What ate my Tridacna?

CaptainNemo68 · Oct 11, 2023

Hello- new member here. This morning I found my 6 year old Tridacna is now just an empty shell! Anyone know what may have happened? The other day it was a happy, healthy (I think) 7 inch long clam with nothing out of the ordinary as far as I could tell. Today its gone! Tank is a 250 gallon reef tank - fish inverts coral and live rock. I'm wondering if perhaps one (or all!) of my 4 or 5 brittle stars may have gotten hungry. Ordinarily I wouldnt think so, but I lost a small wrass last week and one of the brittle stars (I think) ate it! so Im thinking they are capable of this dastardly deed and may have "acquired a taste for things other than the pellets I normally feed them. Anyone have a similar experience? Its a shame cause the clam came in as a 1 inch specimen ad has grown into a really nice 6 or 7 incher.

WheatToast · Oct 12, 2023

I don’t know much about Tridacna clams, though did you find the shell coated in transparent slime?

minus9 · Oct 12, 2023

Large brittle stars are carnivores and will eat a lot of things. I don't think I would ever keep one in a reef tank. Was the clam growing? New white shell growth on the upper margins of the shell?