A clam stuck on a Snail?

[madlos123]

So I bought some snail at my lfs and when I got home I realize it looks like a clam stuck on its back?
Either its a relative to a clam and will probably die if theres no food or phyto?

Anyone know what this is

 

[madlos123]

 

[madlos123]

Does anyone know ?
Should I attempt to remove the clam or does it need sunlight? Or its one of those non photosynthetic animals?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Does anyone know ?
Should I attempt to remove the clam or does it need sunlight? Or its one of those non photosynthetic animals?

I'd just leave it. I have found various bivalves on my rocks over the years and they are good filter feeders. Non-photosynthetic.

 

[G Santana]

Agreed, let him ride and enjoy the different areas of your tank!!!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, almost all bivalves are NPS (non-photosynthetic) filter feeders, so it’s probably fine wherever the snail may take it. There’s a decent chance it’ll starve (filter feeders, particularly bivalves, are notoriously difficult to feed properly). There’s a chance it’ll do fine too though.

 

[madlos123]

Yeah it looks like its fused pretty well with the snail shell. I dug around reef2reef and it could be like a rock oyster or some similar bivalve type. Ill just let him be. I fed some reef chili and reef roids last night and it really opened up. No visible mantle like a regular clam would be.

 

[madlos123]

The opening actually extends further past the end of the ridge (mouth) i can see more of the oyster shape now

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The opening actually extends further past the end of the ridge (mouth) i can see more of the oyster shape now

Very cool!

 

[blaxsun]

"Free clam with snail." (literally)

 

[The Farmer]

It’s like a vacuum now the snail is walking around the tank while the clam sucks things up!