Clam suddenly not extending

[MartinM]

They can send out sweepers that sting the clam mantle

There is a nearby galaxea that sweepers like crazy, I bet this is a problem also! It grew from a tiny spec to probably 10cm across now…

 

[minus9]

There is a nearby galaxea that sweepers like crazy, I bet this is a problem also! It grew from a tiny spec to probably 10cm across now…

Galaxea have extremely long sweepers from such small polyps. I’ve seen them stretch more than 8” easily. Look at night and see if they’re out. You might want to adjust flow so the clam isn’t down stream from the galaxea as an option.

 

[minus9]

I’ve recently discovered that the mystery deaths of my clams were bristle worms. Just like you and others, I checked for them and pyram snails but initially didn’t see any. Then I checked at night they were there in huge numbers at the foot of the clam. Clam was completely healthy before then. I took my Reef Delete UV light (no affiliation just purchased one about two years ago. Would use it once in awhile but that night I nuked them like Joan Crawford to her rose garden for 3 hours! I would see tons of them reeling back to their hiding places in the rock. Probably can’t kill them all but will keep them in check. During day no sign of them but at night they come out. The consensus out there is that they only go after clams that are on declining or dying but if you have a lot and either through heavy maintenance or lack of food one will attack a healthy one and basically ring the dinner bell to the others once it takes a bite. This happens every night and short time later when it’s too late for the clam it will start showing signs that it is not happy and do the slow death march. So check tonight and if you have any means to bring that bristle worm population down, so so immediately. Perhaps it is too late for that clam or it can save it and the others still healthy.

In my 40+ years in this hobby I’ve never witnessed bristle worms going after healthy living tissue. All my clams except my crocea have tons of bristle worms underneath them without any issues. The reason people blame bristle worms for deaths is the fact that they are always first on the scene.

 

[MartinM]

I did remove the stylophora and started feeding the tank more (no3 wasn’t detectable) annd doubled the water change volume and he’s happier again.

I’ve also noticed that in both my systems my life blue maximas don’t extend as much at the same PAR as other color maximas. But they’re growing at the same rate.

 

[MartinM]

I started dosing more AB+ and NeoNitro and the clam (and everything else) is much happier.

 

[Miami Reef]

Updates? Is the clam better now?

 

[MartinM]

Updates? Is the clam better now?

Thanks, yes doing great! Unfortunately, in my large system, I have been battling pyramid snails, but in the small system everything is great. Got the no3/coral food/ab+/bacto balance dosages all balanced for .02 po4/5ppm no3 now so I’m stoked

 

[Miami Reef]

How do you plan to beat the pyramidal snails?

 

[minus9]

You'll need to isolate the clam and check it every night for pyramids and you'll also have to remove all of your snails. I've found that pyramids will go after snails as well, so check them too. If the pyramids are without food for 30 days, they'll die. Checking the stickie at the top of this section and follow @OrionN suggestions.

 

[MartinM]

You'll need to isolate the clam and check it every night for pyramids and you'll also have to remove all of your snails. I've found that pyramids will go after snails as well, so check them too. If the pyramids are without food for 30 days, they'll die. Checking the stickie at the top of this section and follow @OrionN suggestions.

It’s not exactly that simple with a 1000L system with 18 clams I had to spend hours cutting them all off the live rock and scrubbing and throwing away infested rock. The haven’t reached epidemic proportions (maybe because of my coris wrasse) but it still sucks. At least they’re much easier to clean for the time being after tearing everything apart

Must have been eggs on the wild noaes…I lost a small noae before I realized, the base of many clams is hidden by macro, my tanks are like jungles!

 

[minus9]

It’s not exactly that simple with a 1000L system with 18 clams I had to spend hours cutting them all off the live rock and scrubbing and throwing away infested rock. The haven’t reached epidemic proportions (maybe because of my coris wrasse) but it still sucks. At least they’re much easier to clean for the time being after tearing everything apart

Must have been eggs on the wild noaes…I lost a small noae before I realized, the base of many clams is hidden by macro, my tanks are like jungles!

Yeah, that’s a lot of work. I wish you luck and hope you beat those little buggers!