Clam Help

K

Kevy792

New member
Hey guys i bought a 6inch Squamosa Clam about a week ago. He has been pretty off and on and seems to not be very happy. He resonds well to light and shadows, there are no pests, im assuming my water quality is great because my reef is thriving in both Fish and Coral health. My tank size and lights are listed in my signature. I currently have him sitting on a old clam shell in the sand like i use to do when selling them in the store. He keeps flipping off of it and moving. Not sure if hes trying to get away from my light or search for more. Ive done everything with my tank with good success except a clam because i have a long nose butterfly that would eat all my other attempts. Few years later i decided to try again and get a larger size in hopes the butterfly would leave it alone and sure enough he is. No only if i can get the **** thing happy!!
 
maybe try different spot maybe to much flow or not enough light usually they will stay still if spot is good
 
Not enough light? Since ive posted ive read a lot of articles that said they are deep water clams and dont need intense light. I was thinking about maybe moving it to a more shady spot.
 
odly enough i came downstairs to check on the clam with the lights off all except for the moon lights and he is more open now then he is with all the lights on. Im thinking he might be getting to much light from the transition to the LED's at the LFS to my HQI's at home. Ill take a pic tommorow with all the lights on and see if anyone spots anything im missing.
 
Place it on a flat rock buried (if possible) under the sand not in/on something that hinders it's ability to move itself. It is trying to position itself to where IT wants to be. If you are trying to place it so you can view it, your placement is probably (obviously) not what the calm wants. It will move itself to the flow and lighting it needs and then they usually sit still.
 
Well i would rather do whats best for the clam and not whats best for my viewing pleasures. I just think its weird that he is tilting away from the light. Here is a pic of how he looked an hour after my lights turned on. Now at night he was open and happy, but as soon as lights go on, this is what he does and he tilts to the side.

Lights off, just moon lights
View attachment 11034

Lights on, listed in signature
View attachment 11035
 
I stuck him under a huge colony of frogspawn and torch so that he gets a little less light and he opened up a little more, but he still doesnt look to happy. You think i got a bad clam or does he need even less light. Also i know someone mentioned my water perameters, but if you seen the rest of my tank and how healthy everything is i doubt they are bad at all. Unless a clam needs something more than what SPS and LPS need which i dont think so.


View attachment 11047


View attachment 11048
 
Hopefully you took it out of the shell you have it sitting in. It needs to be able to move, it probably tried to move itself and tipped over inside the shell and couldn't move any further. It looks quite stressed to me, verging on pinched mantle. What did this clam look like before you purchased it? Mantle fully extended over the edges? What lighting do you have compared to the lighting the clam came from?

Good information in this thread:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/153218-a-faq-on-clams/

Another good thread to read through (also why I say verge/ If not Pinched Mantle)

http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/clams/98140-pinched-mantle-disease-id-treatment-options.html
 
Pufferpunk said:
Again:
Click to expand...

Is there something specific you would like me to check for you? like i said all my SPS and LPS are thriving and doing great so if there is something specific a clam needs that they dont then let me know, otherwise thats not the problem.

Emisis i took it out of the shell and put it in a more shady spot. The mantles were fully extended in the store and it was under LED Actinics only. So it was definitly getting less light in the store.
 
I think it's your black tang causing it to have issues. You should give that to me, so the clam can thrive.
 
Thedg said:
I think it's your black tang causing it to have issues. You should give that to me, so the clam can thrive.
Click to expand...


Now is the time you need to come over an check out the tank I cleaned the crap out of it and picked up a few new goodies :) Its crazy how i can do pretty much everything except these **** clams i dont get it!!
 
When in doubt, always check parameters. It can save a ton of heartache. I doubt you have ammonia/nitrite. Check for nitrate, pH, ca & alk. Mg might now hurt, either.
 
Pufferpunk said:
When in doubt, always check parameters. It can save a ton of heartache. I doubt you have ammonia/nitrite. Check for nitrate, pH, ca & alk. Mg might now hurt, either.
Click to expand...

I just used every test i have except Alk because i dont have one anymore and they all came back where they should. My Calcium was a little low, but not enough to make a difference. Im doing a water change and dosing just to get that up a tad but its definitly not my water. I have no clue whats going on with this clam. Its gotta be placement but i cant figure out what he wants. I left him in the same spot with no shell blocking his movement and so far he is staying put, just not opening very much.
 
Bump - for any other ideas? These types of things are time sensative and if there is something i should or need to be doing i would sure like some advice before he liquafies on me.
 
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