Need help !! Maxima clam mantle receding

scubasteve020 · May 15, 2019

I have a blue maxima clam had him for 2 months he’s about three inches he’s been doing great up until today I noticed I could see through part of the bottom of his shell. I picked him up and his foot is still there. However I found reddish shell tiny snail that was on the mount I removed it. Anyways now I can see the white in the inside of the shell and the mantle is receding.

Please note I had a couple days ago I had to do a three day no light to get rid of Dino’s which worked perfectly. My tank is currently fish less because I had to get them in quarantine because of ich.

Is my calm dieing ? Is there anything I can do for it????

Also I have noticed two small Aiptasia on the clams shell which i will get rid of

My parameters are stable
Salinity 1.025
Temp 78.9
Ca : 450
Alk : 10.9 (I do high because mixed reef)
Mg 1360
Nitrate nitrites ammonia and phosphate : 0

Fiesty · May 15, 2019

I really hate to say this ......... but in my experience it probably wont make it. Be ready to pull from the tank. I really hope im wrong! Others might add more positive advice but ive never seen a clam shrunk that far in pull out of it. I do know clams that r 3 inches in size or larger tend to be wild caught and there has been a parasite that seems to be a huge problem in wild caught clams right now. Forgot the name of it but someone else hopfully can chime in or a goodle search may be in order. Either way good luck and really hope my instincts r wromg om this one!

scubasteve020 · May 15, 2019

Thanks for your insight ! I have a feeling it’s not going to make it but I also don’t want to pull it too early Incase it still has a chance especially since it cost me 150 and it was such a beautiful clam. The lfs said the lights out for three days shouldn’t harm it so I’m wondering if it’s a Parasite because like I said my parameters have been stable and he’s been healthy for a long time till today .
Lol I’ve been googling non stop

Fiesty · May 15, 2019

scubasteve020 said:
Thanks for your insight ! I have a feeling it’s not going to make it but I also don’t want to pull it too early Incase it still has a chance especially since it cost me 150 and it was such a beautiful clam. The lfs said the lights out for three days shouldn’t harm it so I’m wondering if it’s a Parasite because like I said my parameters have been stable and he’s been healthy for a long time till today .
Lol I’ve been googling non stop

I dont feel its the lights out for 3 days is the problem. Looks like more a parasite problem. I know a local live fish store that had tons of clams, with some being in the store for over a decade and huge, lost them All last year due to a disease / parasite. Same time others were posting about having problems with wild caught clams from live aquaria and other places. Again, sorry i dont remember the details about what exactly it was called. Apparently some of the aquaculture farms now test for it and grow clams free from it (per Pacific coast east aquaculture) but these clams usually much smaller than the 3 in mark so yours probably wild caught Best of luck.

scubasteve020 · May 16, 2019

Fiesty said:
I dont feel its the lights out for 3 days is the problem. Looks like more a parasite problem. I know a local live fish store that had tons of clams, with some being in the store for over a decade and huge, lost them All last year due to a disease / parasite. Same time others were posting about having problems with wild caught clams from live aquaria and other places. Again, sorry i dont remember the details about what exactly it was called. Apparently some of the aquaculture farms now test for it and grow clams free from it (per Pacific coast east aquaculture) but these clams usually much smaller than the 3 in mark so yours probably wild caught Best of luck.

RIP lol he didn’t make it , I could tell he wasn’t going to. I took him out of the tank into a container he had a lot of pests on him that I scrubbed off and I did a fresh water dip for 10 min as a last resort and it smelled bad so I knew it was over and the foot seemed to be slimy like decay almost so lol it’s sitting outside out of water on my porch decaying I think I’m going to just keep it’s shell. Probably will stay away from getting another one for awhile.

reef lover · May 16, 2019

Sorry for your loss...sometimes theres just no saving them. I dont think the blackout caused it though clams tend to look great even when theyre sick and dying right to the last moment.

Fiesty · May 16, 2019

Sorry to hear but thanks for the update. Im still hoping someone with more expertise might chime in with some ideas of what may have happened? Also wondering what u should do about adding another clam in future if u plan to?

DSC reef · May 16, 2019

Hard to say the cause at this point. Could've been pyramid snails, perkinsus, ect. I'd wait a few months before adding another. Also, check your snails in the clean up crew for pyramids too.