When to pull a dying clam

[Scubabum]

I purchased a Maxima clam a few weeks back and noticed a small tear in the mantle after owning it a few days. Here is the thread I posted. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/first-maxima-clam-tear-in-mantle.395496/ The clam now has 3 tears and the Incurrent siphon is slightly gaping The clam is still opening everyday and is responding to light. I don't know a clams anatomy but when looking down from the top, through the center tear, there appears to be color like another mantle. This is my first clam and i'm pretty sure it will not survive. I'm not sure if I should pull it out or if there is a possibility it will heal itself and survive. Looking for advice. Below is a picture of the tears in the mantle and how the clam looks today.

 

[cwalton00]

Just leave it until it either dies or heals up. If it dies your cuc will eat it.

 

[TheSchwenkster]

Doesn't look good . Is it taking direct flow and causing tears? If not, it certainly seems to be getting worse :/

 

[Scubabum]

Doesn't look good . Is it taking direct flow and causing tears? If not, it certainly seems to be getting worse :/

No its not taking direct flow. I thought the original tear came from a Melanarus Wrasse. A piece of frozen food fell into the clam and the wrasse plucked it out. Several days later I noticed the 2nd and 3rd tear so I really don't know what's going on. Whatever it is, its not good.

 

[TheSchwenkster]

Just leave it until it either dies or heals up. If it dies your cuc will eat it.

I think this is all you can do at this point. Hopefully it pulls through!

 

[Shigshwa]

I've had this tearing issue before... I believe it's a bacterial infection of some kind. It looks close to death, wait until the mantle shrinks well into the shell before you call it.

Incidentally, I also used to have a Melanurus. Once it died, I stopped having the tearing issues. I also think that reusing dead clam meat in my food could have been a cause too, once I ran out of that food, I also stopped having issues. I would not know why it would be the Melanurus of all my other Halichoeres Wrasses, but if it were, I think that you could try using some kind of net barrier to block the fish to see if your tearing issue resolves.

 

[jda]

I will not pull them until they shrink inside of the shell. I want to give them all of the time that I can.

Can you get it under a massive amount of more light? ...either in a frag tank or up higher in the rock work. I have seen some Tahitians overcome the typical Perkinsus issues with massive amounts of light where they will actually grow and thrive after 5-6 months... but some still perish.

If it does have Perkinsus, then it is not really a thread to anything else, should you choose to leave it, except maybe some other bivalves in your tank.

Dr Ron has some great info about Tahatians and disease on this thread - page two is where the good stuff is:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/la-dd-clams-going-downhill.369539/page-2

 

[cbj25]

When/if you are ready to say bye (doesn’t look like you are there or necessary at this point) take some advice from my dad... bag it and pull it out. Seriously, clams stink when they are not healthy and you pull them out. This one doesn’t look bad at the time the pic was taken

 

[cbj25]

When/if you are ready to say bye (doesn’t look like you are there or necessary at this point) take some advice from my dad... bag it and pull it out. Seriously, clams stink when they are not healthy and you pull them out. This one doesn’t look bad at the time the pic was taken

Disregard.... didn’t take my time to look at all the tears. Bad and pull if it continues to get worse