fignewt18 Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 For about a week and a half or so my Derasa clam has not been opening fully and is now bleaching in the center. I have had it for about 1 year and have never had any problems with it. Everything else in the tank looks fine. Around the same time the clam started having trouble I introduced some cerith snails to the tank, two of which had barnacles growing on them. I am thinking it could possibly be a parasite, however I can't see anything on the clam and have checked underneath it for pyramid snails. I am at my wits end, I've tried doig large water changes and adding carbon. I could do an iodine dip if people think it is a good idea but I am afraid that may stress the clam more. When observing the clam I often see it suddenly pull its mantle back into its shell in certain areas almost like it was touched by something and then it will slowly re-extend. I tried to get a picture of it, there are some sort of tube worms growing on the shell but they have been there for a while so I don't think they are the problem but who knows I could be wrong. I hope someone can help me out because I really liked the clam. My water parameters: Temp = 78 F S.G. = 1.023 pH = 8.2 Ammonia =0 ppm Nitrite = 0 ppm Nitrate= 0ppm Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I would get those feather duster tubes off of it. Also, can we get the rest of the tank specs? And what maintenance have you done lately? Link to comment
dahliaheartsyou Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 those look like vermetid snail's tubes which irritate clams according to melevsreef so I would def. get those off. Link to comment
fignewt18 Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 Lets see...It is a 9 gallon tank that I built and has 46 watts of PC lighting over it. What are the vermitid snails? the small white things because I have thousands of those in the tank. Sorry I forgot to add recent maintenance.... um I do weekly 2 gallon water changes only yesterday I did a 5 gallon water change due to the fact that I thought maybe something bad had gotten into the water from some filter floss I was using that may have been fire retardant. But I had been using the floss for about a month with no problems. In any case the water is fairly pristine right now. Link to comment
CollegeNano Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 anyone? 46W of PC will probably not support a clam. Link to comment
dahliaheartsyou Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 i know not much about clam and lighting, but he has had it 1 year he said, so could it be it was just barely hanging on with that lighting...? anywho, the vermetids are those hard shells that look like feather dusters on the clam http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/index.php and you don't dose ca or anything? seems like it would get used up FAST in that small of a tank with a clam... Link to comment
StevieT Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 PC and clams are not the ideal situation. And if there is no dosing along with this, it could slowly go down hill. You need to keep calc and alk in proper ranges for a clam to survive. Link to comment
fignewt18 Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 I have seen multiple poeple keeping clams under PC lighting in even smaller tanks than the one I have. I chose the derasa clam instead of a crocea or maxima because of the fact that it requires less light than the other two. I have had it for a year and until the last week or so it has been fine and always looked healthy. I realize the lighting situation isn't the best but it has sustained the clam (and I have seen new growth on the shell) for the last year. I think it is something else causing this but I may be wrong. I removed all the vermitid snails from around the shell thanks for the link dahliaheartsyou. All this time I thought they were feather dusters. Link to comment
TheUnfocusedOne Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I have seen multiple poeple keeping clams under PC lighting in even smaller tanks than the one I have. I chose the derasa clam instead of a crocea or maxima because of the fact that it requires less light than the other two. I have had it for a year and until the last week or so it has been fine and always looked healthy. I realize the lighting situation isn't the best but it has sustained the clam (and I have seen new growth on the shell) for the last year. I think it is something else causing this but I may be wrong. I removed all the vermitid snails from around the shell thanks for the link dahliaheartsyou. All this time I thought they were feather dusters. if its been surviving all this time its probably alright... my only other question is when was the last time you changed your bulbs? when was the last time you did a water change? old bulbs could be putting out reduced amounts of light (par) that are needed for the clam to survive so basically it could be true that it was surviving under you lighting conditions, but technically your lighting conditions do change with time on the bulb also a lack of availble elements n compounds in the water could also be affecting the clam althought id would probably be more of a stunting growth kind of thing... like give your kid coffee when hes 3, or keeping a kitten in a bottle Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.