Accidentally tore Bissel thread / organ...

cdw79 · Jan 31, 2023

I was trying to do a little tidying near my Derasa clam before I left for vacation. I tried to move it off to the side a bit to do some vacuuming next to it between it and the scape, but I think I broke the Byssal threads. I picked it up underwater afterwards and saw no threads. I'm not sure if the organ is even there anymore. Bottom was completely flat. I'm pretty positive it was my actions that ripped it as opposed to it dropping the threads, given this one has been long established and I have a maxima doing great (new growth showing on both). Is it a goner? This happened maybe 5-10 minutes ago and it appears to have reopened about halfway, not sure what to read into this. But my main concern is that if it does go down hill, will it do so between now (Tuesday afternoon) and Sunday afternoon when I get back? Is my water quality at risk? Can't believe I managed to be this clumsy..

Edit- seems I've misspelled Byssal in the title

minus9 · Feb 1, 2023

All you can do is keep an eye on it and not disturb it. At a certain size, derasa will stop using it's byssal organ as a means to keep it in place and just use its weight. Eventually the byssal opening will fuse shut. Hopefully the byssal organ is intact and okay? Only time will tell.

cdw79 · Feb 1, 2023

Is there any way to tell if the organ itself is intact? I checked my camera I have set up whenever I'm on vacation and it looks to be open maybe 90% of the way (not full extended over the edge of the shell but pretty close) so hopefully that's an at least somewhat good sign..

minus9 · Feb 1, 2023

cdw79 said:
Is there any way to tell if the organ itself is intact? I checked my camera I have set up whenever I'm on vacation and it looks to be open maybe 90% of the way (not full extended over the edge of the shell but pretty close) so hopefully that's an at least somewhat good sign..

If there was damage to the organ, you would know rather quickly. If it was just stress, then you're probably okay. Only time will tell. As I mentioned earlier, their byssal organ weakens over time, so maybe you got lucky on this one. How big is the clam?

cdw79 · Feb 4, 2023

minus9 said:
If there was damage to the organ, you would know rather quickly. If it was just stress, then you're probably okay. Only time will tell. As I mentioned earlier, their byssal organ weakens over time, so maybe you got lucky on this one. How big is the clam?

The clam is easily 3.5 inches, maybe pushing 4. It's had great growth in the 6 ish months I've had it.

I took a look on my camera I have set up for when I go on holidays and it appears to be fully opened, and hopefully, unstressed. So that's great to see. Will take a closer look when I get home but I'd think that's a good sign if nothing else

minus9 · Feb 4, 2023

cdw79 said:
The clam is easily 3.5 inches, maybe pushing 4. It's had great growth in the 6 ish months I've had it.

I took a look on my camera I have set up for when I go on holidays and it appears to be fully opened, and hopefully, unstressed. So that's great to see. Will take a closer look when I get home but I'd think that's a good sign if nothing else

Good to hear and I think you’re fine, or the clam is fine.