Need help with my clam...Please....

Hi Everyone,

I have been keeping clams successfully for about 6 months, i have 4, 3 in my redsea max 250 and one in my Buyo MH 130. The one in my Buyo MH 130 was purchased last weekend. She was a beautiful blue with green spots when we purchased her. For the first few days she jumped off the rock constantly.

Yesterday she started looking sad. No movement, mantle retracted right into the shell and her bottom (sorry dont know its real name) is really retracted. You can see the rock below through her and she is changing colour. Here are a few photos. ( sorry cant upload at the moment

Did a water change yesterday (i do 10% weekly) all parameters are good. PH 8.1, Nitrate 10, Nitrite 0, Phosphate 0, Calc and KH good and is under 150 MH placed half way in the tank. We caught some hermits under neath her last night and removed them from the tank. She is not attached and does not react to any movement at all.

Any suggestions?

 

If the clam is not reacting then it is not good. Since you found hermits underneath and can see through to rocks the clam has passed. pull it out so it doesn't pollute your tank. I am sorry for your loss.

Some times we get sick clams and can not tell until it is too late.

 

Thanks. It doesnt smell? It smells like fresh seafood? Could it really be dead or should we persist?

 

Well, is it responsive? At all?
I got to mention that when my clam died on my tank it was not removed and things went ok.
( it wasn't removed because I wasn't home and my mom didn't know it died)
So IME you can wait a little more and if you start seeing it desintegrate then remove.

 

Thanks everyone. I almost removed her tonight but couldnt do it. She still smells OK so i will give her another 24 hours to see if she changes. You can still see some colour in her but no response.

 

If the hermits were going after it, then it's dead or dying.

 

I agree with the others, the clam is most likely very close to death if not dead already.:-/ Hermits do not go after a live healthy clam. Did you acclimate the clam to your lighting ? What type of clam was it and what size is it ?

 

i have always been under the impression when a clam keeps jumping from a rock where it was placed it didnt like it there, and not to put it back in that spot, and to place it in another area. could it be in to much light? i would lower it in the tank. my clams are under 150 halide lights, in a 14 inch deep tank, and sit in the sand on the front edge. i tried to place one on a rock half way up and it jumped. so back to the sand it went.

 

This is the truth. I'll bet if it was jumping, it wasn't happy. I lost a darsea clam a few weeks back. It's sad. I still have my 13" Sqaumosa, but I miss the little guy.