Derasa clam looks like it's bleaching

Mattie H. · Jun 23, 2019

I've had this derasa for maybe a year and a half or two years. It's maybe 6 inches across. It's always resided in about the same place as it is now. In the past two weeks, it's flesh has become very light in color, and now there are almost whitish spots around the valves. I think it's bleaching. It's still acting normal - opening and closing as usual. No gaping.

I did a recent water change, maybe about 45%, but I'm not sure if the bleaching started before or after that. I'm also in the process of refreshing my t5 bulbs, but I only change 1 bulb every two weeks to avoid shocking anything. There's nothing else I can think of that has changed in the tank. Oh, and nothing else in the tank is having any problems, everything looks good.

I have two questions: the first is why it might be bleaching, and the second is what I can do to save it, if anything - feed it manually, etc...

I'd greatly appreciate any help. I'd hate to lose this guy.

Thanks so much.

Before:

Now:

ZoWhat · Jun 23, 2019

need a Magnesium test stat!

looks to me maybe low Mag starting to fade this guy....

Mattie H. · Jun 23, 2019

Wow, that didn't even dawn on me. I have a constant mag issue. My levels drop superfast. I auto dose and still have to manually dose. I usually test every few weeks but I may not have tested in a while. I'll test now. You think if mag levels are low and I raise them back up it'll recover?

Thanks so much for the quick answer.