Accidental clam..

[Paddy42]

Hi guys,

 

Just wandered if you can spare some good advice. I have my 60l nano reef tank set up few months ago.

2 weeks ago decided it's time to start gradually adding some softies and corals.

 

On first trip 2 weeks ago got beautiful ZOA but at first I have noticed it doesn't really open fully. I though something is wrong with water or it doesn't like it.

But my golden tip clover is doing great and I even noticed fresh and tiny growth on the base of it.

 

I have inspected it closely today and noticed that the Zoas are growing on live clam....?!

 

Now I have noticed that this clam opens up and closes quiet a lot and therefore makes the Zoas to close and open, close and open.. so on, so on.

 

Its bee  going after 1st week I got that piece of coral.

 

What would you recommend?

 

Zoas ocassionaly have a few hours where they can open up and stay open, but sometimes it's literally opening and closing withing 10-15 mins as the clam moves slightly and the Zoas retracting inside..

 

Any advices?

No idea what clam it is. Seems to be dark/greyish with white strips inside. Never seen the inside properly as the maximum it opened up was about 1-1.5cm gap and there are Zoas growing all over the clam.

 

On the top of it, I have notices some of the heads unattached itself already and floated off.

1 even found new home on the top of my live rock. Got somehow into that little gap and I guess attached itself somehow. Lol

 

All advices welcome.

Paddy.

[WV Reefer]

8 minutes ago, Paddy42 said:

Hi guys,

 

Just wandered if you can spare some good advice. I have my 60l nano reef tank set up few months ago.

2 weeks ago decided it's time to start gradually adding some softies and corals.

 

On first trip 2 weeks ago got beautiful ZOA but at first I have noticed it doesn't really open fully. I though something is wrong with water or it doesn't like it.

But my golden tip clover is doing great and I even noticed fresh and tiny growth on the base of it.

 

I have inspected it closely today and noticed that the Zoas are growing on live clam....?!

 

Now I have noticed that this clam opens up and closes quiet a lot and therefore makes the Zoas to close and open, close and open.. so on, so on.

 

Its bee  going after 1st week I got that piece of coral.

 

What would you recommend?

 

Zoas ocassionaly have a few hours where they can open up and stay open, but sometimes it's literally opening and closing withing 10-15 mins as the clam moves slightly and the Zoas retracting inside..

 

Any advices?

No idea what clam it is. Seems to be dark/greyish with white strips inside. Never seen the inside properly as the maximum it opened up was about 1-1.5cm gap and there are Zoas growing all over the clam.

 

On the top of it, I have notices some of the heads unattached itself already and floated off.

1 even found new home on the top of my live rock. Got somehow into that little gap and I guess attached itself somehow. Lol

 

All advices welcome.

Paddy.

 

From the way you described it sounds like a type of oyster. No need for special care. Awesome hitchhiker to have. 😊

[Paddy42]

If it will open up a bit more one day I will try to take nice pic to be able to show what is inside. It might help a bit with ID.

 

So even thou the Zoa seems to be suffering a bit from moving oyster I hope it might start growing over the rock it sits.

[WV Reefer]

Just now, Paddy42 said:

If it will open up a bit more one day I will try to take nice pic to be able to show what is inside. It might help a bit with ID.

 

So even thou the Zoa seems to be suffering a bit from moving oyster I hope it might start growing over the rock it sits.

 

I have some zoas that grow on a bivalve. I find that they can move around a bit if the bivalve is bothering them.  

[WV Reefer]

Is it similar to this:

 

[Paddy42]

Agrhhh..  sorry for the quality of this picture.. (edge of oyster visible at the left bottom bit - where the orange-red 1 head zoa is visible)

 

 

It also closes whenever I change the intensity of light. But then few mins later slowly opens up again.

[MetaTank]

17 minutes ago, Paddy42 said:

 

 

 

It also closes whenever I change the intensity of light. But then few mins later slowly opens up again.

This is totally normal behavior for bivalves as I understand. It should eventually get used to the light changes, and may calm down a bit

[Paddy42]

Thanks for all the comments and advices.

Will leave it for now and let the oyster- or whatever it is- get used to lights and will see where we are in a few weeks time.