Can you please help me with my clam ...?

[Cenglezopoulos]

Good evening, good morning everyone. I purchased a clam 2 days ago. The thing is, that although it looks healthy, it has not opened fully. Could you give me a hint on what should I do? My water parameters seem fine except NO3 which are absolute zero...I ve read that clams filter NO3 to feed their photosynthesizing bacteria... Could it be the reason?
My tank is a nano 60 liter tank with a hydra 26 HD light set up as shown in the attached picture ....

 

[reef lover]

Was he fully opened when purchased?how long did u acclimate for and how? Did u expose him to the air at all...or the store? Did u check for pyramidal snails? And what are ur parameteres?

 

[tomtom2245]

It is still pretty new to your tank so that could be part of it. I wouldn't necessarily suspect the nitrates. I ran a 20gal with 0 nitrates for over a year and had a squamosa clam that just kept growing uncontrollably. What specific type of clam is that, kind of looks like a tridacna maxima but hard to tell with all of the blue and no good shot of the shell on the side. Also check for pyramid snails on the clam and make sure nothing is gnawing on its foot. Is there any kind of rubble or rock under it for it to attach? You can put them in the sand but I have found they do way better with a little bit of something to grab onto.

 

[Cenglezopoulos]

He was opened the way you see it in the photo. But I went to the store a few moments after opening. The lights had just turned on and they assured me that he opens fully. I trust them. He was exposed to the air on the transport from the bag to my aquarium ... I ve already checked for snails behind him but I could not see anything ....

About my parameters, besides NO3 which are 0, I have not yet been able to stabilize my KH. I measure 2 times per day, and it is 7. I raise it to 8, 8+, but when I measure again it will again be low

Other parameters are ok
Temperature 25.5-26 Celsius
NH4 0
NO2 0
PO4 0
Ca 450
Mg 1350

 

[Cenglezopoulos]

Yes tomtom, he is standing between 2 little stones ... I checked for snails, but I ve never seen any to know how they look .... perhaps they are tiny and I didnt see them?

My light is ok for the clam?

 

[Diesel]

It looks good to me.
You said your parameters are good, just in case can you post them here?
What kind of life stock do you have in the tank?
When did you purchased this beautiful clam?
Having a clam in a nano tank can be a challenge due to the quick swings in parameters, looking at ALK, PH, Temp and NSW
The mouth is a little open and that is a result of low nutrients in the tank, squirt some coral nutrients around it and in a few days it will feel a bit happier.
You might also run to much blue light as you're showing most of the day 19K, clams need 4+ hours of a good 10K daylight peek to feel happy.

 

[Cenglezopoulos]

Diesel thanks for your asnwer .
I try to keep KH above 8 but this is something I ve not stabilized yet...I measure twice per day and its always 7 so I raise it up again.
Other parameters, NH4 0 NO2 0, NO3 0, PO4 0, CA 450, Mg 1350, temp 26 celcious.

So should l change my spectrum by reducing blue and raising whites ?

The clam was purchased 2 days ago


My fishes are:

1 Nemo clown
1 Nematelotris decora
1 okinawa gooby
1 gobby
3 Nasarius snails
2 tectus snails

Other corals

3 recordee
2 monitors
1 acropora
3 zoanthids
1 ephyllia

 

[Diesel]

What do you use to raise ALK?

Looking at your live stock I don't understand you don't measure any Po4 and No3.
You know your fish got to eat like at least 3 times a day.
A nano doesn't carry much food like critters on them self due to the size that your fish can feast on.
Can you post a picture of your setup include sump or reactors you have running on this?
How often you change water?
I understand you're from Europe somewhere and I suspect a slight accent of Greece in there but I can be wrong.

 

[Cenglezopoulos]

I am Greek yes

For KH I use seachem carbonate

I have zero NO3 because I recently started to use brightwell microbacter 7 and they seem to be really powerful ....I started with the high daily dosage as recommended on the bottle, but after seeing NO3 fell to absolute zero I ve switched to the low dose once per week for maintaining a low level of nutrients ... PO4 is zero because I use Siliphos from the first day the tank was set up ... I was feeding 2 times per day but I ve begun feeding more ...3-4 times per day. My water changes are weekly about 25 percent (every Friday of Saturday depends on when I am on a night shift).

I dont have a sump yet ... i plan on installing one in the future .... here are the photos you asked for

I forgot to mention the chromis and the 2 shrimps

 

[DeniseAndy]

Give it a bit more time to settle. However, watch for any crimping on the mantle. These guys can be very picky. Hope it settles in well for you.

 

[Diesel]

I would cut back a little on the microbacter and start using it only when you do a water change for now.
Keep testing daily on No3 though, a to sharp spike you don't want.
Having No3 around 2ppm in your tank should be good.
You ALK you can keep simply stable if you use a salt that is higher in ALK numbers.
Redsea is what they use here and commonly looking at I believe 10.5 or so.
With you 25% water change you can keep it easily around 8.5 which is perfect, you got to keep an close eye No3 as a low No3 will go together with a lower level of ALK.
High ALK and low No3 results in un happy corals specifically your SPS.

 

[Cenglezopoulos]

Really usefull info ... I had no clue that NO3 must be seen in combination with ALK ..

I ve stopped microbacter as I already told you ...

For know I changed my light settings as following ...

It is ok for the clam as you told me... is it ok for the rest of the corals ??

 

[reef lover]

Lots of good info going on here! U mentioned it was exposed to air?? Might need to be burped.... To do that u need to put the inhalent siphon...the mouth...higher than the exit . clam can then work the air bubble out and can b put back in proper positioning. If it does indeed have a bubble...

 

[Cenglezopoulos]

Ι didnt quit get that .... u mean it might have trapped air in it ? So I have to place it vertically ? With this Tube it has in a higher place than the mouth ?

 

[reef lover]

Nope....normal orientation would b with the slit.the mouth down lower than the " tube" so that water passes in the mouth and out the tube . to burp u need the opposite with the mouth being higher than the tube. Not vertical just slanted enough so the clam can push the air out. And then return him to proper position. Hope this helps. A search might prove to b clearer than I can explain...lol

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Maybe try moving it more directly under the light than in the side where the preference is for viewing?
And I've seen my maxima and derasa do fine down to 5dkh, so don't sweat the alk too much. Light and particulates matter more ime..