Pinched Clam

A

AustinReef

Member
Hey everyone. One of the maximas in my sps system appears to have a slightly pinched mantle. It has been this way for the past 4 or 5 days. Absolutely nothing has changed and all water parameters are perfect. The clam is near the sandbed in a 20 or 22 inch high tnak ( i cant remember the height), with a single 250 wat 20k xm bulb. This is not a new clam and its bothering me why it would start doing this. I would prefer not to FW dip this clam (or any clam) as i hear this is very stressful and risky for the clam. The only thing i can think of is the flow might be too heavy, but its been that way for a long time. Last night i changed the flow pattern a little bit. Can anyone throw some suggestions at me. Thanks in advance
-Austin

Heres what my water tested last night:

SG- 1.025 refractometer
Ph- 8.2
Amm- 0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
Phosphate-0
Calcium- 440
Alk- 10.6
 
Witfull

Witfull

Well-Known Member
sounds a bit low from the light. also is it on the sand? it possible bristle worms could be pestering it, or pyramid snails..do a search we have a few current threads discussing them.
 
S

SueT

Active Member
I agree the lighting is a bit low for a maxima at this level in the tank, but if it's been like this then it seems something else must of changed. I'm with you as I have yet to need to FWD a clam and I dread the day I do.

Clams do not like current that is enough to move the mantle. If the clam had that kind of flow and the mantle was being moved then moving the clam or flow from it may stop the pinching.

I'd also be sure to check for pyramid snails and bristleworms as they will irritate the heck out of clams. You might try moving the clam up into more lighting. Maxie's and crocea's are the most lighting needy.
 
A

AustinReef

Member
I could move the clam up on the rocks, but the flow gets pretty intense midway- surface of the tank. There are no pyramids in this tank, they are in the other tank, lol. Bristle worms may be a problem i havent thought of, but i view the tank every night and only see very few, and none appear to be within the reach of the clam. The clam is on the sand bed, but there is a shell underneath it. It never attached to this shell or any substrate for that matter. The clam seems healthy, the mantle is fully expanded except for in the pinched spot and the clam still reacts quickly to light. There is a squamosa next to this clam that looks better than ever,too. Thanks for the input so far
-Austin
 
A

AustinReef

Member
Oh yeh i forgot to mention that as this all started, i began to see the clam expelling strands of zooxanthallae. Not all the time, but i'd say twice that i know of in 4 days
 
addict

addict

Well-Known Member
I say give it the freshwater dip to be safe... it really isn't that stressful at all. I dip large clams for 15 minutes, and baby clams for 7-10 minutes.
If it is the dreaded pinched mantle 'disease', then you'll have to dip 'all' the clams, and not just the affected one, since others can be carriers yet not show symptoms.
I've already lost two clams to pinched mantle (last year), so it's no fun.

Just FYI, my clams reopen fully about a half-hour after the freshwater dip, so it appears to not be that detrimental to their health.
If the mantle is pinched just on one small spot, it could be due to injury, like from a roaming hermit or snail shell damaging the mantle.

HTH.
 
A

AustinReef

Member
What would be the procedure you do use for FWDing clams. RO water ,right? What do u use to get the pH higher. Also, are there any other parameters that are important for the dipping water? I'm going to give it another week. The clam still looks the same if not a bit better, but definitly not worse. It is just one flap of the mantle that is retracted so maybe a hermit did cause some irritation.
 
addict

addict

Well-Known Member
I do nothing to the water other than make sure it's the same temperature as the tank water... seems to work fine and all the clams are still alive.

Hope all goes well for you.
 
A

AustinReef

Member
Heres an update on the situation. I decided to do some fragging and made some room for the maxima up higher on the rocks. I found a nice spot that has an acro blocking most of the current. The clam looks happy now and is fully extended. But, i dont think lighting was the problem. I placed a bristle worm trap where the clams used to be and caught a 10 inch+ bristleworm. I dont know where the worms burrow was, but it was more than 6 inches away from where the clam was. So thats that. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
-Austin
 
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