Whats wrong with my Clams?
 

Ive had these for over 6 months now and they were doing great. always fully open. both under halides and LEDs

all corals and fish are fine.

in the last couple of weeks, this has happen. They seem to be closing up. anyone knows whats going on?


http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...9at43618PM.png


http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...9at43625PM.png

Its a pinched mantle. A freshwater dip can help with that.

pinched mantle on two different clams at the same time??....seems unlikely....how old is your tank now mang?......whats your fish list ATM?

tank is a year old.

fish:
regal tang
black shoulder tang
powder brown tang
foxface rabbitfish
solaris wrasse
cleaner wrasse
mystery wrasse
mandarin goby pair
clarki clown pair

the only fish i ever seen picking at the clams is the clearner wrasse, but i double he's doing any harm

also, seems like this one is slightly more open at night, but still nowhere near where it was 3 weeks ago

http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...9at43625PM.png[/quote]

If I had to guess I would say that one of your fish is developing a taste for clams. Try putting a strawberry basket or some other sort of protective cover over one of the clams and see if it opens up again

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try that

Clams
 

Totally a fish if opening up more at night.

How long ago was it you changed your lights

3 months ago

Well than that's not it lol

Try feeding some mussels and see if it take attn off of the clams. If it is a fish doing it

I find myself if I skip out on mussels my Cbb will eye up one of my clams

I saw you haven't changed any water in 6 months....

Ok so?

Why would they be closed?

not enough nutrients. thats why everyone says its still good to do WC to replace the elements

I don't know the science behind it but I've always changed my water, never had a problem with clams. The fact the issue is with more than one clam and nothing regarding lighting has recently changed it pretty much leaves water chemistry.

But I keep all my perameters in check and I have far more sensitive livestock that's doing just fine. I dose my tank daily

what are you dosing?

I think that clams are probably one of the most sensitive things that we can put in our tanks.....they are somewhat like a sea squirt.....they filter large amounts of water through themselves in a day....not as much as a sea squirt but still enough that the water quality needs to be excellent.......stability is key.....I dont recommend to any customer to put a clam in their tank until the tank is about a year old.....the first year of a tanks life is usually a very unstable environment.....the excitement of a new tank usually brings a lot of new additions, which in turn causes a perpetual teetering of the balance of the tank.....generally speaking the new additions tend to slow down after a year or so and the tank has a chance to catch up to all the "teetering" and mature......

But why all of the sudden? I've had them in there for so long. And I've seen noticeable growth.

I check my perameters with Hanna checkers. I'm certain that phosphates and nitrates are at 0

I dose kalk through top off and the separately dose calcium, alk, and mag when necessary

those aren't the only elements and trace minerals that our critters use:wink: .....stuff like strontium, potassium, iodine and a host of others will slowly get used up.....if your not adding these things and not doing regular water changes, then these minerals and elements will never be replenished....

So how big of a water change do I need to make an impact. I've got 250 gallons total.

actually i just remembered. i did a 10 gallon water change about a week and half ago. few days after i noticed the clams close up. it didnt change anything.

also, this wouldnt really explain why they would open slightly more at night

So you wait 6 months, then do a water change, then all of a sudden clams start acting up. Stability sounds like an issue unless there's something else you've forgotten about?

no. i wait 6 months, clams start acting up. i do a 10 gallon water change. no change except at night (which was happening before and after the minor waterchange)

From reading all the posts in this thread and seeing that everything seems in check (but still think you need to make a bigger and more often water changes as you said 10glns for a 240glns tank meaning 0.05% total volume)
In my opinion and past experience I think some or one of your fish has acquired a taste for your clams as you mentioned that they seem to open up at night when fish are not around (as some folks already mentioned)

is it possible it was the moorish idol since it started weeks ago and he only died like a week ago or so??? theyve been known to pick at clams, i would still go with maries idea with the basket and since your a photographer is it possible to video the tank to catch the culprit maybe in the nighttime??:)

If your nitrates are at 0 that is one problem. Clams do need some ammonia/nitrate to fuel their zoozanthellae.

Also check your alk, low alk can cause those symptoms.

Another option is pyramidellid snails, check in the scutes for them and under the clam, around the byssal opening. The snails are generally nocturnal unless there is a heavy infestation.

Clams from Vietnam are also not the healthiest. They tend to carry perkinsus aka pinched mantle disease.

Cleaner wrasses are also known to go after the iridophores on clams. My suspicion is it's a combination of the cleaner wrasse and no nitrate for food.

Cheers,
Tim

Can't find a cover for the clams with holes that the cleaner wrasse can't swim through

Local pet stores have mesh breeder boxes that suction to th glass. If you can move the clams. Put them in there at top of tank

i dont think moving them would really work for me. plus i've seen those mesh breeder boxes and they seem to be too small to even fit one of my clams

The little baskets that strawberries come in work great for caging off things

But the holes are big enough for a cleaner wrasse, right?

That's the only fish I've ever seem picking at a clam

Strawberry basket lined with enkamat?

Strawberry basket lined with enkamat or eggcrate?

make a cover from the same plastic mesh others make algae scubbers from the holes are maybe 1/8th of an inch:P

Your previous posts suggested the change was done prior to the clams acting up, hence my previous assumption. Keep in mind a 10% change after 6 months won't have much effect, you can't rule out this issue from that. You can search day and night for some mysterious predator but clams don't have the ability to reason, it's not closing up all day because it's more likely to be attacked then. Clams sense light and touch, they close up temporarily with sudden changes in those senses. The clams are stressed making them more sensitive to light is all.

My honest guess is months of neglect among other things. It was probably a combination of things from the tank being fairly new to a dramatic light change and then the constant downfall of water chemistry from lack of maintenance. In the end the clams have finally had enough and are showing signs of stress which may or may not be reversible. Your best shot is to eliminate the more potential issues with IMO doesn't include moving them or building cages. First check for pyramid snails, these are really the only predator that could cause such issues, if you have them they are easily spotted on the clams foot. Daily water changes of around 20% for the next week or so should slowly bring up strontium, iodine and anything else they require. Calcium and Alkalinity should be careful monitored and even verified to be certain readings are accurate. The water movement around the clams should be moderate and indirect in enhance their ability to feed. Cutting your light back might also aid in recovery as well removing any aggressive type of chemical filtration. Finally I would try intermittent skimming and dosing a small amount of phytoplankton.

How would pyramid snails just appear over night? I haven't added anything that could bring them in. Just fish

It's just something eliminate, I agree it's not likely the issue.

This what they look like encase you didn't already know.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-0..._2889s_jpg.jpg

I've googled it and no sign of those in my tank. And honestly 50 gallon water changes is not something I can do. I'm going to rule out fish first