Sponge on clam, possibly dying

[ReefHunter006]

I am hoping someone can help direct me how to resolve a sponge basically engulfing my clam.

 

[World Citizen]

People say you can clean it of with a toothbrush, but I have touched mine and don't think it is going to work.

I google this the past few month. I think we got the same thing.
It is suffocating a Euphylia I have, but it's not killing it. It has grown right up towards the heads, but the heads are not being overgrown.

I think it is smarter for me to start and remove it. It also grows on stone at certain places.

Ill follow along and hope to learn.

 

[Tahoe61]

Is the clam attached?
Have you tried a soft tooth brush?

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Simple expose it to air 60 seconds. Sponges die when from exposure to air and clams don't care about low tide.

 

[ReefHunter006]

Simple expose it to air 60 seconds. Sponges die when from exposure to air and clams don't care about low tide.

I let it sit out for two mi it’s last month and got nervous and put it back in the tank. It didn’t recede. I’ll try again

 

[ReefHunter006]

Is the clam attached?
Have you tried a soft tooth brush?

It is attached and the tooth brush wiggles the two sides of the shell too much for me to be comfortable I’m not damaging the coam

 

[ReefHunter006]

People say you can clean it of with a toothbrush, but I have touched mine and don't think it is going to work.

I google this the past few month. I think we got the same thing.
It is suffocating a Euphylia I have, but it's not killing it. It has grown right up towards the heads, but the heads are not being overgrown.

I think it is smarter for me to start and remove it. It also grows on stone at certain places.

Ill follow along and hope to learn.

It’s so invasive

 

[Miami Reef]

Try a tooth scaler like the ones dentists use.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

I let it sit out for two mi it’s last month and got nervous and put it back in the tank. It didn’t recede. I’ll try again

You sure it's a done and not some kind of tunicate? You may end up doing an aggressive dip.

 

[minus9]

If it's attached, pull the clam and rock out of the water. The clam should close up, then hold the clam firmly and brush off the sponge. Make sure you wear gloves (some sponges can irritate skin) and repeat on each side until the sponge is removed. Also check the rock so no sponge remains there or it will grow back.

 

[malacoda]

You can gently remove the clam from the rock by severing the basal threads with an Xacto knife or similar (just be careful to only cut the threads, not clam's foot (there are videos showing how, it's not difficult)) ... then take it out and scrub it with a little peroxide and a toothbrush.

Or, if the rock it's on can easily be taken out of the tank, you can lift it out that way ... and scrub it with a little peroxide and a toothbrush.

Or you can just leave it be. The sponge shouldn't bother the clam healthwise. Mine had sponge on it without any problem...

And I literally just got back Friday from a scuba trip in Raja Ampat where I saw many large clams in the wild — several of which had sponge growing on/covering their shells.

 

[twentyleagues]

You sure it's a done and not some kind of tunicate? You may end up doing an aggressive dip.

The problem there is if it is a Tunicate and it dies so will the clam. Dont dip clams.

 

[minus9]

The problem there is if it is a Tunicate and it dies so will the clam. Dont dip clams.

Totally agree and I wouldn't use hydrogen peroxide to clean the sponge either, if it touches the clam's tissue, that's going to cause some issues. This is a simple fix, pull the clam and rock and brush off the sponge, this doesn't have to be so involved with cutting the byssal threads, etc.....clams in nature are completely exposed to air during low tide, so there's no harm in doing this at home. Cutting byssal threads can be tricky if you haven't done so before and if there's no enough room, you risk damage to the byssal organ, which likely results in the clam's death. I would only attempt this if you can't remove the rock.

 

[twentyleagues]

Totally agree and I wouldn't use hydrogen peroxide to clean the sponge either, if it touches the clam's tissue, that's going to cause some issues. This is a simple fix, pull the clam and rock and brush off the sponge, this doesn't have to be so involved with cutting the byssal threads, etc.....clams in nature are completely exposed to air during low tide, so there's no harm in doing this at home. Cutting byssal threads can be tricky if you haven't done so before and if there's no enough room, you risk damage to the byssal organ, which likely results in the clam's death. I would only attempt this if you can't remove the rock.

I also agree with you.
All of this is correct. I have done the byssal thread cut it is very...umm we will say not fun.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Afreshwater dip won't hurt it, i personally do it with flat tree oysters. It doesn't take long and it's quite effective.

The problem there is if it is a Tunicate and it dies so will the clam. Dont dip clams.