Clam Question

[a4twenty]

Originally Posted by Marlin65

Its a hole in his foot...........I can post a picture later, but it is basically a hole in the foot about the size of a nickel.

a picture would be best, the foot of most clams is not large enough to have a hole that big.

Originally Posted by Marlin65

Yes those are the snails I have so that could be my problem.

if you do have pyramid snails, they are going to be a problem if they are not already the problem.

Originally Posted by Marlin65

PS I have a Yellow in my main with the 3 small clams and a fat 6 line in the tank they are in now so am hoping they will eat the bad snails.

these wrasses are diurnal and pyramid snails are nocturnal, so they may get a few but will not solve your problem. there is only one way to get rid of these pest and that is to manually remove the snails and their egg sacs from the clams. you need to do this an hour or so after lights out as the snails live down under the clam or in its scutes during the day and come out at night to feast under the mantle of clam. you will have to do this every day or two at the beginning and can gradually reduce the frequency as you begin to see progress.

HTH

[Marlin65]

All three have a foot of about loonie size.
I will post some pictures later.
I have been trying to rid them by doing as prescribed, but they are hard to eradicate completely.
I cleaned them and moved them to another tank so hopefully that will take care of them.
looks like these are what my problem is.

[Marlin65]

Is it possible for the snails to be inside the clam through the foot?
Thanks every one for your help in this.

[a4twenty]

Originally Posted by Marlin65

I have been trying to rid them by doing as prescribed, but they are hard to eradicate completely.
I cleaned them and moved them to another tank so hopefully that will take care of them.
looks like these are what my problem is.

make sure you look for tiny egg sacs too and just keep at it, good luck

[Marlin65]

Will do thanks all.

[Marlin65]

Do you have nassarius snails? If your clams aren't firmly attached to a piece of rock a hungry snail can eat a foot in a single night. Since they are burrowing snails they don't even have to come up out of the sand bed for a feast. This will happen if your snails aren't well fed. Little bits and pieces aren't enough. Give them a hunk of shrimp or fish once a week to keep them satisfied and away from your clams.

Found this on reef central wondering if this could be my problem I have lots of these in the tank they came from and have not been feeding them much lately.

[a4twenty]

IME nassarius snails wont attack a healthy clam but they will finish one off that is in distress. you may need to stake out the tank and see what goes on at night.

do your nassarius usually stay submerged in the sand??

[Marlin65]

Just finished hunting killed two snails on my small clams, and had another look at the two big ones. They are clean but the hole has gotten bigger. I am just downloading them now will post them shortly.

[Marlin65]

OK here is a picture looks a bit worse than actual but the hole got bigger.
I don;t think this one will make it.

On a positive note the sps that came on the rock of the last clam I bought went from brown to purple with a green rim.

And my Candy cane is doing real well.

[a4twenty]

that hole is in the shell and called the byssal opening, the foot and byssal organ are usually located inside there. you can actual see the growth lines on the shell conforming to the shape. judging by the size and shape of that opening i would guess that is a crocea. the byssal opening varies depending on species and changes as the clam grows.

my best suggestion is keep on the snail patrol and possibly post a top down pic of the clams, there are many other tell tale signs that may help find any other problems.

HTH