cool trick to quickly clean/de-pest clams

[Ninjapotamus]

Picked up a large squammy today. Got home and found quite a few pyramid snails while inspecting it :tsk:. Went into manually remove them with a brush but it wasn't working very well.. the pyramids were down in the crevasses and weren't coming out easily with a brush(they would get wedged in). Not to mention it was a very slow process.

I ended up trying a WaterPik water flosser to clean the clam and it worked amazingly well. If you aren't familiar with waterpiks they are essentially a water based flosser for your teeth. Its a 50 dollar gadget that produces a very lazer-like focused blast of pulsating water(adjustable flow too). Great for cleaning your teeth but even better for cleaning pyramids from the clam. I cleaned out the pyramid snails in one pass with the sucker... very very fast and effective. One pass and I had removed 50+ adult pyramids.... none in sight as of now, but I am ready to waterpik it again if I see any signs.

 

[AsphaltPays]

Great idea..Thanks for sharing

 

[poomba]

Thats a pretty clever use. I wonder if it would have enough power to blast bubble algae out of cracks?

 

[Herbie]

Did you run rodi through it or tank water? I wonder if sw would be rough on the internals. I have one of the classic 70s kind that has the reservoir that you flip over and set on top if the main unit to fill. (Classic avocado color nonetheless). Great idea for even just cleaning det off rocks. Laser focus, strong and on a nice long whip. Thanks for sharing!

 

[skinz78]

Great idea! I've just used toothpicks in the past and they work well. Just be sure to get all the eggs as well or you'll be doing it again. And post up some pic's of the new clam!

 

[Ninjapotamus]

I used tank water... I purchased this waterpik specifically for the aquarium anyways. I am sure rodi would be fine too.

I tried it on bubble algae.... bubble algae is just a touch too tough for the waterpik to remove. It does eventually remove it, just not easily.


Only annoying part is while in the cleaning bucket the clam kept throwing gushes of water in my face lol!

 

[skinz78]

Yeah they have a great aim when they squirt!

 

[poomba]

I tried it on bubble algae.... bubble algae is just a touch too tough for the waterpik to remove. It does eventually remove it, just not easily.

Did it work in the tiny cracks, and was it easier to remove the little bubbles or big ones with the pick?

 

[KoleTang]

That's a great idea. Probably good for cleaning the base/plug of LPS and Zoa frags too.

 

[Ninjapotamus]

yeah, this sucker probably has all kinds of applications in our tanks yet to be discovered

 

[buddythelion]

I used tank water... I purchased this waterpik specifically for the aquarium anyways. I am sure rodi would be fine too.

I tried it on bubble algae.... bubble algae is just a touch too tough for the waterpik to remove. It does eventually remove it, just not easily.


Only annoying part is while in the cleaning bucket the clam kept throwing gushes of water in my face lol!

Been thinking, I have no idea what other use you'd use a waterpik for. Care to enlighten me? LOL!

 

[Squishie89]

Been thinking, I have no idea what other use you'd use a waterpik for. Care to enlighten me? LOL!

It's intended use is for flossless flossing. Essentially you blast the stuff between your teeth out with the water. Also great for braces since food loves to get stuck behind the wires and into the brackets.

 

[buddythelion]

It's intended use is for flossless flossing. Essentially you blast the stuff between your teeth out with the water. Also great for braces since food loves to get stuck behind the wires and into the brackets.

I meant reef related. I've had waterpiks since I was a kid!

 

[Pkunk35]

great idea!

 

[GratefulReef]

you could load them with food and target feed corals scarface style "favia! say allo to my lil friend" lol