Mysterious clam death... what happened?

nano reefer

Active Member
i had a maxima clam in my 55 under 250 watt MH for about 4 months. It was in the sand for those 4 months, and then i moved it to the rock. It was doing great for about 5 days. On friday it looked great, but when i came home saturday afternoon it was completely gone. an empty shell. what happened???
 

paintballer768

Active Member
Tank inhabitants? Add any medications to the water the clam is in? Had it fallen from its spot? Any old pictures of the clam? (Maybe it had a disease).
 

nano reefer

Active Member
sorry for the lack of info guys
tank has been set up for 1 year +
params are/and have been fine
2 clowns, a sixline, a bangai, and a foxface are the fish.
emerald crabs, nass snails, turbo snails, hermits, skunk shrimp, peppermint shrimp, and a CBS are my inverts
zoos, LPS, and other softy corals
didnt fall, looked extremely healthy, was about 2 inches, no meds used.
 

paintballer768

Active Member
If no meds have been used, then I can almost rule out pinched mantle disease. Pictures would be the decider. Also, the mortality rate of clams <4 inches is high, it quite possibly could have up and died.
 

candycane

Active Member
When you moved it to the rock were their byssal threads hanging out of the bottom from the sand? Did you have to &#8220;tug&#8221; the clam when you got it up from the bottom in order to move it?
If there were byssal threads when you moved it to the rock, most clams cut anchor and form new byssal threads meaning that the old ones just become decaying matter. The shrimp, nassarius snails, hermits, etc. are ALL opportunistic feeders (and then some with the hermits). I wouldn't be surprised at all if they went over and started picking at the bottom of the clam, annoyed it, and then the thing was finished off because of stress - nassarius snails usually care if something is sick or dying, hermits tend not to and shrimp will go in and finish them off.
I could be wrong, but I am just kind of going off the scenario. The main thing would be sand grains, bits of rubble, or visible byssal threads sticking out of the bottom of the clam when you moved it.
Edit: If you want to keep a clam, you MIGHT wanna consider giving this stuff back to your LFS. "emerald crabs, hermits, and a CBS are my inverts". I mean you don't HAVE to, but these things make it more difficult to keep clams (especially smaller ones).
Here's the whole "Emerald Crab Thing", short version though. Males have pointy girdles on their stomachs and females have oval shaped ones that have darker stripes on them. The males seem to get larger and more aggressive while the females stay small and are less aggressive. My opinion is that neither one should be kept with Tridacna Clams. If you are determined to keep one, that is just a way of telling the difference though.
 

candycane

Active Member
Originally Posted by paintballer768
http:///forum/post/2660151
............... Also, the mortality rate of clams <4 inches is high, it quite possibly could have up and died.
I dunno if I agree with this, that's just me though. Tiny Tiny ones, like inside of an inch or so are prone to different infections. I have seen that usually between 1.5-4 inches is usually the most hardy. 5+ inches and they tend to drop. Usually if a smaller one has died, (1.5-4 inches) there tends to always be a reason.
Larger ones are mostly always going to be less prone to getting infections. But I RARELY ever see a smaller one die without having something cause it.
 

paintballer768

Active Member
Originally Posted by candycane
http:///forum/post/2660199
I dunno if I agree with this, that's just me though. Tiny Tiny ones, like inside of an inch or so are prone to different infections. I have seen that usually between 1.5-4 inches is usually the most hardy. 5+ inches and they tend to drop. Usually if a smaller one has died, (1.5-4 inches) there tends to always be a reason.
Larger ones are mostly always going to be less prone to getting infections. But I RARELY ever see a smaller one die without having something cause it.
Ive read that on ** and here a few times, so I just took that to be true. Im not sure if its correct or not.
 

candycane

Active Member
Originally Posted by Nano Reefer
http:///forum/post/2660442
there was nothing hanging from the bottom of the clam, i didnt have to tug at it.
In that case, I MIGHT go with it's byssal organ was ripped out at some point. I would find it EXTREMELY odd that the thing was in the sand bed for four months, appeared healthy, but didn't drop any byssal threads at all. Most maximas that I have seen can attach inside of an hour. Do you have a BUNCH of bristle worms in your sand bed?
Like I was saying above, there is just so many variables and scenarios with the situation. IF you are wanting to keep another clam, it is best to find out all possibilities of what MAY have happened - see if it can be narrowed down.
 

nycbob

Active Member
i suspect ur clam was dying for whatever reason and ur cleanup crews simply just finished it off. the clam without its shell is most water, so ur cleanup crews can eat away fairly fast.
 
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