LOT: Save A Clam

[MentalDragon]

Well, I went to Petland and saw a very unhealthy Crocea Clam (browning(closer to white), gaping, and very little light reflexes) I've always wanted a clam so I decided I would try and save it.

 

As you can see in the pic, it has a lot of browning... Actually this picture is 4 days after I got it and the browning was much worse... It is actually starting to get its color back as you could see on the edges and some in the middle of browning.

 

Right now it opens really good... could be more but hopefully in time, it will get better.

 

It's reflexes is spot on now... it even closes quickly just be me looking into the tank. I think it's relfexes are where it should be.

 

It is in a new 10g Nano with a 20" 70w MH Sunpod. I test for Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, Ph, ALK, dKH, and CA.

 

Everything is spot on except the CA. It has been around 370 the last couple of days. I purchased Tech CB A&B will do little small water changes per day and hopefully the CA will go up.

 

If anyone has any recommendations as to what else I should do to save this Clam, I'm all ears.

 

Tank Inhabitants:

Cleaner Shrimp

Crocea Clam

5 hermit crabs

11 polyp ZOA in a snail shell (I had to get it, it looked cool)

10lbs of live rock

Edited June 8, 2006 by MentalDragon

[CyCLOnE]

Thats awsome! Hope you can get it back to full health.

[ezcompany]

Thats awsome! Hope you can get it back to full health.

 

how large is it? is it over 3-4 inches?

your clam doesn't look too bad, but just fyi, a dying clam is almost impossible to save, even in optimal conditions.

 

here's a few suggestions

 

1) lighting is a tad weak, move it up the rockwork more, or set up a temporary pedestal in your tank so it will be inches away form your 70 watt. Croceas are the most light demanding, even more so than Maximas.

2) bath it in phytoplankton a few times a week, basically take tank water and put in a seperate container, then bath heavily with DTs, oyster eggs, whatever. discard water, and return clam. WATCH if he spits back out the stuff, they usually spit out some. if this happens proceed with a small water change.

3) avoid strong flow, indirect weak flow is what most clams prefer, though Croceas can tolerate some

4) get a CA and ALK test kit so you can dose to proper levels 420ish for CA and 9-9.5 for ALK

5) if you suspect protozoans, be prepared for a 20 minute DI water dip

 

hope that helps

[Nuhtty]

I hope you can save it as well.

 

I disagree with ezcompany.

 

Stressed or sick clams shouldnt be put under the brightest of light until they are healthy again so I think you are OK where you are, especially if it wasnt udner great lighting at the store.

 

Also, I wouldnt feed a sick or stressed clam. It is likely to become even MORE stressed from the bowl feeding process.

 

I DO agree though that a FW dip may be a good idea.

 

Unfortunately ez is also correct when it comes to saving sick clams...doesnt go well very often.

[MentalDragon]

The Clam is almost 3" .. not quite but real close.

 

I've been testing the ALK and CA with the Slifert test kits... I did my first dose of TechCB A&B today so I will test the ALK and CA and see if it gets any better tomorrow.

 

I have a RO/DI unit so if I need to do a FW DI dip I can... but I don't want to attempt this until I absolutely need to.

 

I also got some DT today and fed it... but I just put it directly into the tank as it directed... 2.5ml ... I hope I didn't mess it up.

 

What is a good sign that bowl feeding isn't stressing it out too much? When I bowl feed... should I still put in the recommended amount? It seems it would be too concentrated.

 

I also had him on the substrate right on a little piece of Live Rock... but it never attached. Once I rearraged the rocks so it had a platform higher up.. it attached itself almost instantly... I think that is a good sign.

 

Also, I've been reading A LOT and read some threads where the Cleaner Shrimps and Hermit Crabs actually started eating the clam. Should I take them out? I haven't seen any of them bugging the clam yet so should I just not worry about it?

 

Yeah, I kind of figured it would almost be a lost cause, but I only paid $10 bucks for it so I thought it was worth trying... actually spending money to save a life is always worth it to me.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Edited June 9, 2006 by MentalDragon

[Nuhtty]

I think its definately worth trying.

 

Dont remove your inverts but watch their behavior.

 

Again, I would concentrate on letting the clam get a bit healthier before you go through the hassle of feeding it. If you want to try a bowl feed with a light amount of food you could be OK. Make sure you use a good live phyto. DT is great.

 

The fact that the clam is still able to attach is indeed a good sign.

 

Keep us updated.

[ezcompany]

i don't think putting it high under 70 watts of halide would stress the clam, especially if its a Crocea. i believe that the clam was light hungry for so long, which caused it to brown out in those areas, and needs as much of the 70 watts as possible. now if it was putting it under a 150 + then i would say it needs to be on the sandbed first.

and since you say its around 3 inches, it will feed some. i am not an expert and Nuhtty has more experience than me, so he may be right about not concentrating the feeding. just dose ur DTs every now and then.

[yoshiod9]

don't bother with bowl feedings-- if you check out the clam forum at RC.com or at clamsdirect.com you can see that most people find that bowl feeding is extremely stressful. actually, most of the 'experts' in the clam forums recommend NOT feeding at all. they tend to believe that the whole 'must feed a clam before it reaches 4 inches' claim is BS. i had a maxima that i was holding for a friend for a few months and never fed my tank-- it grew a good couple of scutes with just 250w of metal halide.

 

finally, make sure to just have good water parameters and to move it up as close to the light as you can.

[Nuhtty]

i don't think putting it high under 70 watts of halide would stress the clam, especially if its a Crocea. i believe that the clam was light hungry for so long, which caused it to brown out in those areas, and needs as much of the 70 watts as possible. now if it was putting it under a 150 + then i would say it needs to be on the sandbed first.

and since you say its around 3 inches, it will feed some. i am not an expert and Nuhtty has more experience than me, so he may be right about not concentrating the feeding. just dose ur DTs every now and then.

 

Good point EZ...the 70w would probably be OK.

 

 

don't bother with bowl feedings-- if you check out the clam forum at RC.com or at clamsdirect.com you can see that most people find that bowl feeding is extremely stressful.

 

 

Absolutely. I would hold off on this.

 

If the clam is able to be brought back it wont need feeding at its size anyway.

[MentalDragon]

Ok good... I like the idea of not feeding it DT. One less thing that could go wrong.

 

BTW... how long should you wait to test ALK and CA after dosing TechCB A&B? Remember I'm trying to get my calcium up from 370ppm.

[Nuhtty]

I always test the day after I dose something. Give it a chance to really work through your system. Not enough will be used up that quickly to throw off your dosing amounts.

 

Good luck.

[PshThisGuy]

I dont mean to bring up such an old thread, but is any of this information still relevant?