Clam help

[Toolman]

I have had my clam for a little over a week. When I put him in He had a little foot and looke happy on the rock I placed him. Well the urchin wont stop taking him for rides around the tank and this morning the foot is gone replaced by a hole. I guess it tastes good to the hermits. He is open right now but are there any suggestions how to help him get a foot hold (sorry) ?

 

[little_fish]

Once the foot is damaged, there really isnt much you can do for them. Also some urchin species will sessile invertebrates like clams and fan worms, you might have a species that has a taste for clams.

 

[Toolman]

Once the foot is damaged, there really isnt much you can do for them. Also some urchin species will sessile invertebrates like clams and fan worms, you might have a species that has a taste for clams.

So how do I keep it in place? Any of the fish could have picked on the foot when it was on its side don't think it was the halloween urchin :frustrat:

 

[ErinCahir]

You can try stacking rocks around it... but what little_fish is saying is that he's probably on his way out. They don't last long once their foot is damaged.

 

[jzaso]

The "foot" is the byssal organ -produces byssal threads to attach clam to substrate
if the organ is gone so is poor clam- typically a healthy clam will byssaly attach within 24hrs-most damage is done @LFS improper handling tearing byssal organ moving clam-what species of clam?

 

[SeaBee]

Yea, once the foot is gone they die, sorry to say.

Oh, its YOU, well, where did you buy said clam?????

Sounds like improper clam handling to me, who taught you how to handle a clam anyway?, LOL.

 

[jzaso]

LOL, sad but true! need to know your critters-I get to work a bit with harbor branches for profit division-ocean reefs & aquariums (O.R.A) had a big workshop
with retailers regarding clam handling!-sounds like that clam was pretty small to be carried around by a urchin they are heavy filter feeders at that size and hard
to maintain in the average system-

 

[phastroh]

Why can't he just glue the clam down. Just only on one half of the clam.

Why would losing the organ that sticks them down kill them.

I was reading how some of the clams are easy to have, just slap them in and go. No special care.

 

[little_fish]

I would not glue a clam down, its much better if they are naturally attached to the rock. Plus if you arent careful you could end up damaging their foot, causing them to die.

And i dont know why exactly they die if their food is damaged, but i would suspect its because that type of injury is too stress for them to survive.

And clams are easy to have if you have enough light for them and good water quality.

 

[fastrd400]

Do not glue the clam down. His foot also helps him to move. He may be in a position that he is not comfortable with, and needs to turn a bit. If he is glued, ge will not be able to.

 

[Toolman]

Clam is still alive opens and closes color good placed it in a cradle of rock still no foot growth. Yes Seabee it was taken out of his coral tank showed me the CC trick and told me about it. I was going to try moving it to sand bed but am worried about sand sifter lower light and what not

 

[Northstar24]

What kind of clam is it? Certian clams (such as the T Derasa) acutally prefer to be on the sand, but you need to have enough light on the sandbed

 

[jzaso]

Yeah, what species?? sort of sounds like a derasa because it has not bysally attached yet-rock boring clams- crocea/maxima bysally attach within hours in proper condtions-if it is a crocea/maxima it needs to be on hardpan surface close to the lights-derasa are the most forgiving in terms of lighting and are found on soft and hard pan surfaces-what species of clam do you have??

 

[jzaso]

Oh yeah, it will not grow"a foot- it will secrete threads witch will harden and the clam will hold onto with organ-

 

[Northstar24]

I've had my Derasa for a few weeks now, it still hasnt attached itself to the sand or the bottom of my tank. It seems to rotate around a bit, and I've moved him to a few different places on the sand bed, trying to get it in a spot where he is happy (and not moving around) and its easy to see his colors, its an awesome looking clam.

But I've read that of the Tridancid clams, T Derasa takes the longest to attach, and its attachement is no where near as strong as those of the other Tridancid species. Mine still reacts to changes in the lights or when fish buzz right over him, so I assume he is healthy.

Does your clam still adjust to changes in the light? If you create a shadow over the clam, do you see a reflex from it? The owner of the LFS where I got mine showed me this, and said if a clam ever does not react to the shadow - its not healthy

 

[jzaso]

Derasa are the most forgiving of the giant clams vary tolerant of lighting because of wide range of depths there found at naturaly-there bysal attachment goe,s away as they mature there size and weight hold them in place-not all giant clams
react to movement/light gigas/derasa noteably-my croceas jump in there shells at the slightest ripple-but the shadow rule is good one.

 

[little_fish]

It took my squamosa (another bottom dweller) about 3 weeks to decide where he wanted to live, and i just let him roam the tank to find that spot. Thankfully, he chose a spot right out front.