Is this a concern?

[exnisstech]

Just noticed the other day one if my derasas shell halves do not fit together when closed and I'm not sure if this is normal or not.

Its hinge appears intact and it looks good when open. This was just a few minutes after the image above was taken.

 

[kevgib67]

@OrionN ?

 

[exnisstech]

@minus9 have any thoughts?

 

[DSC reef]

Thats odd, did it fall or have trauma? As long as you see new shell growth under the mantle then I wouldn't stress it. In all my years I've never seen that in tridacna.

 

[exnisstech]

Thats odd, did it fall or have trauma? As long as you see new shell growth under the mantle then I wouldn't stress it. In all my years I've never seen that in tridacna.

No falls. it's been where it's at since adding it 8 months ago. It does move around a little as does the one next to it. I can't say for certain how long it's been like this, I just noticed it a few days ago.
I had a really nice derasa that suffered a broken hinge once so I have concerns about that even tho there really isn't any way to prevent it or correct it that I'm aware of. I'll just keep an eye on it. It and the other one are attached to frag plugs but not by much and I expect they'll detach from them at some point.

 

[DSC reef]

I hope it pulls through, it would be nice to figure out why this happens. If something happens to the foot, abyssal threads to cause the broken hinge. Keep me posted on its progress if you dont mind, thats a beautiful clam.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@OrionN

 

[BryanM]

I think if there's no aggressive things in your tank towards clams he will be fine.

If it were in the wild he'd eventually get eaten because he couldn't protect himself.

Just thinking out loud.

 

[minus9]

Not all clams will have perfect fitting shells, in fact some species will never close tightly as they get bigger. If there's new growth on the upper margins (hard to tell from the blue-ish pic) and the mantle extends fully, I think it'll be okay. Looking at the pic closer, there doesn't seem to be too much new growth, how much light are they receiving? Par level and duration?

 

[exnisstech]

Not all clams will have perfect fitting shells, in fact some species will never close tightly as they get bigger. If there's new growth on the upper margins (hard to tell from the blue-ish pic) and the mantle extends fully, I think it'll be okay. Looking at the pic closer, there doesn't seem to be too much new growth, how much light are they receiving? Par level and duration?

Thanks for replying. Par is 300 - 350 with flow on but my peak cycle is short I think at only 5 hours. Not sure why I set it up so short but I added 2 hours to peak and will monitor. I'm sure Nutrients being low (at or near zero N and P) for a long time isn't helping matters either and I've been working on raising them.

 

[minus9]

Thanks for replying. Par is 300 - 350 with flow on but my peak cycle is short I think at only 5 hours. Not sure why I set it up so short but I added 2 hours to peak and will monitor. I'm sure Nutrients being low (at or near zero N and P) for a long time isn't helping matters either and I've been working on raising them.

Definitely increase the peak period, I usually go 8hrs minimum. And yes, zero nutrients is not helping. Dose ammonium bicarbonate and some inorganic phosphate (trisodium phosphate by Loudwolf is a good choice). If you haven’t dosed either, lmk and I can help with creating stock solutions, both are pretty simple to add.