sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Im worried something is wrong with my derasa. He was doing very well until one morning i woke up and he was tipped on his side. I put him upright and he would not open up. So i turned down the flow on my tank to see if he would start opening up, but no luck. So a few days went by and he was always on his side in the mornings, I would put him upright, and he felt 'loose' whenever i would do this. What is wrong with my clam?? All my parameters are fine. Link to comment
.Newman. Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 doesnt sound normal, but hopefully you didnt damage anything when youre adjusting him. has he ever opened up in the past few days? if all parameters are fine and youre doing normal water changes then he should open back up... Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 I don't think I damaged anything. Tonight hes opened up probably 25%?? It is more than he has the past few days. The coloring on his mantle looks fine, or at least the parts i can see. Link to comment
.Newman. Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 sounds like he'll be fine. Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Ive been watching him the last couple hours, and he's starting to lean like hes gonna tip over again. Also, there is like a brown stringy thing coming out of his syphon.. what is it? Link to comment
SWAG Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 That happens to my clam sometimes when I change the flow.I think he's just not happy with his location. The brown stringy stuff is poop I believe. Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 That happens to my clam sometimes when I change the flow.I think he's just not happy with his location.The brown stringy stuff is poop I believe. I haven't been changing my flow though, thats why it is a little strange.. +1 on the string poop, thats what im thinking it is as well. Link to comment
Reefie Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Is the clam gaping? If not, then the clam will pull through. It may not like where it is, you can try moving it to another spot with more light. Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 What do you mean by gaping? Link to comment
Reefie Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 When the shell is half open, but the mantle remains inside the shell. I don't have pics of a clam gaping, but it can easily be googled. Type in "clam gaping" Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Oh ok, gotcha. He was gaping a few days ago, but last night his mantle was out of his shell.. When i woke up this morning he was on his side again. I put him upright. Should i leave him on his side next time this happens? Link to comment
.Newman. Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 is he leaning towards any source of light? like a window or lamps in other rooms? stringy poop thing isnt good. it could be that he is releasing his zooxanthellae algae, and he'll likely fade in color (from the center first) you have good lights in his tank right? Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 No he's not leaning towards another light source. I have 2 par38 bulbs as my lighting. Its just really weird because he was doing really great, and literally a day after this started happening. There was no other signs before or anything. He was very responsive and now it doesn't look too promising. Link to comment
pablom617 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 A few questions might allow us to help more: How big is the clam? How old is your tank? Do you feed it? How long has he been in your tank? Is anything else showing stress? What are your parameters? Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 The clam is about 4". Tank is a year and a half old. I feed oyster feast every other night. It has been in my tank for 5 months. Nothing that i can see is showing stress. My parameters are all fine, Besides my calcium being a little low. But it has always been low. I dose kent 2 part and have been holding off because there has been a white film algae growing Link to comment
Reefie Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Clams are interesting like that, they do great for months or even years, and then things change. I had a Derasa do something similar to what is happening with yours, I would suggest moving it to a place that gives it more light. It may not be getting enough light and is ejecting it's zooxanthallae to re-consume for energy. If it's colours start fading and the middle of it's mantle starts getting translucent, it DEFINITELY needs more light ASAP. Before all that happens to you, I'd suggest moving it right under one of your lights. Derasa's are one of the least light demanding clams, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need too much light to survive nonetheless thrive. Link to comment
SWAG Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Is the clam gaping? If not, then the clam will pull through. It may not like where it is, you can try moving it to another spot with more light. looooooool you have 7 clams in ur 29 gallon? Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 Clams are interesting like that, they do great for months or even years, and then things change. I had a Derasa do something similar to what is happening with yours, I would suggest moving it to a place that gives it more light. It may not be getting enough light and is ejecting it's zooxanthallae to re-consume for energy. If it's colours start fading and the middle of it's mantle starts getting translucent, it DEFINITELY needs more light ASAP. Before all that happens to you, I'd suggest moving it right under one of your lights. Derasa's are one of the least light demanding clams, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need too much light to survive nonetheless thrive. The clam is in very good lighting, but he's on the sand bed? My lighting as i previously stated are 2of Evil's par38 bulbs. Should I move it up on a rock towards the top of the tank? The only part of the clam that has been exposed is about 1/2" of the mantle, the rest is closed up. I can't see any of the main part of the clam, like its syphon or 'mouth'. Here is what the he looked like last night. Link to comment
Reefie Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 The clam is in very good lighting, but he's on the sand bed? My lighting as i previously stated are 2of Evil's par38 bulbs. Should I move it up on a rock towards the top of the tank? The only part of the clam that has been exposed is about 1/2" of the mantle, the rest is closed up. I can't see any of the main part of the clam, like its syphon or 'mouth'. Here is what the he looked like last night. Try moving it and see if it helps it open up again. It may not like where it is currently, you will see a difference if it's happy in it's new spot. Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 Move it to where though? Closer to the light? The position he is in now was when he was happy. I moved the clam to the other side of the tank and that is when all of this happened. Also, the brown stringy stuff I have been seeing is NOT coming from the clam, it is coming from some sort of worm on its shell. Link to comment
Reefie Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 loooooooolyou have 7 clams in ur 29 gallon? Don't you know that clams are very VERY addictive??? Haha! The Derasa is the biggest one at 5", two of the Crocea's are about 4" or so. The other 2 Crocea's are about 3", and the 2 Maxima's are about 3" also. I just couldn't pass up a nice looking clam at the LFS. 3 of them are from Barrier Reef Aquariums in Renton, WA. They usually get a lot of REALLY nice clams, the other 4 are from J&L Aquatics in Burnaby, BC. Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Just an update, I did a big water change today and changed my chemi-pure and purigen. Clam is already starting to look better. Keeping my fingers crossed.. His shell this morning looked out of alignment.. is this a terrible sign? Link to comment
SWAG Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Don't you know that clams are very VERY addictive???Haha! The Derasa is the biggest one at 5", two of the Crocea's are about 4" or so. The other 2 Crocea's are about 3", and the 2 Maxima's are about 3" also. I just couldn't pass up a nice looking clam at the LFS. 3 of them are from Barrier Reef Aquariums in Renton, WA. They usually get a lot of REALLY nice clams, the other 4 are from J&L Aquatics in Burnaby, BC. Yeah,they are cool animals. I only have 1 derasa I want one of those maxima clams with the Turquoise. Link to comment
.Newman. Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 what do you mean out of alignment? the two halves dont evenly close up? shifted? Link to comment
sdoubtit8 Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 what do you mean out of alignment? the two halves dont evenly close up? shifted? You know how the shell has "grooves" well the "grooves" weren't lining up. And the bottom was not lined up . 1 half was higher than the other half. Link to comment
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