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Semi-translucent clam?


ScooobaSteve

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ScooobaSteve

Any ideas? I watch things pretty closely and this thing just appeared out of nowhere... Responds to touch (uh, doesn't like it) and appears to start to retract and then seals up. I can move it a little but foot seems firmly planted on the rock. Just stuck that shroom there about a month ago and there was no "clam" then. Thanks in advance!

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Looks like you found yourself a cute little bivalve! They're filter feeders and will help clean your water. They'll also get up and move wherever they think is a good spot. I found one attached to my return pump when I went to clean it, and plopped it into the main tank. I then saw it in about four different locations (it even tried to dig itself into the sand) before it settled on a corner towards the back of the tank.

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Looks like the foot of the schroom to me. They reproduce by dragging themselves along the rock, leaving part of their foot behind. The foot is always translucent in colour as it is shaded from the light. As the momma schroom moves away, un-shading the baby it swells and colours up.

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ScooobaSteve

Don't think it's the shroom foot. Definitely a bivalve as I can watch it retract and close up when I get too close.

 

Mariaface -- they normally grow so quickly? I don't dose calc and do a WC once every 1-2 weeks. Thanks!!

 

 

Edit: Found a better pic where you can see both sides.

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They grow pretty quickly, but it didn't necessarily have to have grown there. It could've just decided to get up and settle down there overnight!

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Jellyingabout

Bivalve is a bit generic though. Anychance of a closer picture? From picutre1 it looks like limidae or pectinidae

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ScooobaSteve

I'll see what I can do about a better pic. He's at a weird angle and tucked under that shroom such that the refraction from the glass makes close-up pics hard to get.

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Jellyingabout

Well either way its a great hitch hiker, congrats! see how big it grows, i hope its Tridacna gigas, its not, but i hope it is :)

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Jellyingabout

I'm gonna go with limidae possibly a young Limaria pellucida, but its just so small and translucent that really you gotta wait for it to grow before you can be sure.

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I'm gonna go with limidae possibly a young Limaria pellucida, but its just so small and translucent that really you gotta wait for it to grow before you can be sure.

wouldn't it have tentacles sticking out?
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Jellyingabout

can't be sure when they are young, but when it grows up yes.

 

It is just a stab in the dark, i find next to impossible to ID clams without opening them up and looking at the sinus etc. Then again i guess you would see at least some small tentacles in any file clam post plantigrade. Beats me.

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Jellyingabout

ooo just had a thought, it resembles an oyster actually, the crevice its in may be a fair bit deeper than it first looks in the photos and it has its umbo deep in there. :)

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ooo just had a thought, it resembles an oyster actually, the crevice its in may be a fair bit deeper than it first looks in the photos and it has its umbo deep in there. :)

oysters aren't that mobile and one shell would be totally fusing with the rock.
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Wait -- exactly how big can I expect this thing to get based on the species speculation above?

in the unlikely event it is an oyster 4 inches should not be surprising.

With all other reasonable suggestions several inches will probably be the maximum

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Well if your hungry I'm sure you could make it go further if you cooked up that mushroom too.

nothing better to put in clam chowder than mushrooms and a spoon lol
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