mantle lost a bit of colour

[Timmy's Marine]

One of my crocea clams lost a bit of colour off the mantle. It has happened in a coupld of places on the one clam. However, I noticed today that the flourescent specks of colour are returning. I can't get a pic of it cause I would need a macro lense to pick it up. FYI - this clam is only aprox. one week new to my tank.


Any ideas?
I have tried to google it but didn't get the answers that I am looking for.

[cheeks69]

It's probably partially bleached or expelled some zooxanthellae because it's stressed. What are your parameters including cal/alk ? How long has this tank been established ? What is your fish list ?

I am going thru a similar situation because of a fish continually nipping at the mantle.

[Timmy's Marine]

All zero's for what needs to be, cal. 450 and alk....can't seem to find my test for that one...wonder if I through it out by mistake....but, last time I checked it was 2.8 mil.

[cheeks69]

How long has this tank been setup ? What are you using to maintain you cal/alk ? What do you have for lighting ? Where is the clam placed ? What are the dimensions of the tank ? Do you have a good amount of corraline algae throughout the tank ? What is your current fish list ?

[Timmy's Marine]

Ahhhhh, the questions!!

Tank: almost a year
Coral: whole back is covered with pink and purple and rocks
Lighting: T5's (the clams are up highish)
Rock: aprox 140 lbs of live rock 4" sand
Fish: yellow tang, two clowns, lawnmower blenny, porcelin crab, brittle stars (little guys still), and snails in a 72g - plus frogspawn, hammer, leather, red cap
That is the tank!
Calcium - at this point we have had no trouble maintiaing the 450 as we do regular water changes (we had Discus before, so it's something we are used to doing)

[cheeks69]

Croceas are the most light demanding Clams so it's possible that the T5's are not cutting it, how many watts are they and which bulbs are you using ? Have you noticed the LMB nipping at the mantle ?

[Timmy's Marine]

The t5's of the Geisman (I know that is not spelt right) type. The other crocea that I have is doing amazing - so far at least - the mantel is extened nicely and has a bit of new growth on the shell (and so does the one we are talking about). No one bothers the clams at all - at least not during the day.

[cheeks69]

Then I would check to see if you have Pyramidellid snails.

Barry Neigut

Inspect the clam around the mantle and “byssus” (foot) to make sure there are no Pyramidellid (“Pyram”) snails. These parasitic snails can do serious damage to the clam and must not be allowed into your aquarium. Make sure that you carefully examine the specimen for the presence of jelly-like sacks which house the eggs of these snails. Several dozen snails can hatch simultaneously. If Pyramidellids are discovered in your aquarium, there are a few fish that will help in controlling them, such as Coris formosa, Coris gaimard, and the popular Sixline Wrasse, Pseudocheilinus hexataenia. Manually removing these pests at night (when they are feeding) may also be necessary

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3.../Clam_care.htm