Crocea will not stay attached

[DeepBlue]

I have had a Crocea Clam for over 6 months now and at first introduction to my reef, he attached quickly and securely to the piece of rock I had put under him in the sand. I then moved him up in the rockwork where he stayed, happy as a clam, for about two months. Then, I had done some rescaping (which I always sem to be doing...never happy you know) and he had gotten bumpped while I was positioning the rock and he came off the rock. So, I started him back in the sand with the rock and he attached again and I moved the rock back up into the rockwork. Only this time, after a couple days, he jumped off the rock and landed in the sand on his side.

Ever since, he has not been attaching securely to the rock and upon observation, I notice that he does not extend his basilic foot beyond his shell. I am concerned that his foot was damaged in some way. Can his foot heal? Is there anything I can do to secure him other than having small rock rubble all around him? He is otherwise in good health, nice open extension, not gaping, responds to changes in light, etc.

 

[mps9506]

Is there anything I can do to secure him other than having small rock rubble all around him?

I think that is all you can do. Sounds like he just really doesn't want to be higher up in the rockwork. I'm not sure how to identify permanent damage to the foot, maybe someone else will chime in on that.

 

[DeepBlue]

It is with great sadness I must report that my crocea has passed. :waa: He was so beautiful, but after the problem developed with his foot, he was not attaching to any rockwork. I tried him in several locations and on different rock, but no success. Yesterday, I returned home from a day at the office that seemed to go on forever, only to find him gaping and totally retracted. I lifted him up and saw about a dozen bristle worms working on his foot and several more inside his mouth. This indicated that he was dieing and I set him down in the sand to be finished off. This morning, there wasn't much left of him.

I do intend on getting another one in the near future. However, it is best to learn from our failures. So, what I have learned is:

1) Never pull on a clam. Test it first to make sure he is not attached to a rock.
2) Be sure to have them attached to a rock that you can easily move into your rockwork.
3) Once a clam is attached and you have them positioned in the rockwork in a good light and flow area, leave them alone! They do not want to constantly be moved around and readjust to a new area. (this is particularly hard for me as I always love to rearrange the rockwork for aesthetics)
4) Speak nice words to them to build their self-esteem. To many times, I would say, "you d*%n piece of c&#p. Stay where I put you!"

Anyway, these are the things that we do control along with our water quality, so I say, lesson learned, sad, but true.

 

[goldenmean]

Sorry for your loss.
It is good to learn for your mistakes.
I lost two beautiful croceas earlier this year.

You can make a crib for a clam by cutting about an inch and a half - 2 inch piece of large PVC pipe. Place the clam on the rock and place the PVC crib around him. When the clam attaches you can remove the pipe.
Make sure the PVC crib is larger than the clam otherwise you can not remove the crib.

 

[DeepBlue]

Great suggestion goldenmean! That way is won't be disturbed while settling in. My little guy was fast at attaching to rock when I first got him, but then I made a mistake and am affraid I damaged him. I will never do that again!

 

[slakker]

Sorry for the loss... I love clams as well... I have had success in moving clams if I use a very VERY sharp and flexible knife to work the foot off the rock by cutting in between the rock and foot. Got to be real careful and am not sure if this is recommended, but I had to move him.

I also have a 4 inch maxima tear it's foot off when it fell from a perch. It wouldn't attach to anything as it lost most of it's foot and I thought he was gonna be a goner. But I kept him on a rock in the sand for about 3 weeks and he healed (grew another foot).

I've also had some success in using marine epoxy as a mold for the clams. ie; use a chunk of epoxy, press the clam into it to shape/form it, take the clam out, let the epoxy dry and use the mold to perch the clam. It's really stable as it's shaped to fit.

Hope this adds to the communal knowledge base.

 

[rmlevasseur]

Wow, looks like I'm gonna lose a crocea the same exact way. He was firmly attached to a rock for months, and this morning I found him face down in the sand. I put him back on the rock. His mantle is still exposed but he is not reacting to the light. No clue why he came unnattached. Really sucks.

 

[fishcommunity]

i had the same experience as well with deepblue, when i got the clam back from the lfs, i put it on the sand and it attached well onto the rock beneath the sand, then i went on to move it to a higher place, it kept falling off and finally, 1 day i decided to just place it on the sandbed but unfortunately, it did not make it as i saw my cleaner shrimp taking bits and pieces of the clam.. sad but like deepblue said, lesson learned.. am afraid of having another clam now.. i heard corcea does not have a long life, is that true?

 

[cbrownfish]

Sorry to hear about the losses. Tridacna clams can have a very long life span. Some species grow HUGE in the wild and live for many, many years. In captivity, they last less time:

"Tridacna crocea
Tridacna crocea is regularly imported from the West
Malaysia-Micronesia region of the Pacific but is less hardy than the
previous species commonly living for only up to two years in
captivity (Achterkamp 1987b). This is unfortunate since this species
has some of the most colorful members, ranging in color from blue,
green and brown in various combinations with iridescent spots. The
valves of T. crocea are smooth (except for the upper edge) and
reach a maximum length of 15 cm. The most distinguishing feature of
T. crocea is its extremely large byssus opening compared to the
other species (Fig. 2) (Achterkamp 1987b)."


I have never been a fan of placing clams in the rockwork for just this reason. Experts typically recommend that Crocea's and Maxima's get placed into the rockwork but I have heard too many of these stories.

 

[DeepBlue]

Wow, looks like I'm gonna lose a crocea the same exact way. He was firmly attached to a rock for months, and this morning I found him face down in the sand. I put him back on the rock. His mantle is still exposed but he is not reacting to the light. No clue why he came unnattached. Really sucks.

Mine had been found that way about a week before he passed on. It does suck, but it does help us try to understand clam behavior and handling better.

fishcommunity i had the same experience as well with deepblue, when i got the clam back from the lfs, i put it on the sand and it attached well onto the rock beneath the sand, then i went on to move it to a higher place, it kept falling off and finally, 1 day i decided to just place it on the sandbed but unfortunately, it did not make it as i saw my cleaner shrimp taking bits and pieces of the clam.. sad but like deepblue said, lesson learned.. am afraid of having another clam now.. i heard corcea does not have a long life, is that true?

I wouldn't give up on clams at all. Like I said, we just need to learn from these situations and try to provide the best and safest environment we can.

slakker
I've also had some success in using marine epoxy as a mold for the clams. ie; use a chunk of epoxy, press the clam into it to shape/form it, take the clam out, let the epoxy dry and use the mold to perch the clam. It's really stable as it's shaped to fit.

Hope this adds to the communal knowledge base.

Love the suggestion! This would provide the best perch for them and if designed large enough, it can grow into it and also be incorporated into the lower rockwork. Thanks all!