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pecan2phat

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I got my Derasas in Sept. and I see almost 1/2" growth spurt off their shells already.
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IMG_4099.JPG
 

locito277

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You could try a freshwater dip, but I do not think that it will do much. It might kill it, but if it does, it was not going to live long anyway.

Dr. Mac has some evidence that these clams come with the protozoan perkinsus, which eventually gets them in the end. Healthy clams can fight off the protozoan, but they are getting shipped out of water and are too weak to fight it off, but strong enough to survive long enough to be sold.

If I ever get the chance, I want to try some Praziquantel on some wild Tahitians... no idea if the drug will kill them, so it would be a risk. This "should" kill the protozoan if it can into the shell and stuff - no idea if it can penetrate to where it needs to be.

Good luck with it.

I’d like to chip in on the cost of test subjects for your trial. Sure we can make it so your cost will be more about time than money.
 

Docpayne82

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Hey team, I just got a new clam and was wondering if they get less “jumpy” over time? It looks great other than drawing in any time a fish gets within inches of it. I worry doing this constantly is going to stress it out.
 

mikes686

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I have a small squammy that got nipped by a racoon butterfly, the offender gas been removed, my fault for not doing the research. It is open and closes quickly. I'm hopeful he heals. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 

GoPitt88

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So I got a Squamosa clam about 5 months ago, and he's doing really good, but he keeps moving. I have him on the sand, and just about every night, he moves a bit until he's up against the front glass. Should I just let him be? I'd prefer that he wasn't against the glass, but I don't want to stress the little guy. Please advise.
 

GoPitt88

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@GoPitt88 good to see you posting again. Any new pics of the squamosa? You know we like pics;)

At work now (as you can see......hardly working, lol), but will post a pic when I get home tonight. I recently bought the AquariClip photo lens for my cell phone camera from Algaebarn and anxious to try it.
 

Endeavour

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Hello Everyone!

I could use some advice with a recent clam addition that seems to be unhappy. My tank parameters as of yesterday afternoon are:

10 Gallon IM Nuvo, 6mos.
Weekly ~1-2g water changes with RS Coral Pro
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrates: 5
Alkalinity: 9.5 dKH
Calcium: 490
pH: 8
Salinity: 1.026
Temperature: 80F

The clam looked good at the LFS, and was responsive to light, movement, etc. The first day in the tank the clam kept jumping off the rocks. The second day I replaced the lights with a Kessil 160WE, which has been running in acclimation mode and will wrap up this Sunday. With the change in lights the clam stopped jumping and attached threads to the rock it was on (the first day it was run at higher power before acclimation mode was set).

Since that time, I've noticed the clam occasionally move itself - it rotated itself 180 degrees from its original position, and not infrequently it would close hard as though trying to expel water from itself. Lately it doesn't move as much as it did a few days ago. It has also expanded less, especially on one side of the shell.

It is still responsive to light, though more sluggish than before.

I've read about PMD, and I'm not sure if that's what's going on here. I don't think there are pyramid snails in the tank with it. Last night I swapped out the ~1mo old carbon with Chemipure Blue and this afternoon will be adding in fresh carbon in another filter compartment per skinz78's PMD treatment methods.

Possible causes of stress:
The ammonia was discovered after a fish was unhappy about a week ago, and I've been able to slowly bring it down. I suspect a small sea cucumber died - the last time I saw it was a little bit before the ammonia spike. I also found a dead margarita snail recently. Both of these issues should be on their way out, and I've added Fritzyme to the tank to try to speed up the process. I am a little surprised it wasn't immediately taken care of by the CUC, but I'm not sure where the cucumber died.

Maybe the acclimation period has been too long and the clam needs more light?

Clam Photos:

Day 1
IMG_1616.jpeg

IMG_1734.jpeg
Position in tank

IMG_1759.jpeg
Yesterday

IMG_1767.jpeg
This morning.

The mantle seems a little but more extended than yesterday, but the intake slit also seems substantially larger than before.

I am reticent to do anything that might further stress the clam, and am grateful to all of you for your advice on what to do next - thank you very much for your help!
 

DSC reef

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Welcome to R2R @Endeavour
The first pic is showing bleaching which could be attributed to light shock from a direct change in lighting intensity from what the clam was previously under compared to your lighting. While maximas need a lot of light they do need to be given time to photo adapt to a more intense light, especially when smaller. The last pic of the clam does not look to bad so I'd leave it be. While having ammonia is not good for aquarium inhabitants, tridacna do have the ability to absorb ammonia, phosphorus, etc, through their mantles. The clam will position itself due to flow and lighting as to where it is comfortable.
 

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