Tahitian Clam Experimental Treatment

[jda]

Like most people, I love Tahitians. I also remember when they were easy and hardy clams and long for those days again.

Dr. Mac has some information that most of the reason that they suffer anymore is that they are initially shipped from the outer islands to the larger islands when dry. This causes a protozoan called Perkinsus to take over.

I want to try a treatment on the clams for protozoa. I have done a lot of research and have figured out that Metronidazole attacks protozoa very well, but also can bleach out a clam in large doses. This is readily available to treat other things for aquariums and should be able to be repeatable without a Rx. I want to see if I can find a sweet spot of FW dips and appropriate doses of metronidazole that can strengthen the clam to where it can fight off the protozoan on their own. I am thinking about treatment once a week for a month and then to see what happens after this.

I need some help. I need to know when a vendor gets in a FRESH shipment of Tahitians. I want to get them out of the ocean as fast as possible. If anybody sees a fresh batch, can you please let me know. If a vendor wants to order some, I would get 4 of them, so that is a nice profit.

 

[DSC reef]

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[PacificEastAquaculture]

I'm bringing in "Tahitians", but only cultured nowadays, it's the only way to go

Good luck with your experiment, look forward to hearing your results. Although, significant results may not be determined unless you had a larger sample size and set some up as controls with no treatment and others with varying dosages.

I went to French Polynesia 8 years ago and set up the collection station there with my partner that had experience in the black pearl oyster culture business. My partner hand collected every clam himself and handled them with great care and spared no expense in shipping them. I collected many when I was there and it is no easy task when done correctly. At times I would import 1000 or more clams, you can check my YouTube channel for videos. There are hundreds of millions of Maxima clams naturally occurring in French Polynesia--mostly in the more distant remote islands since they have all been collected for food near Tahiti and the more populated islands. After a couple of years he started hand-net collecting fish around Tahiti where his facility is located and decided that was more profitable for him. He then didn't have the time to collect the clams and turned the collection over to locals that collect them for food. They are not so delicate about collecting nor shipping and thus the poorer survival rate now. Luckily we started culturing them and now I import only cultured clams, they do very well and do not have the issues that the wild collected clams have. The wild clams by law must be larger than 4.5 inches and a clam that size is several years old and has been growing on the rock outcroppings in French Polynesia under intense sunlight and lots of water flow a foot or two below the surface, it was well embedded into rock before being cut and shipped dry to Tahiti and then bagged up and shipped to the US. The stress level is extreme and they mostly never adapt now to captive conditions, which are quite different from what they had been use to for years. Some days we collected clams in waters were the temp was in the 60s, generally in all areas the water temp was cooler than what we keep our tanks. The cultured clams, while smaller, are younger and use to being handled and were not ripped from a rock, they are grown in areas where the temps are similar to our tanks and adapt very well to captivity.

When the parasite problem was first discovered we did freshwater dips in Tahiti, with varying success rates. We did not try different medications though. However, in my opinion the wild clams are too stressed nowadays compared to when we first started collected them and likely even if you could find an appropriate medication regime they might be too stressed to deal with it.

 

[jda]

I fear that it is a different path to the same mortality rate with 2" cultured clams have a very abysmal survival record as well. Are there any plans to keep the clams in Tahiti until they are 4+ inches and very hardy? Cultured + 4 inches is the solution, IMO... anything less is a crap shoot. You only have to be patient and wait once and then whole supply chain will be 1-2" larger than before with the. I know that it is hard to wait.

I am hoping that since most are healthy enough to live 5-6 months, that they might be able to survive some FW dips and medication. I CAN give them 1500 PAR of 6.5k Metal Halide, which might be close to what they are getting in nature - this is one reason that I want to get them as fast from the ocean as possible since I don't have to reacclimate them as much as when they were at a retail or wholesaler under some LEDs at 200 PAR. I am probably wrong, and I expect this to fail, but I was taught long ago to keep failing if you want to succeed.

What is the temp in the more populated islands where they are collecting them nowadays?

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

I fear that it is a different path to the same mortality rate with 2" cultured clams have a very abysmal survival record as well. Are there any plans to keep the clams in Tahiti until they are 4+ inches and very hardy? Cultured + 4 inches is the solution, IMO... anything less is a crap shoot. You only have to be patient and wait once and then whole supply chain will be 1-2" larger than before with the. I know that it is hard to wait.

I am hoping that since most are healthy enough to live 5-6 months, that they might be able to survive some FW dips and medication. I CAN give them 1500 PAR of 6.5k Metal Halide, which might be close to what they are getting in nature - this is one reason that I want to get them as fast from the ocean as possible since I don't have to reacclimate them as much as when they were at a retail or wholesaler under some LEDs at 200 PAR. I am probably wrong, and I expect this to fail, but I was taught long ago to keep failing if you want to succeed.

What is the temp in the more populated islands where they are collecting them nowadays?

I disagree that cultured have poor survival rate, my experience handling thousands over the years is different. Maybe some from certain locations are not as hardy, but those from Tonga or Tahiti are extremely hardy and adapt very well to captivity IME. Have kept some 4+ years under LEDs.

 

[jda]

Unfortunately, you are going to get lumped in with ORA and the like selling 1.5 to 2" clams, which mostly all die (maxes moreso than the squammies and deresas). Maybe the Tahitian ones are better than those, but larger ones would be even better and where it will get eventually.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

Unfortunately, you are going to get lumped in with ORA and the like selling 1.5 to 2" clams, which mostly all die (maxes moreso than the squammies and deresas). Maybe the Tahitian ones are better than those, but larger ones would be even better and where it will get eventually.

We'll agree to disagree. My clams are nothing like and not compared to the high mortality ORA clams.

 

[hart24601]

We'll agree to disagree. My clams are nothing like and not compared to the high mortality ORA clams.

How do they differ from the ORA clams?

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

How do they differ from the ORA clams?

From different locations, beyond that maybe handling is different.

 

[hart24601]

Thanks! I wasn't sure how many facilities for clams there are.

 

[ZaneTer]

You might consider quinine hydrochloride as an alternative....
It’s very well documented for treatment against protozoans.

 

[rockskimmerflow]

Unfortunately, you are going to get lumped in with ORA and the like selling 1.5 to 2" clams, which mostly all die (maxes moreso than the squammies and deresas). Maybe the Tahitian ones are better than those, but larger ones would be even better and where it will get eventually.

I was not aware the ORA clams were 'high' mortality. I order through them and, while I don't sell a ton of clams to service customers, I think I've had only 2 of 20 or so in the last couple years die within the first month for unknown reasons. I run halide or T5HO on nearly all systems and FW dip every incoming clam, but idk what a high mortality rate is exactly so maybe I'm in that zone as well. Compared to many fish species I've found clams to be largely bulletproof. (Disclaimer: I don't bring in crocea clams so idk about ORAs croceas).