Unknown parasite on Corcea

[Hoobahans]

I have a 3-4 inch corea clam that I got from liveaquaria.com. It came with lots of hitchhikers, including 9 tunicates, lots of tube worms, and this pesky little thing that I have recently discovered. It looks like something that shaved off a very thin layer of my clam's shell and is using the chip as its own shell. When it is closed the chip fits perfectly into the texture of my clam's shell and is nearly impossible to see, although it is a little lighter than the rest of the shell. It opens a fraction of an inch as would a man-hole cover and I can see very tiny feathery things along the opening--obviously some sort of filter feeder. I cannot figure out what this is, so anyone, please, take your best shot. I dont think it is hurting the clam, as the clam extends its mantle nicely and has shown a lot of growth in the past three weeks that I have had it.

 

Also, is it bad to have that huge tunicate? The clam doesnt seem to mind it, but it is so big...

 

The first two pictures show the mystery thing while it is open. The next is a shot showing the thing as well as the big tunicate. The last two are the clam's mantle and new growth.

[ezcompany]

i would think its harmless.

here's what i'd do

give your clam a good brush with a toothbrush. rinse with water.

then if the pest still bugs you, plug it up with a drop of superglue, or better yet use putty to burn it as it turns hot as it solidifies. this shouldn't bother the clam.

[Hoobahans]

i would think its harmless.

here's what i'd do

give your clam a good brush with a toothbrush. rinse with water.

then if the pest still bugs you, plug it up with a drop of superglue, or better yet use putty to burn it as it turns hot as it solidifies. this shouldn't bother the clam.

Chemical warfare, eh. I will deffinatly do that if I decide to get rid of it, I cant imagine that anything would live through that.

Im a fan of diversity in my tank...so if it is harmless I would like to keep it. It is interesting if nothing else. Should I wait and see if my clam starts to act stressed? I was worried at first that it might have tapped into the clam through the shell, but not that I can see it filter feeding I think it might not be a parasite as much as a squater.