22 replies to this topic

[qpdd]

Hi,
I just bought few clams from another reefer, today is the third day..
First day the calms are reponsive towards light, however the next, calms begin to gasp till today..
and there are not as reponsive like the first day..
i check important para like NO2,NO3,Po4 and the reading seem ok..
i only buffer the KH up this few days, only 1dkh per day..
why is the clams gasp? and what can i do to save the clams?
urgent, pls help, i know that the clams are not in good shape

[Vanquish]

Hi,
I just bought few clams from another reefer, today is the third day..
First day the calms are reponsive towards light, however the next, calms begin to gasp till today..
and there are not as reponsive like the first day..
i check important para like NO2,NO3,Po4 and the reading seem ok..
i only buffer the KH up this few days, only 1dkh per day..
why is the clams gasp? and what can i do to save the clams?
urgent, pls help, i know that the clams are not in good shape

Did you check the clam for any pests irritating it??

Unfotunately when the clams starts gasping, it's normally a one way ticket to death... best choice would be to leave it along IMO and see if it improves.... Good luck!

[qpdd]

Did you check the clam for any pests irritating it??

Unfotunately when the clams starts gasping, it's normally a one way ticket to death... best choice would be to leave it along IMO and see if it improves.... Good luck!

i din notice any pets around
this sound bad, waste all my money
really don know what happen...

[Vanquish]

i din notice any pets around
this sound bad, waste all my money
really don know what happen...

Sometimes snails or bristle worms can be attacking its "base"... cant remember if its called the byssal or something...

[Terryz_]

Check for snails under the mantles, Bristleworms at the base of the clam...

[Doyle]

check for pyramid snails! did u check ur Ca? it shld be at least 430 above..

[henry@ml]

hope i can offer a little help here

But first, jus a little correction, the condition when a clam open its shell wide apart showing the unsightly vent opening & innards is called 'gaping' not 'gasping'
You will probably notice when peering down the vent opening that you can actually can see the base rock below.
Also, the animal is not responsive to movements or shadow.

Clam gaping is a clear indication of severe stress arising from one or a combination of the fol:
- too much shifting of its location, constant tipping over
- sustained higher temperature exposure as compared to previous condition (this is a common killer)
- placement in low to no flow area
- high doc
- predation

While chance of recovery is low, this is what you can do to help.
Firstly, the animal have weaken to the point it is exhausted, hence its inability to hold its shell together.
You may manually help it by gently closing the shell to the normal position and use some rock to sandwich it in position. Do not impede flow when placing the rock against it.

Determine the likely cause/es and take the corrective measures.

One last point - did you target feed by squirting liquid food to it?
If this was performed, that's the reason!

hth

[LoReNzO]

i din notice any pets around
this sound bad, waste all my money
really don know what happen...

see la.. tell u i wan the middle clam u don wan pass me..

hope ur clams is ok..

[qpdd]

thanks for the info Henry
my clams now still gaping, but not as serious compare to the previous time..
the clams react more to the movement and the lighting..
color is getting mush better, but still gap sometimes, din target feed them, but the area they are in is quite high in flow, is this ok?

[tomini tang]

i think after so many days still haven't die, it should be ok and starting to stablize already....

they can adop to flow quite well....and i don't think you can target feed them, short of taking them out into a spereate container...

[kelstorm]

dun handle them too much...unless they tilt down and lie on their sides

[qpdd]

i think after so many days still haven't die, it should be ok and starting to stablize already....

they can adop to flow quite well....and i don't think you can target feed them, short of taking them out into a spereate container...

Those clam are in my tank for more than a week, they even went through the high salinity incident, but not casualty yet, but gaping..
For the pst few days the reponded to movement and light, hope they are recovering well...

[henry@ml]

thanks for the info Henry
my clams now still gaping, but not as serious compare to the previous time..
the clams react more to the movement and the lighting..
color is getting mush better, but still gap sometimes, din target feed them, but the area they are in is quite high in flow, is this ok?

Your clam showing gud sign of response to movements & shadow.
Seem like its doing well after all.
Occasional 'gaping' shld not be a concern so long it respond actively to movements & shadow.
. . .. however, do not make it retract its mantle frequently for fun . . . that will stress and cause it to gap once it become tired.

As for flow, check if the mantle got folded over by the current. If that happen, the flow is probably too strong for its liking. However, strong flow is seldom the main cause for gaping.
In the natural reefs, clams bore into corals and rocks and are pounded by waves during the change of tides.
Usually, clams place in high flow area exhibits short mantle expansion.
Those in moderate flow will see full mantle expansion when lights are bright.

If you cud show a pic of it will be most helpful to help assess if its really 'gaping' or something else.

cheers

[LoReNzO]

jialat.. but my crocea seems ok leh.. henry.. my squamosa mantle at the end got abit restract.. is it because it got sting by my anemone? but i rmb that clams are not afraid of corals sting right?

[henry@ml]

jialat.. but my crocea seems ok leh.. henry.. my squamosa mantle at the end got abit restract.. is it because it got sting by my anemone? but i rmb that clams are not afraid of corals sting right?

I hope we dun digress from the original discussion too much here.
If more understandings are needed, I suggest you start a new thread.

ok, for your qn, generally, clams are able to co-exist at close quarter with anemones and corals but there are exceptions. Mostly, these are relative to the neigbor's stinging potency and the clam's ability to develop immunity to the stings.
This is largely attributed to the fact that clams are not capable of moving off its anchored spot, especially boring clams. At most, some clam that are attached on substrate surface can do is rotate away from harm's way.

So, if an anemone move towards a clam, the clam will retract initially. Over time, if the anemone decide to stay put, the clam will gradually stretch its mantle to the point of minimal contact with the anemone tentacles. You will notice initially, the mantle will retract on contact.
Over a longer period, both organisms would eventually settle down and open up comfortably in response to light and feeding.
That's due to two things taking place here;
Firstly, the clam develop a resistance to the stinging, but more importantly, the second thing is, the anemone do not release as much stinging as it feel no threat from the contacts. Moreover, its not sensing anything edible. Hence, over time, no stinging take place on contact.

In some instances however, the clam may not be able to adapt to a powerful stinger and death soon follow.
So keen observation on your part is impt.
below is a pic of a clam it the display tank with a retracted mantle in contact with the polyp of florida ric.

hth

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