clam pinching for a few days then gaping open on gill area

[Davidsimmonsnm]

phos .2
alk 7.9

ect


AND I think after reading some post about this

tank temp 80.2

possibly needing more o2 oxygen?

installed a large air stone and turned down the temp on heater and opened all the doors and canopy.

I have evap cooling and temp inside is 71.

so noticed this for a few days that the mantle on the right at the gill area was hanging or pinched down then i left town for 2 days with tank sitter.

and this is what i came home to

 

[rkpetersen]

First, welcome to the forum. Sorry that it's under negative circumstances.

It's not likely to be an oxygen deficit.
If you're saying that it's now 71 in the tank, that's far too chilly.
Your alk is ok, could be higher. The phos is higher than you'd like but that shouldn't be bothering the clam. Please also post your calcium and nitrate levels.
Could be any number of factors that have been bothering it, including Perkinsus infection.
Unfortunately when a clam is withdrawn and gaping like that, it may be too late to save it.

Maybe get some other thoughts. #reefsquad @DSC reef

 

[Davidsimmonsnm]

my house temp is 71 LOL

tank temp now is 79.5

all other corals zoa's, duncans and sps ect is fine.

I did read about another guy that said temp was an issue for him at 79-80.

also did a small feeding to clam and contracted gulped the phyto feast down closed up and reopened but not as far as in picture.

ran out of reagent for nitrate

cal. 435 or so

 

[Davidsimmonsnm]

Im going to lower temp to 77-78.
slowly raise alk for a day and friday is a 30 gal water change in a 120 gallon tank

 

[Davidsimmonsnm]

it is now spewing out what looks to be the eggs like when they get the wild ones to do it.

 

[w2inc]

I have lost so many clams basically overnight. I have a derasa that does what I see in your photo. It normally perks up when I feed the tank more as well as when I feed the clam more. I believe that some of my crabs and worms go after him when the tank is running low on food and nutrient. I have not seen specific clam issues with the phosphate or Alk at the levels you have posted. I have had healthy clams with low nitrate and high phosphate, but it appears to do best when both are at equal or more nitrate than phosphate levels.

Spawning sounds like a positive sign, but at the same time it can be a final blast of "protect my DNA". I wish I could tell you something definite on that one.

Bacteria multiply exponentially higher at 80F than at 76F, or even 78F. I have coral loss that I believe is bacterial when there is a warm spike in my system. (summer coming on and the chiller going offline for some reason.) If you are feeling like it is bacteria in nature, I don't see in issue with dropping the tank a couple degrees.

If the animal is not dead after 2 days I feel like you have a good chance of keeping it. I were to give advice

it would be to make sure the system has enough food, take a look at pH and consider some kind of PO4 control to help out your other animals. There are a lot of ideas on PO4, I feel safe with levels above .03 and under .25.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Welcome to R2R first off!
Usually when a clam gapes like yours, it’s the end of the line for it, unfortunately. It looks as if your clam has been unhealthy for a while. The lack of a bright white growth band around the top of its shell is a tell tale illustration that something isn’t right with your clam.
Have you inspected it for worms, pyram snails or flat worms living around its gills?
I am willing to bet that temperature or water parameters are the culprit!
I would say that the demise of your clam is a direct result of insufficient lighting. Or, it could be due to to much light too quickly for it to adapt to the increased intensity.
This looks like not enough light however. Lighting and temperature are responsible for the most Clam deaths, I would say. Temperature usually affects clams by causing them to bleach. Moreover, saying that your other corals are doing fine has no bearing on the health of a Tridacna Clam. Clams have a heart, blood, gills, kidney and a digestive system so, they require much more energy than would be any symbiotic coral. Hence the importance for optimal lighting. The other thing to mention is the fact that not every species of clam requires the same amount of light. Even two of the same kind of Tridacna clams, for instance Crocea, can have different lighting requirements due to its mantle color, size and depth with which it was collected.
I really think that your clam is unhealthy due to starvation. I could be wrong as I am not a professional with regards to clams, but I do a lot of reading and have experience with Tridacna Clams.

 

[Davidsimmonsnm]

I feed the clam 2 times a day with phyto feast and broadcast feed with roids and reef chili. all perameters where ok increased the alk. Phos nitrates below .2 or lower.

last evening i pulled him as his foot is on a piece of flat rock so he can be moved around.
When turn it over the bottom around the foot was open enough to see his tissue.

Iodine to the tank ect. but i found 1 inch long bristle worm that may have been working on the clam through the foot opening.

Back to the tank then this morning when I thought ok here we go. I reached in and touched and closed up. Feeding this morning and just now when I got back in.
responding better today.

 

[w2inc]

I feed the clam 2 times a day with phyto feast and broadcast feed with roids and reef chili. all perameters where ok increased the alk. Phos nitrates below .2 or lower.

last evening i pulled him as his foot is on a piece of flat rock so he can be moved around.
When turn it over the bottom around the foot was open enough to see his tissue.

Iodine to the tank ect. but i found 1 inch long bristle worm that may have been working on the clam through the foot opening.

Back to the tank then this morning when I thought ok here we go. I reached in and touched and closed up. Feeding this morning and just now when I got back in.
responding better today.

Great news! Sounds like it is pulling through. I really feel like feeding them saves the day. Good luck.

 

[Poriferabob]

I have had Blue Squamosa in my seahorse tank for months now. 3+inches. Because of the ponies I keep that water between 70 and 72 degrees. So, while it may not be the suggested norm. I can certainly say through my experience the clams can tolerate the cooler waters without any apparent ill effects. Possibly slower growth. But as stated above, the cooler temperatures control bacteria populations.

 

[Poriferabob]

The only time I have witnessed a spawning event in one of my tanks was after FWDing a Maxima suffering from PM. Dipped it. Placed it in QT and it suddenly clouded up the water. Died shortly after unfortunately.

 

[Poriferabob]

Oh! one last thing. I'm embarrassed to admit this but, I have lost many clams do to my tangs. So I apologize if you stated up above and I missed it, but if you have lots of tangs they love to F with my clams to the point of killing them. I know some tanks/tangs with clams do just fine, but I just dont have any luck with the mixture.