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Lets talk about clams!


Nyles

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Hey Jansen. Here's a link about the most common clam parasite.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14161

You should look for them after lights out. They can be found up around the mantle on the outside of the shell, or down around the byssal tissue and in the sand under or around the clam.

They suck fluids from the clams mantle.

Whelks are another common parasite to clams.

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No it wasn't a chiton. The "shell" was flexible and could curl up a little. I found it on the shell of one of my clams. Now it's doing really well in about 5 days time. And it was as big a a pill bug. I know, maybe it was a saltwater pill bug! LOL.

 

I looked the photos but it didn't look anything like that. Hopefully this is just a false alarm.

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Since we're talking about clams, can we talk about Pyram or Pyramid snails?

Has anyone on here had to deal with them?

I've had a little problem with them, can't seem to eliminate them all.

They don't seem to bother my Derasa or Gigas, just my two Croceas.

I've done the remove clams from tank and brush the snails off thingie. I'm just wondering if there's something more I could do?

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I know everyone says this but I will say again. I inspect clams on arrival and usually clean them, once I dump in tank the six line and my hawkfish usually watch within a 1" distance for any moving objects, then the tangs come in to get and algae they may find. Between all the commotion the clam is left very clean. If you feed you still have the pyramid snails here is a good read.....

 

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/jf/index.php

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Thanks Nyles.

I currently have a six lined wrasse, he doesn't seem to be doing his job very well(it's probably not in his union contract).

I'll just keep cleaning the snails off.

On a side note. I had to burp one of my clams yesterday, after he was out for his snail cleaning routine. I don't know if he would have expelled the air by himself or not. But I'm glad you mentioned it earlier in this thread.

Thanks.

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may want to try and feed a snail to the sixline, sometime they need enticing. Just as if you want a copperband to eat aptasia you sometimes have to feed the coppers favorite food to the aptasia to get the copper to eat the aptasia.

 

I have a turkey baster trick, my fish know that the baster is used for feeding and they will follow it around waiting for food, I would possibly try sucking up some snails and feed to him, make sure he sees where you get them from, may take a little practice, but who knows.....

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How far away from the light? What kind of light?

 

odyssea 20K 175W MH. It's about 12 inches away from the light

 

are those little brown strings coming from the zoa? or are you not able to tell?

 

I think the brown strings came from the clam. bad?

 

 

Anyway, I think the clam was just moving because it's back down now in a different angle. Still, I would like to know about the stringy stuff....

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Those little string like thingies are the clams byssal thread. They use it to attach and hold themselves to rocks or substrate, as the clam ages and get heavier it relies on it's weight to hold itself in place.

If or when you move that clam make sure you cut the byssal thread with a sharp razor blade as close to the rock as possible. If you just pull it loose from the rock, it could rip the tissue and cause an infection.

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  • 2 weeks later...

well, i angled the clam down a bit and this is what it looks like:

 

clam.jpg

 

:) I guess all my questions about its health were just annoying....(laugh) It still is discolored a little if I look from the top of the water down but after observing someone else's clam, I noticed that mine has grown a set of "scutes" (sp?). Anyway, I take that as a good sign. (clap)

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