Clam won’t open.

[FernBluffReef]

I have a dersa. On the sand bed. It got overgrown by a bunch of zoas and closed up. Took me longer than I should have to realize the zoas were what’s bothering it over the busy summer.

I moved the clam and removed the zoas from its shell and it immediately opened up. Clearly lost a lot of color being mostly closed for some time but seemed happier - opened wide and sunning itself. New location is Shadier area so I’d hoped it would have some time to recover - figured too much light too fast…. After a few days the clam laid on its side vs standing up and then barely opens again (it’s always preferred its side but it doesn’t seem to stay open in that position now given weakened state.). I removed a couple more zoas that I missed the first round. And it once again opened wide and happy for a couple days before lying back down on its side and not opening very far.

Any suggestions on recovery? I’m questioning if the zoas were the issue but I’m sure they we bothering it. My Crocera higher up remains happy as a claim. LoL. Ritteri, torches, etc are happy. I’ve lowered nutrients given a bout of hair algae but not really low. Nitrates are around 7 and Phosphates are a bit over .1 (phosphates were lower) I dose phyto daily etc. Calcium 420-450, Alk mid to low 8s.

Thanks for suggestions

 

[KrisReef]

They need lots of light to survive. MOve it up and pray it is still strong enough to recover.

 

[FernBluffReef]

They need lots of light to survive. MOve it up and pray it is still strong enough to recover.

Even if lost quite a bit of its color? I had thought to take it a bit slower with returning to full light exposure vs blasting it. That and have a limited number of placement options. Sand bed where it was before moving due to the Zoas was ~200 par. Right now it’s in a corner without intruders but closer to 100-150 par (dimmer than should be but I was considering it re acclimating). Crocera is up higher in like 350 par but they need even more light. Dersa’s I always understood preferred the sand bed. Still needing very good lighting

 

[KrisReef]

They are photosynthetic, light supplies the energy to grow their symbiotic algae. They can open and close to regulate exposure to maximize the growth, but in general if they are closed they are not making any energy and they are slowly dying.

Clams that have been closed very long have never lived very long ime. If they are open they have a chance.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If the clam is in the same light level as zoa's, then its not getting enough light, it needs much higher light than zoa's. IME clams also don't like when anything is close enough to touch their mantle, so ensure other corals are not too close.

 

[FernBluffReef]

Ok. Thx all. I’ll move up with the Crocera as that is where I have space and see what it does. Lot of light there.

 

[FernBluffReef]

If the clam is in the same light level as zoa's, then it’s not getting enough light, it needs much higher light than zoa's. IME clams also don't like when anything is close enough to touch their mantle, so ensure other corals are not too close.

Thx I’ll move up.

Yeah, I considered the Zoas as not a big issue over the summer and waited too long to move. Learned my lesson there

PS I have Zoas growing like crazy up with the Ritteri, at 500+ par. The Ritteri has no issues defending itself :-). Where the Crocea is clear, I just figured that would be too much for it given its current weakened state but I’ll move it up there and see how it does.

 

[minus9]

Do you have a pic of the derasa? Do you see any new growth on the shell? Also, derasa don't do well on the rocks as they will fall off. You need to provide enough light on the sand for it to survive. If the clam was closed up for a while, then it will starve to death, so I'm not sure the outcome without seeing a pic of the clam.

 

[FernBluffReef]

Do you have a pic of the derasa? Do you see any new growth on the shell? Also, derasa don't do well on the rocks as they will fall off. You need to provide enough light on the sand for it to survive. If the clam was closed up for a while, then it will starve to death, so I'm not sure the outcome without seeing a pic of the clam.

Attached. No recent growth as it’s been closed way too much. If I don’t stand back up every couple days it lies in its side which it’s always preferred but just barely opens when doing so which is not good. 2nd pic is a few minutes later in macro mode extending a tad more but again just stood it back up

Pic was just after standing up, whereas it immediately opened. Fish want lunch so it’s not fully open but in its current state it doesn’t extend as far as it should

Again I should have gotten out of the Zoas sooner. I got busy and didn’t think that much about the Zoas.

My Crocea on the other hand has plenty of fresh growth.

 

[minus9]

I’ll be honest here, it’s not looking good at this point. There’s certainly hope given enough light is provided to possibly regain growth, but at this point it’s probably beyond the point of no return. It’s a hard lesson to swallow, but these animals depend on light to survive, in fact, it’s the most important factor with keeping clams. If a clam can’t extend its mantle to capture light, it will starve to death, it’s that simple. Which is the case here. Care must be taken to ensure where the clam is placed, it gets adequate, full spectrum light for at least 8hrs a day. This is the minimum, so you can see how altering this will cause long term harm to these animals. I wish you and the clam the best of luck.