Dip clams?

[CATALYST]

I have those snails in there and it's definitely from the clam. After I took that pic yesterday I sucked up the slime. I took more pics this morning. I've picked it up and looked for anything odd and there's nothing there. Some algae and feather dusters...

[Woodstock]

Very difficult to tell from the pic but I would not dip that clam. It looks very healthy. It could be a vermatid snail. They live in burrows and send out long strings to catch floating debris. Also try increasing the flow a bit... but don't blast the clam.

[SueT]

Iodine can be toxic to clams, I would not dip that clam. It looks just fine. What the slime is I'm not sure. Usually when clams have PM they do slime like this from the area of mantle thats pinching, but this clam definitely does not have PM. I'd just leave it alone and do what you're doing.

[kyrie_eleison]

You know what? I read that FW dipping a clam isn't that bad. As a matter of fact, clams are technically more hardy that fish (if you really think about it). The reason being: a lot clams are exposed to direct air (sometimes...even hours at a time). They survive prolonged air exposure due to rising and falling tides and hence do just fine. A freshwater dip is not that damaging to the clam as it is to the nerves of the aquarist themselves.

It seems strange but I heard that you can do a freshwater dip on a clam for up to 30 minutes with no ill-effects. I wouldn't push it past 20 but considering that clams collected (out of the wild) live in mostly shallow waters/in sandy beaches, it makes perfect sense that their hardiness is true. There are some interesting stories of people collecting them and placing them directly into freshwater only to be taken out and noticed that they are still alive and well.

So...if you've got pyr-snails; you'd be doing a good thing by taking the clam out of the tank; getting a clean bristle toothbrush and doing the duty and then giving the clam a freshwater dip for 20 minutes.

[Frankie]

I don't think a fresh water dip will get rid of vermatid snails. I would like to read this about freshwater dipping clams if you have the info kyrie_eleison. I know that you cannot bring the salinity up on clams to fast. And they need to be drip acclimated. But i never read anything about fresh water and would like to read about that. Thanks if you can direct me to the info.

[SueT]

FWD'ing a clam is to be considered a last resort effort to salvage a clam from PM disease. I would never suggest to FWD a clam for something like vermitid snails or pyramid snails. That should be done with using a soft brush and gently brushing the clams shell. Frankie, check out Barry's forum at Clams Direct

[Frankie]

Cool! thanks SueT.

[Frankie]

Nice site i just joined. Should be fun!

[SueT]

cool Frankie, hope to see ya round...

[CATALYST]

I took the shell off that I let the clam attach to and put him up on the rock in the same place. The slime is less but still there. I stuck one of those spinning wave flow things to get some different water movement. I ordered a hang on refugium that should be here soon. I can put the skimmer back there instead and maybe it will cut down on any micro bubbles. Maybe they are what's bothering him. He's still in good health and color with a nice fluffy mantel. We'll see how it helps. I read about dipping them but I'll try some of these other things first. Once I get the skimmer moved to the fuge I may be able to add another pump for more flow.