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Pinched Mantle Disease


downhill_biker

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Test your nitrates first.... inspect its foot second for pest. FWD will be ok if all else, I have never had an issue doing them, but usually the issue is not pinched mantle, unfortunately my clam is usually first thing to tell me if something is "off" in my tank.

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The clam did have an episode of pyramid snails about a month ago. I have been watching closely and have only seen a couple and removed them right away. I also bought a 6 line to keep up on the snails. I tested nitrates, ammonia, ca, alk, and pH yesterday, and here they are:

 

nitrates 0

ammonia 0

calcium 480-500

dKH 12-13

pH 8.3

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Looks good, don't be afraid to FWD the clam but keep in mind my tank can be just fine and one clam will do this while others do fine, then they will switch off. I have done FWD with no ill results, however I'm not all that sold on its usefulness, just watch for air bubbles in clam if you decide to do it. I dip for 2 min and if they look good leave another min or so. I usually pull before whole 5 minutes is up.

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reality is if there is a pest in 5 min it should let go and scramble for saltwater, I would not dip for long periods, but its simply amazing how tough corals and inverts are, after a few minute dip my clam I dipped went back to normal, in the dip water I found some pods that where living in the clam but that was it. Dip and use best judgment, hard to say problem without a thorough inspection.

 

Last week I had a shell in my siphoned out water change, I pulled it out and set it on counter and forgot about it till 4 hours later, there was a snail in it trying to walk across counter to find water.

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I would err on the side that is is pinched mantle. They are still unsure of the actual cause of pinched mantle, whether its, bacterial, protozoa, virus, parasite etc. With that in mind I believe that is the reason for the 30 min dip, you don't really know what you are treating for, so best to err on the safe side since it has little to no ill effect on the clam. I have done several fresh water dips, battling pinched mantle disease, and they never once died from the dip itself. In fact they always stopped pinching immediately after the dip. However in my experiences, about 3-4 weeks later it would start showing up again. Strange, i know, I eventually gave up the battle after about 6 months, and lost 13 clams :*(. I got pinched mantle disease from an internet order from clams direct, I know this because I had had clams in my tank for around 6 months then 2 days after adding the new shipment to my display, it started showing up, and one by one they all got it. If you do do a freshwater dip it is very important to buffer the ph. Hope that help, give me a call this evening if you have any other questions, I have a book on giant clams(published in 2008) that I can reference some info for you if need be.

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I just lost 3 clams to what I think was pinched mantle. First was a very small ORA maxima, then a 2" crocea, and the next day a 3" derasa. I kept thinking some water parameter was off but could not find anything. It wasn't until I visited Saltwater Fanta-Seas that they told me about pinched mantle disease. I then came home and fresh water dipped my remaining crocea that was not looking good for about 10 minutes. It soon open up as normal and has looked good ever since. I wish I would have done some better research after I lost the first clam since I think I could have saved the other two. I will fresh water dip all clams that I buy from now on.

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Anyone know exactly what PMD is? Parasite? Infection?

 

Come on Andy... Think :)

 

What is this thread about? DOH!

 

PMD= pinched mantle disease (whistle)

 

(Please take in a joking way, not a condescending way, I mean no disrespect.)(rock2)

 

dsoz

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This thread is the first I've heard of PMD so I can't answer that. But I'll look it up...

First info I found says that www.clamsdirect.com suspects a protozoan that is currently being identified and they suggest a 25 minute fresh water dip.

 

Edit- I can't find better info, just that it is being researched-

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112994

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