Can this clam still be saved?

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I'm sorry but thats what a dead clam looks like

 

[Shirak]

Well, it looks more stressful now… does not react to light anymore…

Sorry clam is not going to make it.

As for your lights. I usually go 10 hours at peak settings with 30min ramp up and maybe an hour ramp down. I like to drop the whites and red/green to 0 while the blue, RB, V, and UV slowly drop. Gives the tank a different look..

I put your settings 15%UV, 60% V,RB,B, 15% R,G, 80%W into my App on manual and it was telling me 27 watts of output. Pretty low for a light that can put out 55 watts. I see your violet also peaks for a short period and drops off the rest of the time. I would set that to stay with your RB and B. I would also bump UV up that up to a little less than your V,RB,B.

I run less white and higher UV,V,RB,B at about 30 watts. I think I hit around 150 par about 18" from the light. Roughly...

I know you haven't had it long but did you see any new shell growth when you got it or after it was in your tank?

 

[HydroJ]

Sorry clam is not going to make it.

As for your lights. I usually go 10 hours at peak settings with 30min ramp up and maybe an hour ramp down. I like to drop the whites and red/green to 0 while the blue, RB, V, and UV slowly drop. Gives the tank a different look..

I put your settings 15%UV, 60% V,RB,B, 15% R,G, 80%W into my App on manual and it was telling me 27 watts of output. Pretty low for a light that can put out 55 watts. I see your violet also peaks for a short period and drops off the rest of the time. I would set that to stay with your RB and B. I would also bump UV up that up to a little less than your V,RB,B.

I run less white and higher UV,V,RB,B at about 30 watts. I think I hit around 150 par about 18" from the light. Roughly...

I know you haven't had it long but did you see any new shell growth when you got it or after it was in your tank?

If yours is 18” away and around 30w, then mine should hit at least 200+ par after I change the setting. because mine is around 11” away from the light source.

There are a bit of white rim on the shell.

I'm really sad about it, I think I don't really know what caused the repaid decline…

 

[Shirak]

If yours is 18” away and around 30w, then mine should hit at least 200+ par after I change the setting. because mine is around 11” away from the light source.

There are a bit of white rim on the shell.

I'm really sad about it, I think I don't really know what caused the repaid decline…

Hard to know. 200 would be bare minimum but it was clearly gaping in the other photos which could be other issues with water and flow. Maybe something happened in shipping. Maybe it was during acclimation. They are sensitive and acclimation can be tricky. Have you tested all your water parameters recently?

 

[HydroJ]

Hard to know. 200 would be bare minimum but it was clearly gaping in the other photos which could be other issues with water and flow. Maybe something happened in shipping. Maybe it was during acclimation. They are sensitive and acclimation can be tricky. Have you tested all your water parameters recently?

Yes, the water should be good. Before I got the clam, I did a 60% water change, and for the first 2-3 days, it was doing really well. It was only after the fish bit it that it started to decline really quickly.

 

[Shirak]

Yes, the water should be good. Before I got the clam, I did a 60% water change, and for the first 2-3 days, it was doing really well. It was only after the fish bit it that it started to decline really quickly.

Just a heads up as I measured the distance on my zoa to AI Prime and it's 16". The full tank shot is that before or after the fish incident? The LPS look good and I see some coralline so that's good but all those LPS and the coralline will take quite a bit of alk and minerals out. Do you dose and how often do you test? Clams are major major alk and Ca hogs. The 60% water change may have bottomed out your nutrients? Clams like your corals need to absorb nutrients and with the small fish load your nutrients may be low? PO4 and NO3? I check my alk and those two parameters at least twice a week. I dose AFR, ammonia and phosphate since I have no fish plus feed my Gonis a few times a week at least.

 

[HydroJ]

Just an update: the clam died a couple of days after the last post. Some thoughts could be beneficial to others related to why the clam died.

1. Low Bio load (2 fish in a 20-gallon) + protein skimmer + a lot of coral, probably not a good idea. Even when I'm dosing, NP+ probably can't maintain uptake.

2. My light schedule was not good for calm. I only provided about 6 hours of lighting that exceeded 250 par where the clam is. Need at least 9 hours based on what I read later.

3. My RO filter was due for a change.

4. Dottyback could attack the clam?

 

[JoJosReef]

Just an update: the clam died a couple of days after the last post. Some thoughts could be beneficial to others related to why the clam died.

1. Low Bio load (2 fish in a 20-gallon) + protein skimmer + a lot of coral, probably not a good idea. Even when I'm dosing, NP+ probably can't maintain uptake.

2. My light schedule was not good for calm. I only provided about 6 hours of lighting that exceeded 250 par where the clam is. Need at least 9 hours based on what I read later.

3. My RO filter was due for a change.

4. Dottyback could attack the clam?

I think #2 killed your crocea. My goal for crocea is minimum 350 PAR up to 500, although I think they can tolerate 1000 PAR without difficulty. Remember they reside only feet beneath the surface in the wild and are even exposed to air at some points. 200-250 PAR is slow starvation for a crocea in my opinion. Unfortunately, some of these clams are bought from systems that haven't been giving them proper light and are already at a disadvantage (I don't recall where you purchased the crocea).

I learned my lesson with a crocea in an IM 10g with 100% TBS live rock and sand, about as hospitable an environment possible, under an AI Prime.

 

[HydroJ]

I think #2 killed your crocea. My goal for crocea is minimum 350 PAR up to 500, although I think they can tolerate 1000 PAR without difficulty. Remember they reside only feet beneath the surface in the wild and are even exposed to air at some points. 200-250 PAR is slow starvation for a crocea in my opinion. Unfortunately, some of these clams are bought from systems that haven't been giving them proper light and are already at a disadvantage (I don't recall where you purchased the crocea).

I learned my lesson with a crocea in an IM 10g with 100% TBS live rock and sand, about as hospitable an environment possible, under an AI Prime.

I agree, I purchased the clam at Aquashella from Clam Mania.

 

[JoJosReef]

I agree, I purchased the clam at Aquashella from Clam Mania.

Clam Mania usually has healthy clams, although I haven't seen them in over a year. How long did you have the clam before it passed?

 

[HydroJ]

Clam Mania usually has healthy clams, although I haven't seen them in over a year. How long did you have the clam before it passed?

Only about 2 weeks… it has some bite marks on it around day 5, I think. And then it dies super quickly.

That's why I think it is a multi-factorial event. Change in the environment, not enough light, damage, low nutrients…

 

[JoJosReef]

Only about 2 weeks… it has some bite marks on it around day 5, I think. And then it dies super quickly.

That's why I think it is a multi-factorial event. Change in the environment, not enough light, damage, low nutrients…

I would agree, then. Starvation is a slow death, and a Clam Mania clam should be healthy enough to sustain for a bit.

 

[rowenaad]

Sorry to hear that. I have kept maxima and crocea clams under different light intensity sitting directly under ai prime. I dose phyto daily but i think it is still a myth whether that helps or not. My clam had once cut its mantle edge when retracting and clamped a piece of pebble between its shell and left a ~3mm cut but it didnt seem to be bothered at all.

 

[HydroJ]

Sorry to hear that. I have kept maxima and crocea clams under different light intensity sitting directly under ai prime. I dose phyto daily but i think it is still a myth whether that helps or not. My clam had once cut its mantle edge when retracting and clamped a piece of pebble between its shell and left a ~3mm cut but it didnt seem to be bothered at all.

I think it's just like medicine, there are a lot of things that are risk factors that will increase the chance of a certain disease. The damaged mentle may not be the single reason why my clam passed, but contribute toward that direction.

 

[minus9]

What fish did you have with the clam? Pseudochromis shouldn't bother clams at all, so I would suspect another fish and/or invert. Also, phyto is a good source of nitrogen for clams, the myth is they need it up to a certain size/age, which is incorrect. Fish food and waste is an excellent source of nitrogen for clams as well, but they also can derive nutrients directly from the water, which is why having measurable nutrients is a must. As far as lighting is concerned, I've always used a 12hr cycle with at least 8hrs of peak intensity. If your lights are a little underpowered, then I would increase the peak period to make up for it until you get more light. Full spectrum is the key with clams, so if you're a heavy blue person, it's not going to cut it.
2 weeks is pretty fast, so either predation or severe water quality issues, but also disease/pathogens can work that fast. Sorry about the clam.

 

[HydroJ]

What fish did you have with the clam? Pseudochromis shouldn't bother clams at all, so I would suspect another fish and/or invert. Also, phyto is a good source of nitrogen for clams, the myth is they need it up to a certain size/age, which is incorrect. Fish food and waste is an excellent source of nitrogen for clams as well, but they also can derive nutrients directly from the water, which is why having measurable nutrients is a must. As far as lighting is concerned, I've always used a 12hr cycle with at least 8hrs of peak intensity. If your lights are a little underpowered, then I would increase the peak period to make up for it until you get more light. Full spectrum is the key with clams, so if you're a heavy blue person, it's not going to cut it.
2 weeks is pretty fast, so either predation or severe water quality issues, but also disease/pathogens can work that fast. Sorry about the clam.

I have 2 more clownfish, and that’s it. I do believe a nano should have a low Bio load, but in my case I probably shouldn't have a skimmer. It probably pulls out too much organic material from the water. Also, because my nutrients were really low, it is possible my cuc was starving and attacked the clam.

As for further plans, I'm thinking I will build a system with Nuvo 25, 2 Quanta helix (one blue and one sun), and dry rock with TBS live sand. And then I will try again

 

[minus9]

I have 2 more clownfish, and that’s it. I do believe a nano should have a low Bio load, but in my case I probably shouldn't have a skimmer. It probably pulls out too much organic material from the water. Also, because my nutrients were really low, it is possible my cuc was starving and attacked the clam.

As for further plans, I'm thinking I will build a system with Nuvo 25, 2 Quanta helix (one blue and one sun), and dry rock with TBS live sand. And then I will try again

I love Quanta’s, they’re awesome! Btw, 3 small fish in a nano isn’t much of a bio load, so you can always add more. Just run the skimmer at night to equalize the pH drop. Don’t worry about nutrients, they’re not responsible for algae issues.