Blue maxima attachment question

[DSC reef]

I'd leave the clam be for now. Typically a nassarius will be drawn to dying tissue. Hopefully that's not the case.

 

[LMDAVE]

So that looks like a nassurius as opposed to the whelk snail?

 

[Joel B.]

It looks more whelk than nassarius to me, but I'm far from an expert in the matter.

The curling is a concern, that looks like PM. I would start running carbon if you don't already. FW dip is a last-resort option as well...

The clam also doesn't have great shell growth from what I can see, which is concerning with the curling. It's possible that it had been starving for a while at the LFS and this is the start of a death-spiral. Clams don't go slowly, they tend to go from fine to dead in a matter of 48 hrs or less IME...

 

[LMDAVE]

Yeah I was afraid it was PM also. I run carbon/gFO combo with chemipure elite and just changed the bag a few days ago. My phosphates are good so I did just change the bag again to carbon only (for some reason tbe said to remove gfo), I also just did a 10 minute FW dip. Only thing that came off was a few pods and a tiny bit of mucus. They said it could take a few days to reopen afterward, he did start to open some but notice the mantel detachment (or pinched) was now on tbe right side also. I don’t feel good about it. As for feeding, my nitrate have kind of low lately and I also just bought some phytoplan but not sure how to use it, should I just target feed a little to the clam, and should I wait for him to open before trying to feed.

Sucks because he was looking so good before tbe clam got on him

 

[Joel B.]

Double post

 

[Joel B.]

Yeah, all you can do now is wait. Don't target feed, clams are filter feeders, target feeding can cause then problems and they don't really need it.

Carbon with no gfo is the way to go.

 

[DSC reef]

I hope it pulls through. Typically new shell growth will determine a clams health, mantle extension can be a false indicator of health. I wouldn't ever target feed the clam and feeding really isn't neccesarry. GFO and clams never went together for me, they need some nutrients in the water.

 

[LMDAVE]

Considering it has been only about 2 weeks since having this clam, I didn't expect to see shell growth, etc already. I was expecting to just see it open and happy. I didn't consider the small amount GFO that is mixed in with the carbon of Chemipure Elite bags to be a problem, but I removed it any way and now just running straight chemipure. My phosphates have been decent, so I'll just monitor them. My Nitrates have dropped significantly since my tank is fallow for about 5 weeks now. I used to struggle to keep it between 5-10, but now feeding the tank to keep it about 0. Last checked yesterday it was in the 2 PPM range.

I did put a dose of that Phyto food in the tank yesterday (diluted mixture poured into water), but I guess it's similar in a way to the "Reef Bugs" coral food I've been adding before. Still trying to find out what could have caused this. Maybe it was my light, maybe it was that snail. Maybe it was the GFO and low nitrates. Something tells me that if this doesn't pull through I'll been 1 and done with trying clams.

This is the latest picture yesterday about an hour after the FW dip. Didn't get a picture this morning because the tank light was just ramping up before I left, however he didn't look that great. He did rotate himself about 30 deg CCW over night.

 

[DSC reef]

Looks like it's starting to gape unfortunately. I don't think gfo in a bag like chemipure is too big a deal, not like gfo in a reactor. When purchasing a clam you should see new margin of shell growth, typically when you see one without any new white growth it's probably been suffering before you bought it. IME healthy clams always have some new growth on the shell. For now I'd leave it be and hope for the best.

 

[LMDAVE]

Well most I saw was little dots of white calcium on the shell, similar to what pops up on back glass, but I guess that’s not much.

 

[hart24601]

The eyes on the mantle make me think it's a maxima and might not be getting enough light. Not that squammy's never have them, but the it looks like maxima to me, plus blue squammy are $$$ and not likely to be mislabeled.

 

[LMDAVE]

Well, at times it seem like it needs more light, I've been trying him hgiher up back on top the rocks, but he eventually knocks himself over to his side or jumps down. I have him back in the sand bed in the corner of the tank now. Thought he may about been dying from PMD before, but now I don't know. Mantel is showing a little better, but mouth is gaping bad. As for Maxima (Like LFS told me it was) or squamosa, it doesn't have the continuous dot trail of eyes a maxima has, and does look like other squamosa picture. I wish the picture were more detailed, these were just sent to me. I'll try to get a more clear one later. But, shows the status of him right now.

 

[hart24601]

I would be shocked if it was a squammy. Some maxima don't have regular eyes. The shell should tell more if it's elongated then probably a maxima, but it doesn't matter too much right now. PMD now is really quite rare, normally things that look like PMD now are just a decline in health or fish nipping.

It can be hard to get these guys enough light as they do jump off rocks, clams just move around quite a bit and not all, even maximas, are good about putting down threads and snail knock them off too. I have my little maxima now in a cut plastic cup that I glued on the rock. In that cup I put sand. It is working well and doesn't really stick out, just a small circle around the clam and it's only about 1/3" tall. IMO that guy needs all the light you can possibly give it.

 

[DSC reef]

It's a squamosa for sure, no mistaking the shell and mantle. They still need plenty of light. @jda any more info to possibly save this clam?

 

[LMDAVE]

I have this section of my tank on the rocks I'd love to have him stay at. I would like to make something to keep him in that area. I feel a cup of any sort would but a real eye soar, I could make something with putty, but that's sort of a commitment. Maybe I can try him in a cup of sand up there and if he does well, the build some sort of natural pool to do that. Not sure.

 

[hart24601]

Don't worry, we can disagree about species and it will be ok. ;)

I am not 100% about my maxima speculation. It does look like a squammy in a few pics. But again, that doesn't really matter atm as it need some help.

 

[hart24601]

I would do whatever it took to get him looking good with white rim on the shell asap, then can worry about looks in the tank later.

 

[LMDAVE]

I agree, thanks for the help guys. hope he can pull through. More updates later.

 

[hart24601]

Fingers crossed! It is an awesome clam.

 

[LMDAVE]

Ok so I made a makeshift cup for him and placed it up there. I fed the tank after this pic and he started opening and shutting when food passed near him. So now it’s just waiting to see how he likes it in the cup