20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Just got my 5" maxima in today. Acclimated her for about 2.5 hours, until parameters in the bag and tank were similar. She opened right up, and seems to be very reactive to the shadow test. This is my first clam and I haven't had to much experience with them. I included some pictures incase anything looks out of sorts to anyone. Please let me know if anything looks out of the ordinary. Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Just wanted to make sure that it wasn't gaping, or have a byssus gland problem. Link to comment
lpskeeper Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 looks great im no pro with clams though but great color where did you get it? i only have one maxima for like 3 weeks. just check for snails at night. Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 I'm a little worried about it. Its been doing fine all day and I just left for about an hour, when I came back it was closed up, with just a little of the mantel showing, and there are tiny bubbles in some spots on the outside of the clam. Its making me a little nervous, I burped it the best I could. It did happen to close around dusk time, and I'm hoping that the fact that it was kept in a green house under natural sun light is the reason. Also, I'm not seeing a foot or anything, just a hard white thing on the back, is that the foot? Link to comment
lpskeeper Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 best bet is to leave it be how long has it been in the tank? when you got it did you look under the clam? as long as theres no hole under the clam your prob good. lol when i got mine i thought it had pm and freaked out and dipped it. it prob didnt even have it and stressed it out more. point is let it be. the fact that you knew to burp it shows that you read your stuff but reading also leads to worry. and i get that cause clams are alot of $. Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 First off, my apologies to the forum for double posting, it was a mistake. Yeah, I tend to over analyze at times. But better safe then sorry, especially in this hobby. There just seams to be a lot of horror stories out there about these clams in the first couple of weeks. I guess people mostly only report when there is a problem. Its just difficult sifting through everything sometimes, thus why I've become pro-active on the fourms lately. As of now I have the clam on a flat rock on the bottom of my tank. This rock normally sits in the upper middle of my tank on a decline, to which I plan on replacing it when I feel the clam is comfortable. As of now, the clam is on a slight angle so that once attached, it will be completely facing up, with the siphon end on the lower portion. I'm yet to see an actual foot per se , but I do believe there is a small fleshy hole on the bottom. Also I noticed a couple of possible hitchhikers on the shell, but I'm not sure and don't want to mess with it until I'm certain. All in all I think she's good, very reactive, and the color looks very bright, and seemed to get brighter through out the day, about 9 inches from the light, soon it will be even closer to my NEP and hopefully get brighter. I will have some pics to come soon, thank you for your reply Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 So here are some more pics, that pretty much chronologically speak for what's been going on with my clam since I got it yesterday. I'm a little confused on gaping, I understand that it has to do with the intake siphon opening up or "gaping" but does it have anything to do with the bone white rim around the edge of the shell that is exposed when the mantel is retracted. The article below along with the picture following is what alerted me. Here is the link for that article from another thread. http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/forum/thre...e-parts-feeding Gaping in Clams. What causes a clam to gape (hold it’s incurrent siphon or even sometimes outcurrent siphon open, or both) is sometimes a hard thing to figure out. BY NO MEANS will a clam for sure die if it is gaping. There are several of other signs though which added to gaping will almost 95% of the time result in a clam’s death. These other signs are the mantle being retracted into the shell, generalized bleaching, and the clam being nearly completely closed accompanied by gaping (there are several other signs, but these are the biggies). the following is not my clam, although my clam seems to have the same white rim, my pics are below. Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Here are my almost chronological pics of the first 24 hrs of my clam. He had a couple of copepods on the outer shell when he came in, and my 6 line has been hovering around him since, waiting for more snacks. It only opened up for me nicely once, depicted in the 3rd pic below. Also the pics do no justice, it gets much brighter than that. any way, if anyone notices anything abnormal or something I should be concerned about, please let me know. thanks Link to comment
loftedfalcon Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Beautiful clam, grats. Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks, does that mean everything looks good to you? I'm probably over reacting, I just feel I'm not out of the woods yet. I've had the lights on my tank on for 2 hours now, and the clam still hasn't opened, and has only opened for a few brief hours yesterday. I can't remember if I posted these earlier or not...... Link to comment
loftedfalcon Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Well I have only limited experience with clams but I get the impression you've taken a great deal of care in climatising and experience shows that it's now out of your hands and also that these things can take a little time. It's all different and sitting on your hands is probably the best thing to do at this stage. Just be patient and don't mess with it. I'm sure it'll all work out Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks Mork/falcon,I hope so. She looks pretty good right now, still not fully (wide) open but she is out. I have been thinking about a clam for a long time, so I kinda been studying for a long time, just never had the hands on experience that I'm getting now. It's the most expensive thing in my tank and the center piece now, so I just want it to be happy. Link to comment
ThemadReefer Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 clam looks great.....leave it alone and stop flashing it with pic flash!!! i assue your tank has been up and running for at LEAST 6 months?? if not you shouldnt have a clam I have 8 of them currently and have been keeping them for the past 10 years and in my experience if it aint broke dont fix it clean water with correct values, excellent light, and dont BUG IT!! stress = issues with clams Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Haven't touched it all day, plus took all of those pics without the flash. Who needs a flash when there is 108w of HO T5 lighting over your tank? lol jk My 29BC has been up and running for over a year, its pretty stable. I only had 2 fish in it until today, when I yanked out my blenny for looking at the clam the wrong way, I gave him a chance. I'm curious about keeping multiple clams, I'm already hooked. Is it difficult keeping your calcium and other key trace elements where they need to be, or do you just dose a lot? Also, I noticed that the color of my clam is dramatically brighter when looking through the top of the water as opposed to through the glass, anyone tell me why? I'm sure it has something to do with the way the water bends the light or some junk like that, just curious. thank you for your reply Link to comment
justinT Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Don't worry too much- clams are animals and since they move more than corals they can be weird. ie- none of my maximas want to be on the rock, they jump back to the sand. sometimes they will stay mostly closed for a day, especially after any lighting changes. they do just fine. because their mantles is moveable, sometimes the white growth ridge will show, some areas will look like 'pinched mantle'- dont freak. Unless its ALWAYS that way there is probably no problem. Also, what can you really do for them besides provide them will good light and good water params? Just keep up on tank maintenance! Link to comment
20,000geeksUNDERtheSEA Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 I'm curious about the foot.... My clam has what looks almost like a horse shoe shaped looking rock on its dorsal side. Then right next to that is what I believe to be the actual byssul gland. I can see it extend and retract. Is this white horse shoe looking rock part of the byssul/foot? Or is it just a rock that the clam previously attached to? I will try and add some pic later. Link to comment
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