FishyFishy11 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Hi everyone, I was hoping some clam masters could take a look at my new maxima. It's been about six years but I've kept maximas and croceas in the past with success and had so much fun with them (seriously - they're better than fish!) Anyway, this one arrived on the 31st from Vivid Aquariums. Drip acclimated for about an hour and he seemed to settle in fine. He did gape a little yesterday after I put him up on my rock but was back to normal after a couple hours. Doesn't seem to be gaping now (at least - I don't think so). The problem I'm noticing today is he seems a little transparent in the center, between the intake and outtake siphons. I'll post pics but it doesn't really show up very well. It's like I can almost see it's innards through the flesh. I feel like I should be concerned...should I? Really other than the transparency, he seems fine. Reacts quickly to movement, shadows, etc. (Please excuse my lack of photography skills - some of you guys make me soooo jealous - these were taken with my phone). I have him in my just turned 7 month old nuvo 8 gallon, stocked with a juvenile Ocellaris, a green clown goby a Randall's goby, two scarlet reef hermits and various sps, lps, zoas, acans and shrooms. I'm beginning to realize it may have been a dumb move to attempt a clam in something so small, (my last tanks were all 20gal on up) but I really want to give it my best shot. My tank params have been stable for a few months now, so when I saw him on a WYSIWYG I decided to go for it. Lighting: Nanobox Mini Tide Circulation/Flow: Cobalt MJ900 return Filtration: inTank media basket with filter floss and chemi pure elite Temp: 79f Salinity: 1.025 ATO: AutoAqua Smart ATO Salifert tests as of this morning: Cal: 480 Mag: 1350 Alk: 8.2 Ph: 8.0 Phosphate: -0.05 API tests as of this morning: Nitrate: 0 (<<<comes up as 0 but it must be higher than this because I'm kind of a heavy feeder - 2-3x daily: Blue zoo mix, frozen, pellet) Ammonia: 0 Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Well, this morning I'm not getting any response from the clam when I shade the light or when my clown swims by, etc. Is it safe to assume it's passed on? I feel terrible! I've never had a clam die on me before... Link to comment
tetraodon Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Poke it just to make sure, my clam doesnt allways react when I shade Link to comment
metrokat Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I'm sorry about your clam And Zeph is prolly the one you should talk to. In the first and third picture, the mantle looks pinched to me but I could be wrong. Link to comment
Nickbruh510 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I have had a derasa clam for 3 months in my 9 month old tank doing great mines showed some transparent in the beginning, I wouldn't worry much, and just for the record I've had then under intense led as far as the kessil and the shimmer on most led are a lot so I wouldn't really worry about the shading as the LEDs shimmer ally it's constantly shading in a way so a clam won't always close up do to this and most suppliers have them under metal halide, IMHO Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 I'm sorry about your clam And Zeph is prolly the one you should talk to. In the first and third picture, the mantle looks pinched to me but I could be wrong. Poke it just to make sure, my clam doesnt allways react when I shade Thank you both for your replies. Yeah, I just tried poking him...no response. I'll pull him out of the tank Probably do a water change after too, just to be safe. Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 I have had a derasa clam for 3 months in my 9 month old tank doing great mines showed some transparent in the beginning, I wouldn't worry much, and just for the record I've had then under intense led as far as the kessil and the shimmer on most led are a lot so I wouldn't really worry about the shading as the LEDs shimmer ally it's constantly shading in a way so a clam won't always close up do to this and most suppliers have them under metal halide, IMHO That makes sense...I want to be hopeful but like I said, I poked him with no response and he kinda has a rigor mortis look to him now so I'm fairly certain he's gone. I am still in the 15 day money back guarantee window, so that's something I guess. Link to comment
thegambler26 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 That sucks! That was a such a beautiful clam! I was thinking of ordering a clam from vivid. Did it look good on arrival or was it kinda suspect from the start? Link to comment
basser1 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I actually think your clam look(ed) pretty good. The mantle on the lower right side of the clam looks like it had a chunk (bitten) out of it? Was it that way when you got it? Hope it gets more responsive for you. Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Okay so, when I went to take him out of the tank I didn't get any response when I lifted him but I was turning him around a bit (under water) looking him over again, he responded twice by closing - (not all the way and kinda half-heartedly). I never did lift him out of the water. Right away, I put him back in his spot on the rock. His mouth was gaping and then he slowly closed it. Now I'm torn...is it alive?? And if he is, can I do anything to save him? Link to comment
thegambler26 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Leave him in. You might get lucky. He might be too far gone but if he's alive there's still a chance. Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Some pics: Here he is before I touched him. He looks really transparent in between the mantle and his mouth was definitely gaping (on the other side). And right after I put him back: Then his mouth slowly closed: And this is what he looks like now: I'll just wait it out and hope for the best Thanks all! Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 That sucks! That was a such a beautiful clam! I was thinking of ordering a clam from vivid. Did it look good on arrival or was it kinda suspect from the start? It looked great!! Quick to respond to light, no gaping (except that one time when I moved him to his spot - and even that was only for an hour or two.) He came with his foot attached to a bit of coral skeleton and seemed perfectly happy for the first 24hrs, moreso even than I expected. If he doesn't make it, I'll definitely order another one from vivid in the future, when I have the room for a bigger tank. Link to comment
thegambler26 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 It looked great!! Quick to respond to light, no gaping (except that one time when I moved him to his spot - and even that was only for an hour or two.) He came with his foot attached to a bit of coral skeleton and seemed perfectly happy for the first 24hrs, moreso even than I expected. If he doesn't make it, I'll definitely order another one from vivid in the future, when I have the room for a bigger tank. good to know I've been checking their wysiwyg clams for a while. Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Here's the photo I purchased off of...as you can see the actual color turned out to be pretty darn true. He's turquoise from the top down and more of a true blue from the side. Link to comment
basser1 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I say leave him alone. My clam will open up so wide some times, I swear you can see clear through it!. IDK why clams do that, but they do from time to time. Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 My opinion is there is nothing wrong with your tank or light, you just got a clam that wasn't that healthy to begin with. A healthy clam would take about a month to gape and lose color. If it happens on under two weeks it's usually not your fault. There isn't much you can do. Feeding might help. I wouldn't do a water change your nitrates sound to low already. Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 My opinion is there is nothing wrong with your tank or light, you just got a clam that wasn't that healthy to begin with. A healthy clam would take about a month to gape and lose color. If it happens on under two weeks it's usually not your fault. There isn't much you can do. Feeding might help. I wouldn't do a water change your nitrates sound to low already. It seems a little better...still gaping, but he reacts each time I walk up to the tank. (I've got a window directly across the room from my tank so I block some light when I stand in front of it.) Do you think it would be a good idea to add a little reef chili to the water? Zeph, what's your favorite food for clams? Link to comment
basser1 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Quit "worrying it to death"...... Let it be Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 It seems a little better...still gaping, but he reacts each time I walk up to the tank. (I've got a window directly across the room from my tank so I block some light when I stand in front of it.) Do you think it would be a good idea to add a little reef chili to the water? Zeph, what's your favorite food for clams?My very favorite clam food, and all experts will agree with me, is fish poop. Feeding clams is so near to useless, I don't know a single authority that does so. Except for Metrokat. I do feed mine though, because my tanks carry very low nutrients and I have problems keeping certain species, but my honest opinion is it doesn't help much at all. Look at Tetra, that raised a tiny 1 inch maxima without feeding. An accomplishment some would consider impossible. Has the maxima attached to anything? Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Good to know. I think I'm basically overstocked fish-wise with 3 (Occy clown, Randall's goby, and green clown goby) in an 8 gallon, so poop is readily available It hasn't tried to attach to the rock yet. But it does have a tiny bit of its foot holding onto some coral skeleton that it arrived with. I just wedged the skeleton in a little dip on the rock and am hoping te rest of the foot will grab on. Link to comment
metrokat Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I don't know a single authority that does so. Except for Metrokat. Oh ya. My clams love my kitchen. Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Good to know. I think I'm basically overstocked fish-wise with 3 (Occy clown, Randall's goby, and green clown goby) in an 8 gallon, so poop is readily available It hasn't tried to attach to the rock yet. But it does have a tiny bit of its foot holding onto some coral skeleton that it arrived with. I just wedged the skeleton in a little dip on the rock and am hoping te rest of the foot will grab on. That sounds good. Make sure to feed the fish something heavy like mysis, and not just small foods like cyclops etc. and feed often. Also do yourself a favor and get a Red Sea nitrate test kit. This way you can truly know if you are over feeding or not. In such a small tank parameters can change fast. Link to comment
FishyFishy11 Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Thanks all for your advise and support but I'm sad to report that the clam didn't make it It took a turn for the worse last night and by morning it was shrived inside it's shell. Everything else in the tank seems to be doing fine. Link to comment
GHill762 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 that sucks but it happens I lost a gorgeous maxima myself that was gaping shortly after I got it and it started to recover and was looking pretty good then just died one day out of nowhere.. don't let it scare you away from clams though.. I just prefer to pick mine out in person.. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.