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Coral Vue Hydros

Can clams be stung by corals?


Sea Pickle

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Sea Pickle

A friend has a Goniopora frag to give me but the only space I have left is near my precious (and glorious) Squamosa clam. Anybody have experience putting clams near corals with sweeper tentacles? Thanks in advance.

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audiocontrol

not sure if it "stings", but they do get pi$$ed. I have one literally right next to a brain, and it occasionally sends sweepers. The clam will just retract the portion which is being hit by the sweepers, but there have been no ill effects

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Sea Pickle

thanks.

that's good news...sort of. My clam is a happy clam and I'd like it to stay that way.

 

So that's one vote for "OK". Anybody else know of any info to the contrary?

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firefishbrain

any coral that can sting at all instinctively stings (this big thing with a nerve on the tentacle automatically shots out the stinger, forgot the proper name), when you touch it, you get stung, you just don't feel it cuz humans have 7 layers of skin. CLowns get stung by anenomes, but they have a mucus membrane to protect them. I vote NO, maybe do some moving around and put more peaceful coral by your clam and then you'll have an emty space to put your goniopora.

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er1c_the_reefer

i do believe that goniopora species lack the nematocysts that are needed to sting. your clam should be ok, but if it starts retracting when the sweepers come out, then move it. i'd rather lose a gonio than a clam.

Edited by er1c_the_reefer
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I read an article in Advanced Aquarist about a study done on Goniopora spp. and the poisons they contain and excrete. Cannot find the article, so I couldn't say if they would be harmful tot he clam or not...

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  • 2 weeks later...
minireefkeeper26

stinger cells called cnidae i think? i don't know maybe im wrong, been a while since i read about the stinging of corals.

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Clams can be stung. I was by my friend today and his clam was stung by candy cane coral. The affected area is retracted but he said that it should recover in a couple of weeks. I wouldn't risk it so I say no to placing the goni near the clam.

Edited by JF2381
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  • 4 weeks later...

ok, i am not terribly familiar with goniopora, but clams can definitely be stung by corals with stingers. if the stinger cells (called nematocysts) are present in the goniopora, then your clam is in danger. do some research on the goniopora to find out its aggressiveness and whether or not it has stingers.

 

as for the toxicity of corals, some have high levels of toxins, and that is seperate from the stinger issue. the toxins can be released into the water column (usually when the coral is stressed or otherwise annoyed) and those can affect all life in the tank, more or less. this is one of the main reasons for having activated carbon filtration (or other chemical filtration)... chemical fitration is your main defense against coral tozins. *if* the goniopora has such toxins (as many soft corals) it might be a risk to the clam and the rest of the tank regardless of placement.

 

point of my post: find out if goniopora is toxic, aggressive, or nematocyst-laden and to what degree and make your best judgement on that. maybe you just need to keep an eye out for goniopora tentacles. :)

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  • 13 years later...

My Maxima just fell off my rock work last night on too a Rhodactis mushroom and now it is dead. It has been fully open thriving for 4 months. It was beside another Maxima that did not fall and is still doing great. Yes some corals will kill clams.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've noticed a few clams at shops/swaps having aiptasia just inside the lip of the shell after dealing with it on a recent clam and being on the lookout for it.  The clams seem to not react to it, interestingly enough.  There's other reports of this on this forum and reef2reef.

 

So I'd say not all stinging cells seem to affect clams?

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