JustReef Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 What does your clam do at night. Mine looks fine during the day, but looks like it is gaping at night. The mantle is partially retracted, but it isn't closed and the input siphon (not sure of the scientific term) seems to be very open. I'm a little worried. Is this normal? Link to comment
StevieT Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 mine will close up almost all the way, some of it is past the shell...I have only owned this one clam so I can't compare to others. upper left corner Link to comment
REEF@305 Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 mine will close up almost all the way, some of it is past the shell...I have only owned this one clam so I can't compare to others. upper left corner I have three of them and they close a little at night and sometime they are open normal but never that you can really look into them or that there siphon is sticking out beyond the shell or open alot. does the ph drop fast and alot after light period it maybe that it I think it effect the repiration. Link to comment
JustReef Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 I have three of them and they close a little at night and sometime they are open normal but never that you can really look into them or that there siphon is sticking out beyond the shell or open alot. does the ph drop fast and alot after light period it maybe that it I think it effect the repiration. I've never tested the ph at night, but I do have a fuge that runs on a reverse lighting schedule. I haven't tested ph in about 6 months. It always stayed between 8.2 and 8.4 when I used to test for it. I'll pick up a new kit and see if I can post some pics tonight. How long after lights out should I test the ph? If I am having a nightly ph drop what can I do about it? Link to comment
JustReef Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 So I picked up a crappy ph test kit (the strip kind). It read 8.0 with the lights on and 8.0 after the lights went out. The test has a really crappy resolution, so I'm not sure what the exact ph was, but it's not 8.4. The important thing is it's not really changing. I didn't get a pic last night. I'll try again tonight. Link to comment
SPS20 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 My clams tend to close up most of the way at night. They stay open maybe a centimeter at most. My squamosa seems to like to close the most, leaving only a sliver of mantle visible. Link to comment
Reef Aquatics Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 You really should try to get your PH up to 8.3..it will drop a little at night.. Link to comment
hazmat Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I was up at 3 am letting the dogs out and noticed that my clam was really moving around. It was opening and closing and twisting on it's rock. I checked it out with a flashlight to see if anything was bothering it but I couldn't see anything around it. I recently re-aquascaped so I was wondering if it wasn't happy. But really it's on the same rock in the same place only a little higher in the tank (which is a good thing!) I'm sure it would detatch itself if it wasn't happy and today it's fine. I'm wondering if it does this at night? Since I'm not usually up at that time! It's been on the same rock since I bought it and it's been doing fine. Never see it move during the day. I know my pH drops at night. Is this an issue? I've been reading up on pH and it everything I read says dropping down to 7.8 is within normal limits. Low but not too low. and it always comes up in the morning. Link to comment
dtfleming Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I was up at 3 am letting the dogs out and noticed that my clam was really moving around. It was opening and closing and twisting on it's rock. I checked it out with a flashlight to see if anything was bothering it but I couldn't see anything around it. I recently re-aquascaped so I was wondering if it wasn't happy. But really it's on the same rock in the same place only a little higher in the tank (which is a good thing!) I'm sure it would detatch itself if it wasn't happy and today it's fine. I'm wondering if it does this at night? Since I'm not usually up at that time! It's been on the same rock since I bought it and it's been doing fine. Never see it move during the day. I know my pH drops at night. Is this an issue? I've been reading up on pH and it everything I read says dropping down to 7.8 is within normal limits. Low but not too low. and it always comes up in the morning. Was it pulsing? It was problem feeding on something. Link to comment
FateX9 Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 both of my maximas are halfway open at night Link to comment
hazmat Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Was it pulsing? It was problem feeding on something. Yes it was opening and closing every few seconds. That is why I thought something was bothering it. Cool! I wonder what it was eating. I have not fed it yet. Only light so far. I used Marine Snow one time and it caused a cyano breakout really bad. So now I'm really paranoid about adding too many nutients. But I guess I need to think about my poor clam. It's still pretty small though. Maybe 2-2.5 inches. Any suggestions on something I can feed it that will not polute my tank?? Link to comment
wtfe Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Yes it was opening and closing every few seconds. That is why I thought something was bothering it. Cool! I wonder what it was eating. I have not fed it yet. Only light so far. I used Marine Snow one time and it caused a cyano breakout really bad. So now I'm really paranoid about adding too many nutients. But I guess I need to think about my poor clam. It's still pretty small though. Maybe 2-2.5 inches. Any suggestions on something I can feed it that will not polute my tank?? DT's Oyster Eggs Link to comment
Knuckles Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Clams dont feed by opening and closing. It was most likely repositioning itself or spitting something out that was siphoned in. I add DT's phytoplankton 2x a week for mine. Its in a mix of mini mysis and cyclopleeze for the rest of the inhabitants. I dont worry much about polluting the water because I add the proper amounts for my tank size and I have a beefy cleanup crew to handle anything extra. At night, the clam is partially retracted but still open. Link to comment
Reef Goddess Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 My 5" maxi closes up halfway at night, but my 13" squami just retracts its mantle a little and thats it. Rock boring clams will attach faster and remain comfortable on a surface that is flush with the bottom of their shell where the soft part touches. If the is an empty space or they are not upright on the rock they will often move around until they find a better fit. This can be bad because they will usually fall on the substrate in their moving and this can cause further irritation. For small clams its best to find a small flat rock or tile and let them attach to that. Then you can position them elsewhere in your tank without so much trouble. Its also important to keep them away from stinging corals and excessive flow until they are attached. Link to comment
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