moorediddy Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Alright... so after my two clowns ended up having brook when I got them, and dying almost immediately, I decided to hold off on the fish for now. My tank has been up for a little over 3 months now, and I have some small GSP, zoos, and candy cane coral. Tank parameters are: 10g AGA w/ 80w CSL PowerCompact CPR Aquafuge with Chaetomorphia (Spaghetti) AMMONIA 0 NITRITE 0 NITRATE 0 CALC. 375 ALK. 7 dKH (I'm working on the calc/alk, I have been using b-ionic to balance it, and now I'm going to start dripping top-off with kalk.) Now for the question. I have been doing tons of reading on corals and clams because I find those more interesting the fish, as most of us do. So, when I was at the LFS yesterday, I saw a special on Gold Maximas (supposedly easier to keep than squamosas). So, I thought since my tank is pretty well established, and they're on sale for really cheap... it would be a good time to try my hand at a clam. I tested their responsiveness, and picked out the one that was the quickest to respond and open back up. After acclimating, and adding to my tank, he was doing great... still very responsive, mantle was fully extended. I dropped some Marine Snow in there, and he seemed happy. Last night before I went to bed, same thing... all was well. BUT! This morning, he was almost completely gone. There was only a few bits of him left inside his shell. Everything else in my tank is still 100% happy and healthy... so it doesn't appear to be a tank-wide problem. And I'm stumped, he seemed to be doing so well. Now, the only things I could POSSIBLY think happened are: 1. He really was unhealthy to begin with, and I'm a retard and didn't know. 2. Since clams supposed need SOME nitrates, and mine are about zero, that may have caused it. (Though I don't see how he would have died so fast.) 3. My Super Pods killed him, those bastards... they're huge! Seriously, I'm stumped. Can someone a little more experienced help me out here? I thought I had done enough research to give it a shot at a supposed "lower maintenance" clam. Guess not. -moore Link to comment
tow-up Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 look for predatory snails around the shell etc.. i believe it was predatory 1) he was fine and opening up the day before 2) they dont NEED trates. although they seem happier with just a little. 3)even clams dieing from degeneration or damage take longer than 1 night your levels seem fine. what other animals are in the tank? my best guess would be predatory snails, or something else that feeds on clams. best of luck and sorry for your loss sean Link to comment
moorediddy Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 Well, the only snails I have in my tank now are: 4 Margarita Snails 3-4 Nassarius snails But then again, I did spot this new thing last night just before I went to bed on the glass. It looked kind of like a nassarius that had lost his shell. I didn't recognize him as any nudis I'd seen, and haven't seen any pictures of anything like it on here... I'm still very curious, as for all of the reasons that you mentioned too. I suspect foul play... the changes from last night to this morning were DRAMATIC! There was practically nothing left this morning. -moore Link to comment
jdsabin1 Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Either the clam was already on his way out and you didn't recognize it or it was something predatory like tow talked about. Do a search for pyramid snails. Water parameters could kill a clam that quickly but in order for that to happen they would have to be WAAAY out of whack which it sounds like yours weren't. Even if it was a predator, it's doubtful it could kill it in one single night like that. Strange.... Link to comment
moorediddy Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 Yeah, I'm pretty demoralized... Here are some pics from my clam. Link to comment
moorediddy Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 another.... still trying perfect the auto-focus in macro on my Powershot S200... =[ (if anyone has tips, let me know). i circled something that looks like a worm, but has never moved. Link to comment
DarkDevil Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 from what I have read, a healthy clam can defend itself from most critters, not counting the predatory ones, but if it's starting to die, your pods, worms, hermit carbs and of course shimps, can clean out a clam in 1 night, which is in your case. you said it have good mantle extension, but that doesn't prove the clam is healthy, coz a dead clam can have it's mantle extend also, it's some sort of reflex muscle of a clam. sorry about your lost, sometimes buying the livestocks are kind of gamble, I believe no one in this hobby can say they have 100% living livestocks, we all learned it the hard way... good luck Link to comment
tow-up Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 looks to me like the bysal gland and foot are missing. you can see right through the mouth to the table. that might have been the problem. anyone else agree? Link to comment
moorediddy Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 tow-up -- The foot was perfectly healthy last night... and yesterday before I bought it. That was one of the things that I checked. -moore Link to comment
BarryN Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 from what I have read, a healthy clam can defend itself from most critters, not counting the predatory ones, but if it's starting to die, your pods, worms, hermit carbs and of course shimps, can clean out a clam in 1 night, which is in your case. I totally agree with this statement. Sorry for your loss. Barry Link to comment
moorediddy Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 Yeah, I figured the pods/worms did their job of cleaning it out... I'm just wondering what originally killed it. When I pulled the shell out this morning, it was crawling with pods... hope there aren't any hidden predators.. -moore Link to comment
Dingo Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I detect a Hack player. /*Dingo was killed by a Large Dog*/ Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.