Whats wrong with my Clams?

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by naesco

Looked at your fish list.
Didn't you have a moorish idol?
If so where is it?

Got destroyed by a tank mate. Assuming it was one of the tangs. He died the next day. Happened last week.

Yeah I'll keep an eye out on the foxface.

Thanks for giving actual solutions that could help instead of jumping to "water change fixes everything"

[tim the toolman]

Keeping in mind the death of the moorish idol could it also be possible that the idol was eating a nuisance critter that is no longer being controlled in the tank? I know they thrive primarily on sponges and such, but in the wild they are also well known for eating benthic invertibrates which is a rather large spectrum of invertebrates including some which live in home aquaria. (Just a thought)

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

Thanks for giving actual solutions that could help instead of jumping to "water change fixes everything"

Keep in mind that the clam recovery and long term survival is still reliant on water quality, clams do in fact need strontium and iodine among other elements. Best way to insure a good balance of such elements is through water changes. The previous advice was still sound, I wouldn't omit it.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Keep in mind that the clam recovery and long term survival is still reliant on water quality, clams do in fact need strontium and iodine among other elements. Best way to insure a good balance of such elements is through water changes. The previous advice was still sound, I wouldn't omit it.

I agree 100% with the above statement.

I would also politely add that I would lose the 'attitude' Marco if you wish to seek further assistance from experienced members of this forum.

And, please do not replace the Moorish Idol. Thanks

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by naesco

I agree 100% with the above statement.

I would also politely add that I would lose the 'attitude' Marco if you wish to seek further assistance from experienced members of this forum.

And, please do not replace the Moorish Idol. Thanks

+1 on both accounts.

Out of curriosity have you ever done a water change on your system? I agree we all have our methods and what works for some might not work for others but don't bash it until you atleast try it.

I'm sure others will chime in on the fact that their tanks look the best the day after a good water change/ blow off is done, I know mine sure does.

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by zoaElite

+1 on both accounts.

Out of curriosity have you ever done a water change on your system? I agree we all have our methods and what works for some might not work for others but don't bash it until you atleast try it.

I'm sure others will chime in on the fact that their tanks look the best the day after a good water change/ blow off is done, I know mine sure does.

Last water change I did was 60 gallons and everything went crazy. Yellow tang lost its mind and started attacking other fish. Which is why I got rid of it

[sphelps]

So you can change 60 gallons but not 50

Perhaps you're not doing it right...

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by sphelps

So you can change 60 gallons but not 50

Not daily for a week

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by sphelps

So you can change 60 gallons but not 50

Perhaps you're not doing it right...

I remove everything from the sump, vaccuum all detritus and empty all the water. The replace it, all the temp to match and turn on the return pump.

I also vaccuum the sump every 2 weeks, but without a waterchange

[Reefie]

I may not be as knowledgeable as some of the Canreefers on here, but I have a bit of experience with clams.

Clams close up if there is something that is bothering them. I am going to guess it is fish related, the strawberry basket cage is a good suggestion.

Having read your post about 0 Nitrates, that's a great thing for SPS, but not for clams. Clams consume Nitrates, so having a little is beneficial to them. I've had up to 11 clams at one point, yes I got hooked on them. I am down to 5 now, there is a delicate balance to keep clams and SPS.

SPS like "CLEAN" water, while clams like "DIRTY" water. I have found that to keep both SPS and clams, you have to keep the water parameters almost perfect for the SPS while dosing Phyto and or Sponge Power to feed the clams. I've got 2 Crocea's that I've had for about a year now, got them when they were about 3" and now they're about 5"

Another thing could also be your CUC, I lost a few of my clams due to them picking at some algae that was growing on the shells. It iritates the clams when hermits or even your cleaner wrasse is picking at it's shell.

I would suggest that you do 10% water changes weekly and see if it makes a difference also. Clams like everything else we keep in our tanks prefer stability, so make small changes gradually.