How to move a clam?

nina&noah

Member
My clam fell off of it's rock and my husband trying to be helpful picked him up and put him back on. Well the problem is that now my clam is sticking straight up and I can't see his pretty colors! I was told not to try to move it because I will hurt it. Is there any way I can get him to let go so that I can put him where I can see him?
 

anadliv

Member
A clam should always be straight up even if it doesnt look as good. As far as moving the clam if it is attached to a rock then you would have to move the rock. If it is attached to something that can not be moved then the clam can not be moved. If you try unattaching it by pulling it will hurt the clam.
 

anadliv

Member
Just curious what kind of light system do you have, what kind of clam and what size of tank. Also do you have any pictures?
 

candycane

Active Member
Clams will lie on their side for a number of reasons. Sometimes it's because they fell over; but a good deal of the time it doesn't mean anything other then the fact that they are trying to shade their mantle from an excess of light. It may occasionally mean something else like its byssal area is being messed with by something. But if you don't have a bunch of scavengers in your tank, that really isn't a concern.
You can move a clam as long as you do it right. It's still a 50/50 shot of whether you will injure the clam. Byssal threads are held by a byssal plug that is held into the cavity of the byssal organ which houses the byssal gland. NOW, if you can slightly rock the clam without pulling the byssal thread or having them completely detach (this is ALL you by the way - whatever happens, it's not my fault) then you can probably get under there with a razor and cut the remaining threads if you want to move it somewhere else. It COULD injure the clam however. Obviously it has attached because it is comfortable.
 

nina&noah

Member
I moved the rock a little so that I could atleast see the clam. I did not pull it off of the rock. I wish it were a little lower, but I'm not going to risk hurting the clam for my own visual enjoyment. Here are the pictures that were requested. I have no idea what kind of clam it is. I have MH lights. Thanks for everyone's help!



Here are 2 without the flash. They are a little blurry, but you can see the truer color. I wish I had a flash bulb on it all the time so that it would look like the first pictures.
Very pretty!


Here is one a little further away so that you can see the angle I have the clam at now. It should be OK right?
 

paintballer768

Active Member
It looks like a maxima, but make sure the clam isnt wedged into that spot there. It could prevent it from opening completely.
 

candycane

Active Member
I'm 99% sure it's a Crocea. I might be concerned about the above and the fact if that thing takes a tumble down into the other rocks at night, it might have passed on by morning. That is pretty high up.
 

nina&noah

Member
I agree that it is too high, but there is nothing that I can do about it. That is why I started the thread.
 

fishieness

Active Member
They really aren't as hard to remove as everyone things they are as long as you dont force it.
Gently rock it back and forth until you can get at the bysal threads and cut them as close to the rock as possible. Just don't PULL them.
I know a lot of people have said that if you cut them or move the clam they are going to die, etc, etc, etc... We used to keep clams on egg crate where I work and I've removed DOZENS of attached clams and have never had someone tell me theirs died soon after. Even when I ask. Even when I cut them to move them to a different tank.
But anyways, good luck with the little guy and hopefully he won't take a tumble again.
 
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