Mutant clam snail??

[Liquid360]

Ok this morning I noticed a super bizarre snail... anyone know what's going on with this turbo snail clam??

 

[stylaster]

i would say hes got a clam growing off the side of him. Looks like an oyster species

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

i would say hes got a clam growing off the side of him. Looks like an oyster species

I tend to agree.

 

[Liquid360]

I've not added a snail in probably 6 months... and never had an oyster. How would this happen exactly??

 

[Liquid360]

I do have two maximas....

 

[Liquid360]

Also worth mentioning is on Memorial Day weekend I awoke to a milky white tank. Almost lost everything. One suspect was clam reproductive activities. Could this have caused this?

 

[Mike J.]

Yes, it very well could be a baby Maxima. Look up Honeycomb Oyster, but oysters tend to have a more pointed opening. A better photo and knowing where your rocks are from would help in identification.

 

[Liquid360]

Here... I pulled him out of the tank for a photo session....

 

[Liquid360]

My rocks are all Fiji. I'm NOT gonna be happy if I actually grew a baby maxima and its stuck in a snail!!! If it keeps growing could I sacrifice the snail, remove it from the shell and have it survive?

 

[ReefJeeper]

Nice. When it gets bigger it will detach. I wouldnt risk trying to remove it when its that small

 

[Liquid360]

Ah ok thanks!! While I've kept clams I've never had an infant before. So weird... is this a common occurrence? Will it be ok or rather what are the odds on it surviving on a snail?

Nice. When it gets bigger it will detach. I wouldnt risk trying to remove it when its that small

 

[Mike J.]

When clams spawn their eggs go into the water and float around on the top for a few weeks (planktonic). They will look like little pieces or Styrofoam floating on the water. When they get about 1/4" - 5/16" they'll sink. Even these little babies attach using their basil threads or foot. For all of this to happen since Memorial Day is not possible. So, to make a long story short. A baby Maxima would look like a baby maxima and would be attached using its foot. I'm relating all of this through personal experience. The bottom valve of the one in your photo is flat and firmly attached. I wish I could remember the name of it, but I'm not near any of my books.

 

[Liquid360]

So mike you're saying its not a clam? This is just so weird as there's been nothing added anytime recently that something would've ridden into the tank on.

 

[stylaster]

its an oyster. It could have been growing on a piece of live rock and then attached to the snail shell. Clams will move if the current position on the reef isnt favorable to them

 

[Mike J.]

A good start would be to look up Honeycomb Oyster. When I was taking Chaeto out of my sump yesterday I found a baby clam attached by its foot on the Chaeto. I put it in the DT.

 

[Liquid360]

I looked up the honeycomb oyster. It has very sharp corners which this doesn't have. It looks exactly like the baby maxima I already have... I understand it isn't but it certainly looks like it.

 

[Mayja]

That's just bizarre. I'm curious as ever, so I'm just watching from afar.

 

[Mike J.]

When you put the snail back on the water turn it around to make sure there is no air in it. I'll look it up when I get home, I have a couple like it in my tank.

 

[Liquid360]

Will do. Thanks again mike!

 

[Liquid360]

I was hoping someone else would also think so!!! I think it's super weird!!

That's just bizarre. I'm curious as ever, so I'm just watching from afar.