Something ate my New Clam?! [emoji24]

[Huskymaniac]

The clam doesnt look like it had any new shell growth. I doubt the snail had anything to do with. I bet the clam was a goner when you got it. Unfortunately these days it is more of the norm. Did you get the clam online or in person?

 

[CookeRS]

The clam doesnt look like it had any new shell growth. I doubt the snail had anything to do with. I bet the clam was a goner when you got it. Unfortunately these days it is more of the norm. Did you get the clam online or in person?

Got it at local Aquarium in person. Is there a way you can tell the overall health of the clam/clamshell before purchase?

Being uneducated on the clams, one would assume if the flesh looks pretty, that he's healthy. Obviously not always the case.

 

[TheSchwenkster]

Look for highly reactive to light, good mantle, and new shell growth (bright white) around the edge. Knowing a back story and source are excellent as well.

 

[DSC reef]

Got it at local Aquarium in person. Is there a way you can tell the overall health of the clam/clamshell before purchase?

Being uneducated on the clams, one would assume if the flesh looks pretty, that he's healthy. Obviously not always the case.

I'm still holding the snail as the culprit. I've bought plenty of clams without new growth on the shell and the multiple nassarius we had were never interested. Typically when buying a clam I check its sensitivity to lighting/shadows, inspection of shell to see new growth at the mantle and no pyramid snails, inspect the mantle as well. I'd also suggest reading some articles by James Fatheree, he has great write ups and tons of clam info.

 

[CookeRS]

I'm still holding the snail as the culprit. I've bought plenty of clams without new growth on the shell and the multiple nassarius we had were never interested. Typically when buying a clam I check its sensitivity to lighting/shadows, inspection of shell to see new growth at the mantle and no pyramid snails, inspect the mantle as well. I'd also suggest reading some articles by James Fatheree, he has great write ups and tons of clam info.

Thanks all for your tips, opinions and advice.

Perhaps better luck next time. [emoji4]

 

[jda]

Even a whelk that size does not decimate a clam overnight. You start to see mantle missing, then "guts" over many days - most people notice and take them out. The clams are capable of closing up when predators are around and even if they do get wedged in the shell, they cannot usually get them in one meal and have to retreat once they have gotten what they can. It seems far more likely that it just died and everything took a chance getting a free meal.

I have never had a problem with a peppermint or nass snail eating any coral or clam, but I do keep them well fed. I suppose that any of them could vary their diet if they are hungry - they cannot live on detritus alone.

Most clams that die look great up until the last day and then waste away to nothing pretty quickly.

 

[Gablami]

Agree with @jda. A small clam, only a few days in the tank is at its highest chance of mortality. Without getting into questions of lighting, water quality, and supplemental feeding, I think it’s more likely that the clam was starting to die.

I haven’t seen my nass kill a healthy creature, but I have seen them eat a dying snail while still alive (ie flipped over for awhile, stunned by an elegance).

Association is not causation, and this is not the first thread where nass are accused of eating clams, or even fish! (how a nass could even capture and eat a healthy fish is beyond me).

 

[reefwiser]

I have kept clams for 30 years now. Clean up crews do not kill clams. Only the known killers pyramid snails.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/pyramid-snail-removal-tips.57886/

It also looks like you didn’t have the clam on a secure base. They need an area to securely mount themselves. As they can get infections as their base if they do not get the proper mounting area.

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/the-alternative-reef-clam-holder.html

Small clams are very easy to kill and this one is small. I always suggest 6 to 8 inch clams if you want to be sure of success.

 

[Ben Seaver]

Only nassarius snails that go after clams are the tiger nassarius. Great cleaners and super active but will bombard a clam in a heartbeat. I have plenty nassarius and clams and never seems a problem.

 

[djreef]

Keep the clams off of the sandbed and you won’t have to worry about it. What you have are true Nassarius, and not oyster drillers.


Nassarius have the flat bottom like a helmet. Oyster drillers have the classic whelk tear drop shape. I would post a pic but my cache is blown up and I can’t figure out how to dump them.

DJ

 

[gflorio]

Several months ago I bought 2 peppermint shrimp that did a great job on the Aiptasia, but then a couple of weeks later I noted them polishing off a small clam within a day or two of placing it in my tank. The clam looked to be in good spirits when I acquired it at the LFS. Didn't look so good when eaten. I have no known snails in the tank.

 

[reefwiser]

Peppermint shrimps are scavengers and will clean up any dead matter in the tank.

 

[DSC reef]

Several months ago I bought 2 peppermint shrimp that did a great job on the Aiptasia, but then a couple of weeks later I noted them polishing off a small clam within a day or two of placing it in my tank. The clam looked to be in good spirits when I acquired it at the LFS. Didn't look so good when eaten. I have no known snails in the tank.

I dont trust peppermint shrimp. I've had them go rogue.

 

[VIN6]

well your clam look very small...how long you been keeping it? if you just bought it between 1-4 weeks that means you clam died and your cleanup crew did a good job. Small clams are very hard to keep they need feeding and your lights need to be at least 250par above. Speaking from my experiance because i had the same issue one day happy next like the picture you posted.

 

[reefwiser]

The issue is that small calms rely more on filter feeding than larger clams.
While the coral polyp itself is not autotrophic, its nearly obligate association with these dinoflagellates provides polyps with a built-in autotroph that it can, to some degree, control. Therefore, reef corals with polyps maintaining symbionts have characteristics of both autotrophs and heterotrophs.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/eb/index.php

 

[Lynnds6]

I just had a clam that was eaten by a Nassarius snail. I actively pulled him off the clam and saw the tear in the mantle. I know everyone may think the clam was sick but up until that point it was highly reflexive to light changes and sudden movements above the water, open and closed easily and appeared "healthy". I know this thread is old but just thought I'd comment!

 

[reef lover]

I just had a clam that was eaten by a Nassarius snail. I actively pulled him off the clam and saw the tear in the mantle. I know everyone may think the clam was sick but up until that point it was highly reflexive to light changes and sudden movements above the water, open and closed easily and appeared "healthy". I know this thread is old but just thought I'd comment!

Sounds like a whelk....

 

[ilyad]

I cant recall now where I saw the article, but I read that Nassarius snails have an amazing sense of smell... and actually, like other scavengers they can smell distressed creatures which they assume will perish soon and become a meal. As a result, they can sometimes go after things that are still alive but for whatever reason stressed. A small clam that isn't attached to a rock can be stressed. The Nass can smell that and get inquisitive, further stressing the clam. Then the Nass goes after it assuming its dying food. However, if the snail was not there, it is possible that the clam would have recovered, so long as it was temporarily stressed and not actually sick and dying. I have had a nassrius go after a clam once that was struggling in one of my first tanks. I noticed it in time, however, and re-homed the clam. It ended up making a full recovery and living.

As to the pepp shrimp, I will never put another one in my tank. I've caught mine way too many times munching acans, toadstools, frogspawns and other LPS. Never seen one eat an aiptasia though.