Baby Maxima tipped..not well?

[JVH]

I have posted before about my baby Maxima moving around all over the place. I was a way for a few days and he was on his side when I came back. It was on a rock in the sand so it didn't fall it tipped over. The mantel was slightly open so I placed him back on the sand. I don't see it opening as much as it had. The part of the mantel that is visible looks good but its not as responsive. It opens a little and closes a little and slowly...And it just hasn't opened to the same degree as it was prior to it laying on its side.
I was away for 5 days and I don't know when it tipped nor does the fish feeder that was here..

Any thoughts? I hope its not sick.

 

[Reeferdude56]

How long has it been upright? Hopefully over time it should open more. How large is it? If it is under two inches it might be declining. I am no expert though, best of luck.

 

[JVH]

Its about 2" Its been upright about a week now and its just not the same as it was. I am really concerned about it..

 

[Reeferdude56]

Is the mantle fully open or has the actual she'll just not fully opened? I wouldn't worry if the shell isn't full opened but it is bad if the mantle is not fully opened.

 

[JVH]

I will try to post a pic but the shell is open like 1/8" evenly and the mantel is slightly visible. One end on closer inspection looks detached. It also now looks like something is barley sticking out. As if it was sticking its tongue out.. I never noticed that before. And NO response at all now.. :(

 

[JVH]

Hope this works this is a picture from last night this morning it's closed a little tighter I'm hoping it will open to at least this much once the light comes on. (See better pic below from last night) I feel awful if its dying! What can I do to help it?

 

[JVH]

This is a better picture from last night if you blow it up you can see the little things sticking out on the right side that I never noticed before and you can see that the mantle is open a little bit more and the color I think basically looks good and I don't believe it's pinched looking. Opinions?

 

[Reeferdude56]

I would worry, it is just stressed, make sure it is in an area where it won't get continuously bothered by fish or inverts besides that it should slowly get back to normal.

 

[JVH]

Well, it over! I'm sad to say when I came home I was shocked to find the shelly empty! A large bristle worm was near but Im sure he had help. I also believe that may have been the reason it was moving around so much on the sand. I think the worm may have been attacking it from underneath! Very sad..

 

[Reeferdude56]

Sorry to hear it. really sucks, the best thing to do for the future is make sure your clam is in a secure location on the sand bed. Unfortunately such little is known about giant clams they sometimes die out of the blue. I had two beautiful clams and both died over night within a day of each other and I dont know why.

 

[JVH]

Wow! That's awful to loose 2 back to back like that.
I just hate this part of the hobby! It is such a delicate balance to keep the echo system happy. I can't believe I'm upgrading!
More life to stress over! LOL