclimation, and put it in with the lights off for the night. This was about 8-9pm last night. Here's a picture of what it looked like pretty much immediately after going in. Shortly after, I saw my nassarius digging around the hinge of the shell. I flicked it away as soon as I saw it. Come back a minute later and he was crawling on the rock toward the hinge of the clam again. I flicked him away again. Come back another minute later and its the same thing. This time after I flicked him away, I put some blended seafood right next to the snail to bribe it away with an easier meal. I didn't really see the snail after that.

 

Last night the clam was closed up nicely. This morning around 1030 it was closed up nicely. Before the lights came on I moved the clam up higher. I took a look at the part where the snail was, and I could see into the shell from the hinge. Uh oh. I had to go to class for a couple hours, but when I came back around 1, the clam was gaping really badly.

 

From what I've read about injuries around that area, as well as when clams gape like that, I'm about 95% sure its going to die soon. But if there's a chance to save it I'd really like to know. If Zeph could chime in, since he's more or less the expert around here, I'd love to know if there's anything I can do for it.

[Mojado]

Maybe the tank was too small. . .

[bob115]

Maybe the tank was too small. . .

 

If the snail was going to eat it, it would have found it in a larger tank. On top of that there probably would have been more than one snail. I googled this particular problem, and its happened in all sorts of tank sizes.

 

 

I should probably add that it doesn't respond to shadows, or gently poking the shell or touching the mantle.

[HVani]

Nassarius snails are attracted to the smell of things dying. Clams don't show they are near death then suddenly they are. The snail was just picking up on the fact it was on it's way out. Snail is just doing it's job.

 

Sorry about the clam.

[bob115]

Nassarius snails are attracted to the smell of things dying. Clams don't show they are near death then suddenly they are. The snail was just picking up on the fact it was on it's way out. Snail is just doing it's job.

 

Sorry about the clam.

 

Its odd that it was dying immediately after I got it. It was barely in the tank for 15 minutes when that happened. The clam was from Fosters and Smith and was doing nicely just a day before.

[GHill762]

Nassarius snails are attracted to the smell of things dying. Clams don't show they are near death then suddenly they are. The snail was just picking up on the fact it was on it's way out. Snail is just doing it's job.

 

Sorry about the clam.

This.. sorry about the clam.

 

Its odd that it was dying immediately after I got it. It was barely in the tank for 15 minutes when that happened. The clam was from Fosters and Smith and was doing nicely just a day before.

they can take a turn for the worst very quickly and unexpectedly..

[xiaoxiy]

Its odd that it was dying immediately after I got it. It was barely in the tank for 15 minutes when that happened. The clam was from Fosters and Smith and was doing nicely just a day before.

Seems like it's time to cash in on that LiveAquaria 14 day guarantee.

 

Sorry about the clam.

[HVani]

Its odd that it was dying immediately after I got it. It was barely in the tank for 15 minutes when that happened. The clam was from Fosters and Smith and was doing nicely just a day before.

How long was it at DD? How long was the car ride how? How was it bagged/transported? Was the drip acclimation done in heated water? How big was it? What water parameters did it go into?

 

A lot of factors could have led to it's demise.

[bob115]

This.. sorry about the clam.

 

they can take a turn for the worst very quickly and unexpectedly..

 

Yeah... I mean I saw it doing well at their facility on Saturday. I guess its time to call in the guarantee... Shame thought that if I want to get another one from them its gonna be an extra $35 on top for shipping.

[kevin_E]

Nassarius snails are attracted to the smell of things dying. Clams don't show they are near death then suddenly they are. The snail was just picking up on the fact it was on it's way out. Snail is just doing it's job.

 

Sorry about the clam.

My thoughts as well. Snail didn't kill it, it was just doing its job (i.e. cleaning up excess/decaying food).

[bob115]

My thoughts as well. Snail didn't kill it, it was just doing its job (i.e. cleaning up excess/decaying food).

 

Well I'm guessing it would have made it if the snail hadn't eaten half of the byssal gland. It was probably just stressed from transport.

[HVani]

Well I'm guessing it would have made it if the snail hadn't eaten half of the byssal gland. It was probably just stressed from transport.

 

 

Doubt it. Like everyone said, the clam was on it's way out, the snail was just picking up on it.

[kevin_E]

 

Well I'm guessing it would have made it if the snail hadn't eaten half of the byssal gland. It was probably just stressed from transport.

It was eating the dying/rotting flesh on the clam, not the healthy flesh. Whether the clam makes/made it or not is unrelated to the snails involvement. In this case, you can consider him as a bottle of peroxide on a wound.

 

People thought bristle worms were responsible killing things in their tank not too long ago until they understood that they were actually eating dead/dying organisms and not killing them.

[malawian]

Well I'm guessing it would have made it if the snail hadn't eaten half of the byssal gland. It was probably just stressed from transport.

 

Then the byssal gland was already decaying flesh. In all my years of reefing (having always had plenty of nessarius on hand to stir up sand) ive never seen one go for anything that wasnt already dead or dying.

 

While I ripped on you about the small tank, tank size (almost assuredly) could not have had an effect in this time scale. As someone else said what was your acclimation procedure? What were the tanks parameters when you put it in? How did you transport it and for how long? Transfer of an animal this delicate is no simple task.

[duncan-junkie]

Thats the risk that we all take when getting a clam, they can take a turn for the worst on the drop of a dime! Cash in that 14 day guarentee, and give er a nother shot!

[FlowerMama]

When you first bought it was it responsive to a hand wave over it? It's unfortunate. Sorry to hear about your new acquisition.

[Rollermonkey]

Sorry about the clam, they are fairly tough to acclimate successfully, especially the first time.

 

Gotta be honest, though. That first picture you took? It was already gaping. Either it was a shipping thing, or an acclimation thing. Did you 'burp' the clam when you put it in? It looks kind of placed awkwardly, too, but that's not anything that would kill it so quickly. I'm 95% sure it was a shipping issue.

[GlassHouse]

Yeah... I mean I saw it doing well at their facility on Saturday. I guess its time to call in the guarantee... Shame thought that if I want to get another one from them its gonna be an extra $35 on top for shipping.

 

 

"WISCONSIN: This item ships from our Wisconsin facility. Learn about our shipping rates here."

 

Temperatures last week in Wisconsin were hovering around zero for the last week and hitting 20 or 30 below overnight. This is one of the coldest winters in decades. Everything that ships from there is arriving in cold water even though they are doubling or tripling the heat packs.

 

Frankly, it's a crapshoot as to whether anything that you order from this facility is going to make it alive to you with the weather as is. It's to the point where it's actually irresponsible for them to continue to ship. My suggestion would be to hold off ordering live animals from this facility until the weather improves (their California facilities are still good). I'm not sure who's bright idea it was to ship tropical fish from frigging Wisconsin. They will refund shipping and handling fees if the water was cold on arrival. I stopped ordering from them months ago because things were coming in 50 degree water and 50-75% DOA.

 

[malawian]

If memory serves from the OP's other thread he picked up the clam directly from their facility during an open house. Also, if I recall the travel time was 3 hours. If there was a problem in transit it is the OP's responsibility. Having lived in WI for some time I know how hard it can be to keep the inside of a car warm and when transporting livestock...I would keep bags of fish inside my jacket to keep them warm...

 

 

I want to hear what the transport was like and what the acclimation procedure was like. As another poster said the clam doesnt look great even in the shot taken soon after being put in and if it was indeed healthy at the facility then there was almost undoubtedly a problem between the facility and the OP's tank.

[bob115]

The shipping was in a styrofoam box with a few other bags inside the car (it was warm enough I felt uncomfortable with a coat on) for 3 hours. From there it was floated in my buddy's tank until the next day when it was driven another 1.5 hours in an insulated bag inside of a cooler with a baggie of warm water. Total time in sealed bag was 25 hours.

 

Acclimation involved floating for 30 minutes, then it went into a bucket with some warm water and a heater and was drip acclimated for about an hour. Then I removed a lot of the water form the bag and added tank water and repeated once more, then I let the clam out of the bag into the tank. Never saw air. From there the clam was placed lower where I had some room while I fiddled with the new sump and moved things around for a more permanent location.

 

 

The clam responded to shadows even during acclimation and when it was in the tank before the snail came along. After the snail the shell was closed for the night, and the next morning it wouldn't open much to light. After 2 hours of class I came back to find it gaping really badly.

 

As for the byssal gland already being necrotic, I find it odd that in ~24 hours the clam would have necrotic tissue, yet still respond to light and everything.

 

It is also my understanding that its not uncommon for clams to gape a bit (not like the gaping picture obviously) shortly after introduction. So it didn't exactly set off any red flags for me at the time, especially since it was responding to shadows.

 

 

I think that's all the questions that were asked....

Also there's like mucous coming off of it now, so I'm about 99% sure its actually dead now. Oddly enough nothing has touched it since the first incident with the snail. Not the snail, crab, or shrimp.

[kevin_E]

If you think the snail was the cause, throw it sump. You seem convinced that the snailvwas reason for the health decline. That is your choice, but I'd be beyond disbelief he he were indeed the culprit here. Like I said, remove him if you feel he's an issue and cash in on the guarantee ASAP.

[HVani]

From there it was floated in my buddy's tank until the next day when it was driven another 1.5 hours in an insulated bag inside of a cooler with a baggie of warm water. Total time in sealed bag was 25 hours.

 

My guess, this is what did it in. Was the bag under any lights while it floated in the tank overnight? This could cause a huge heat spike, add that to the water getting foul THEN being drip acclimated which cause ammonia levels to sky rocket when exposed to air. The water went bad.

 

 

Of course you could continue to blame the snail and like the above poster said, throw him in the sump.