Maxima clam won’t open

juniorrocketdad · Nov 23, 2018

Hello, today is Day 3 that I have had a 2.5-3” maxima clam and it doesn’t seem like it is fully opening, I have a derasa clam that is very healthy.

The maxima is on a ceramic clam holder on top of the sand bed and hasn’t been moved since I placed it, there also are no parasites in the tank that I have been able to see.

Any ideas on why it won’t open? Is it possible it just needs longer to settle in?

DSC reef · Nov 23, 2018

Can you post a pic please. What lighting do you have it under?

jda · Nov 23, 2018

It is opening at all? They don't have to fully open to be totally healthy... they can regulate light by only opening as much as they need to.

As posted above, pic is a good idea.

juniorrocketdad · Nov 23, 2018

It is under radion gen 3s and is about 17” down in the water column, now that I think about it in the store it was in a deeper tank with likely less powerful lighting, could it just need time to adjust? I assume I shouldn’t move it to a shadier spot?

juniorrocketdad · Nov 23, 2018

jda said:
It is opening at all? They don't have to fully open to be totally healthy... they can regulate light by only opening as much as they need to.

As posted above, pic is a good idea.

It does open a little bit and closes quickly when a fish swims over it

jda · Nov 23, 2018

Let it be. Light reaction is a good thing. I nearly never suggest giving a clam less light. See how it looks in a day or two.

DSC reef · Nov 23, 2018

Agreed, don't move it to shade. See if you can get some pics from different angles over the next few days.

juniorrocketdad · Dec 4, 2018

So it seemed to be getting a little better everyday and then 3 Days ago it closed up really tight and hasn’t really opened since, it looks like the stand it’s in was moved a bit, possibly by one particularly clumsy conch, could that be the cause? Also the color of the mantle that’s peeking out still looks the right color it doesn’t look washed out at all

Fishnut · Dec 4, 2018

Did you test your water quality? It is possible that your nitrates jumped and your current clam gradually got adjusted to it but it is too much for the new clam to tolerate.

KrisReef · Dec 4, 2018

Sorry. That clam looks like it is not going to be alive much longer.

DSC reef · Dec 4, 2018

I don't see any mantle in the pic.

juniorrocketdad · Dec 4, 2018

Fishnut said:
Did you test your water quality? It is possible that your nitrates jumped and your current clam gradually got adjusted to it but it is too much for the new clam to tolerate.

I’ll test tomorrow but this wouldn’t explain why it closed all the way so suddenly, if it spiked quickly than I would expect the rest of the reef to be suffering as well.

From what I have read it seems like clams kind of slump open when they are about to die because they don’t have enough energy to keep themselves closed so I’m still doing my best to try and save it even though I realize it’s a long shot at this point

reef lover · Dec 5, 2018

How is it rhis morning? Any response?

juniorrocketdad · Dec 5, 2018

Unfortunately it didn’t make it through the night, still trying to figure out what happened

reef lover · Dec 6, 2018

Unfortunately they go fast and often for no apparrent reason. Sorry for the loss.

Scrubber_steve · Dec 11, 2018

I've been thinking about a clam. The LFS only has Maxima & they seem a bit too delicate by what I read. At $70 I don't think I'd risk it.

DSC reef · Dec 11, 2018

Scrubber_steve said:
I've been thinking about a clam. The LFS only has Maxima & they seem a bit too delicate by what I read. At $70 I don't think I'd risk it.

You got this Steve! Try a squamosa instead.

Scrubber_steve · Dec 11, 2018

DSC reef said:
You got this Steve! Try a squamosa instead.

I'll read up on that one & ask the LFS to order one, cheers DSC

juniorrocketdad · Dec 11, 2018

Scrubber_steve said:
I'll read up on that one & ask the LFS to order one, cheers DSC

While this maxima has been very difficult for me I definantly would recommend a derasa to a beginner, mine has done great for almost a year now, so that may be worth a look as well.

I just wanted to thank everyone for trying to help me with my maxima as well, I’ve been falling in love with the one from pacific east aquaculture and in a few months might have to try again.

I have tested all my parameters since the first ones death and honestly my parameters were better than I expected so it doesn’t seem like a chemistry issue which makes me believe that t already wasn’t healthy when I bought it. In the store it wasn’t fully open either and that probably should have been a red flag but I was just so excited to give it a try that I made a rash decision.

ZaneTer · Dec 11, 2018

I agree with @juniorrocketdad

I have a derasa growing out in my sump. The thing is bulletproof, it’s survived all manner of screwups. I’ll post a pic in 2 weeks when I get home. They are also pretty spectacular with colour.

What size tank do you have Steve?