Clam Diagnosis

[dsinsocal]

I've tried 4 or 5 Maxima clams from Live Aquaria (DD) over the past 18 months and wasn't able to keep any of them alive beyond the 2 week warranty period. I decided to try again, this time with a large Derasa (4-5 inches).

I've had this Derasa since 3/21 and it arrived looking really good. Great color and good mantle extension. It looked that way until last Friday, when I noticed it wasn't extended as far as usual. As the weekend progressed, it looked worse and worse. This morning it looks like the photo below.

I run a 2-year old mixed reef, from Acros to GSP. Water parameters are always stable:

Salinity: 1.025
Alk: 10.9
Calc: 450
Mag: 1335
Phos: .03

It is situated on the bottom of the tank, mounted on a flat piece of Marine Pure that I carved into a bowl shape. The intake "mouth" has always been wide open since the day I got it. I don't know if that is normal or not, but it always did strike me as odd. I do target feed Brightwell Phytogreen a couple times a week too.

There are no visible signs of pests -- only a collection of calcified tube worms on the shell. What made this clam different from previous attempts is that it lasted 5 weeks before showing clear signs of poor health.

Is my lighting an issue? I'm only running two Kessil A160 lights on a 75 gallon, but they are at 95% intensity. It seems to be plenty to sustain everything else in my tank, but I know clams do have high light requirements -- although, Derasa clams require less than others, from what I've read.

He was also situated near a tree leather of some type (not sure what kind). The clam did turn a little bit a couple weeks ago and the leather started touching the back part of the mantle. I noticed it but it didn't seem to be bothering the clam at all, so it didn't create any alarm. I'm not sure if that would have anything to do with this.

Are there any particular ailments that lend themselves to the picture below? Am I just one of those unfortunate souls that will never be able to keep a clam in his system?

 

[DSC reef]

If this clam was purchased from divers den then I'm inclined to say it's nothing you did wrong. Divers den has a protozoan/perkinsus problem. If this clam passes I would wait 6-8 months before adding another to make sure whatever was brought in by divers den is gone. I would not take a clam from them if it was free. Last resort, you can try a ph matched freshwater dip.

 

[dsinsocal]

Thanks DSC reef. This is what the clam looked like in the first week. Is it normal for that "mouth" to be open that wide, or was that a sign of distress from the get go? You can also see the leather that was behind it before I moved it this weekend. Would a leather coral cause any issues for a clam?

 

[Scotty Buttons]

Do you run GFO by chance?

 

[BoomCorals]

If this clam was purchased from divers den then I'm inclined to say it's nothing you did wrong. Divers den has a protozoan/perkinsus problem. If this clam passes I would wait 6-8 months before adding another to make sure whatever was brought in by divers den is gone. I would not take a clam from them if it was free. Last resort, you can try a ph matched freshwater dip.

I've had similar experience with clams from divers den. Once they start going, I've never been able to save them. They will also take out healthy clams next to them. Wish there was something that could be done.

 

[dsinsocal]

Do you run GFO by chance?

Nope.

 

[dsinsocal]

Why would they keep selling something with such a high refund rate? I guess they make enough money on the clams that die after 2 weeks that they don't care?

Meanwhile, a little piece of each reefer dies when a piece of lifestock dies.

It sucks.

 

[DSC reef]

Thanks DSC reef. This is what the clam looked like in the first week. Is it normal for that "mouth" to be open that wide, or was that a sign of distress from the get go? You can also see the leather that was behind it before I moved it this weekend. Would a leather coral cause any issues for a clam?

That incurrent siphon looks normal to me. I always like to see new shell growth at the top of the shell which is a sign of growth and good health.