Bobby417919 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I have had two diffent kind of clam die on me, and i not sure why. They are about 2 in. I have a 175 MH over a 20 gallon high. I what to know if any can give me help (plesae do) on why they are dying. Thanks Robert Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 are you feeding them phyto? are your water params correct? there's a laundry list of problems why your clams could have died. all clams under 4 inches NEED to be fed to live. clams do not become photosynthetic until over 4inches in length. more info would be helpful! Link to comment
ReefDiver Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 A few questions. How old is your tank? Clam's do best in mature tanks, with proper water parameters. What kind of clams are they? If they are tridacna clams (Crocea, Maxima or Squamosa etc.) when they are that small they need isolated feeding of phytoplankton this is done by placing the clams in a small container that can be removed from the aquarium, then adding the phyto to the container. Your lighting should be sufficient. Link to comment
Bobby417919 Posted March 10, 2005 Author Share Posted March 10, 2005 My water is good, i have add three SPS frags and two haved lived for about three weeks. One died when it fell on my RBTA. No I dont feed the phyto, I though if it was under 1 in you have to feed. But any way what is phyto and were do i get it from. Robert Link to comment
ReefDiver Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Your LFS should carry it, I feed my aquariam DT's Phyto plankton and cyclopeeze. They can also be purchased online. Link to comment
Physh1 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by Bobby417919 One died when it fell on my RBTA. No I dont feed the phyto, I though if it was under 1 in you have to feed. Well, falling on a RBTA explains one....the other one would be hard to tell for sure but I bet it's from lack of food. The 1" rule is very generic and 1" is not very accurate IMO. I feed regularly until around 2"....this could or could not be the issue. Haw have your nitrate, calcium, ph, and alk levels been? Anything really off with them can have a huge affect as well. Cameron Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 i think he was talking about his sps frag that fell on the rbta. Link to comment
Physh1 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Doh......misread one post...sorry about that. Anyhow, my clam info still applies:D Cameron Link to comment
USFnano Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Definately possible theat they starved to death. Knopp recommends phyto until 3"+ Link to comment
Bobby417919 Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 Thanks Everyone Yeah it was a sps frag that fell into the RBTA. Not to sure on the kind of clam but i will take pics and post tomorrow. The guy at the pet store dose not know what kind it is. I think it is a Maxima but not sure. Link to comment
Mike Maddox Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 You're going to have to bowl feed clams under 3" unless you want to dose about 4x the recommended amount of phyto. ALL clams need phyto, small clams just need a lot more. Link to comment
Bobby417919 Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 isn't Phyto a one celled algae? If I put too much will it turn my water green? How often do i feed the clam? I am thinking of putting it in a "blow" for feeding. I am going to the store tomorrow to get some Phyto. What kind/brand of Phyto is the best? Thanks Eveyone Robert Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Wow... people arent thinking outside the box at all here. I've had 1" or so clams that I dosed in no specific way (again, there was probably natural "food" in the tank) and they've done fine on lighting along. But feeding gives them more metabolic stability and faster growth. We cant accept "Water is good" becuase honestly that usually means that you dont know your water parameters. And you should no longer frequent that lfs if they cannot even know what species of clam they are selling. Its not even difficult at all to tell. Link to comment
Bobby417919 Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 The guy at the fish store is a prick and needs to get another job. The reason i say my water is good because i am fighting a battle of hair algae, so my water parameters are not excellent but they are above normal. I use RO water for top off. My phosphate,nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia are a 0. PH is 7.9-8.1 and calciumis at about 400. Link to comment
Mike Maddox Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Bring your pH up to about 8.5 to combat the hair algae, it will help Link to comment
FAC_WNY Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 If you're fighting hair algae, your water parameters are NOT good. The reason you don't have detectable levels of nitrogenous wastes and phosphates is that the algae is consuming it as a fuel source for growth. Reef organisms do not do well in systems with elevated nutrient levels. Cheers, Fred Link to comment
ReeferMo Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Originally posted by D2Rhino Bring your pH up to about 8.5 to combat the hair algae, it will help But will it have any adverse effects on inverts or corals? Link to comment
Mike Maddox Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Nope Reefs in the wild range from 7.8-8.6 and as long as the pH is not adjusted more than .2 per day reef inverts will happily tolerate a stable pH between those parameters. Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted March 13, 2005 Share Posted March 13, 2005 Thats the first time I've heard that, let us know how it goes. Link to comment
Brokken Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 I don't claim to know much about clams, but I DO know that most commercial phyto supplements contain mostly nano-chloropsis algae which is TOO small for clams and most everything else in your tank to live on. There is a product called Phyto-Feast that's formulated for clams, gorgonians and other phyto-eating organisms. I concur with the statement previously made that at that size, you probably will need to feed your clams. Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 You can see if a food is acceptable for your clam by bowl-feeding it. I've used DT's and it worked. Link to comment
Kogut Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Has nobody thought it might be snails attacking the clams? I know that clams can get parasites and then be slowly consumed by them. Try bowl-feeding it and see if it helps, but I think it might be something more than just starvation... The tank should have enough to "sustain it" for a while, at least... How long has the algae battle been going on? Solve that problem and you may solve the other... Is the clam very colorful? A pic would be really nice..... Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Yeah, kogut, that ran through my mind as well. But generally speaking, when a person doesnt know what type of clam they own they really dont know how to care for it. Link to comment
Bobby417919 Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 Kogut Not sure that my snail were attacking it, I do have about 5-7 mexican tubro snails. The first one lasted about two weeks and the second one died under one week. The aglae problem is coming to a end I have removeing it when i do a water change, add more current, and added a phosphate remover. Don't have a pic of the second clam but co have a pic of the first one BKtomodachi Did my research and found out it was a Maxium. Link to comment
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