Clam mantle pinching

[DSC reef]

I've never seen a bristleworm eat a healthy clam. Parasitic snails like pyramids will slowly take down a tridacna. While clams have the ability and do filter feed from the water column and absorb ammonia and phosphorus through the mantle, good lighting is all a clam needs to get its carbon/energy.

 

[Dawn Dababneh]

I've never seen a bristleworm eat a healthy clam. Parasitic snails like pyramids will slowly take down a tridacna. While clams have the ability and do filter feed from the water column and absorb ammonia and phosphorus through the mantle, good lighting is all a clam needs to get its carbon/energy.

I worked in a very reputable LFS here in Huntington Beach, California. We saw it all the time on wild caught clams and I experienced it myself In my personal reef tank on a clam that I had for 10 years Don’t under estimate your clams ability to eat. I make a mixture of reef roids, plankton, oyster feast, and pods when I feed my corals and my clam opens up and extends as far as it can and feeds it’s the craziest thing to see. It loves to feed

 

[DSC reef]

Clams can eat, correct. Clams don't need to be fed to survive given the proper care they require. We had many bristleworms in our tank and those many lived under our clams with no I'll effects. Their are many species of polychaete.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

It could have been fire worms that came in on wild caught clams which a lot are cultured now a days. In 3 seperate tanks with over 9 clams total ranging from 3" to 12" we never experienced bristleworms attacking or eating the clams with some of the tridacna being in the tank for 8+ years. We did witness them eating a dying clam.

 

[cpschult]

Clams tend to like water that’s a bit dirty so if your tanks to clean it may not get enough nutrients, also parasites especially bristle worms love to eat them from the foot up so without exposing your clam to air turn it upside down and check it’s foot. Good luck

Ah, I don't think nutrients are a problem. There is no skimmer on this tank. It's mainly a mushroom tank, my bounces like higher nutrients as well. I've only seen bristle worms on dead clams (not in this tank since I've been careful with additions).

Unfortunately I killed this clam. Wish I had hopped on here earlier. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[TexasReefer82]

Did you say that you purchased the clam online from Pacific East Aquaculture? Their captive bed clams are supposed to be free of the parasite that causes pinched mantle.

 

[DSC reef]

Did you say that you purchased the clam online from Pacific East Aquaculture? Their captive bed clams are supposed to be free of the parasite that causes pinched mantle.

From the pics shown this clam did not appear to have pinched mantle

 

[jda]

Although clams CAN feed, none of the things listed on this thread are likely going to do any good. Freshly grown Nannochloropsis or live yeast might be the only thing that they can both effectively catch, digest and get nutrition from. Scraping the film off of your front glass with a magnet scraper will probably do more than adding any commercial food. It costs a clam energy to filter out stuff that is the wrong size - net negative for the clam. If they are properly feeding from particles in the water, they will have stringy poop coming out of them several times.

I cannot get a read on this clam... sorry. What does it look like when it fully extends?