Maxima condition question

DaJMasta · Nov 30, 2023

I got a small maxima clam in the mail yesterday which spent a few extra hours in the bag because of shipping delays, but it opened up in acclimation and has been transferred into my tank. I noticed in the acclimation bucket that the outer fringe of the mantle (4mm or so worth of extension on a 35mm or so long clam) had the dark, rich coloration you'd expect, but the inner mantle around the siphon looked bleached, or at least much less colored. At night while acclimating and then adding to the tank, the mantle extended as normal but sort of appeared two-tone like this.

This morning, the coloration appears the same but the mantle is significantly less extended. It's in a spot with reasonable but not high flow and moderate to high lighting. I think there's a bit of time left to coast before acting, but I was wondering if the unusual color intensity differences were a sign of under (or over) lighting at the facility that shipped it to me and whether I needed to lower the clam to less intense light for temporary acclimation.

minus9 · Nov 30, 2023

I would put the clam in good strong lighting and let it settle. Take a picture from above with a daylight spectrum so we can see the mantle coloration. Is it wild or cultured?

DaJMasta · Dec 1, 2023

Well, apparently no need. I came home to my emerald crab picking at it, so it didn't last 24 hours.

To elaborate on what it once looked like:
When it opened at night after unbagging and acclimating, the blue/purple of the mantle showed when it extended over the top of the shell, but looking at the fleshy portion inside the shell where the siphon is, it was significantly less colored, with a little bit of white or brown to the coloration - it could have also been somewhat sunken in, not sure. For a while when it was looking retracted this morning, the siphon was also very wide, much more than you'd normally expect.

Got two derasas in the same shipment that are doing well, it seems, though one has sort of faint coloration overall that suggests lighting issues in the recent past, as they both look and seem to act pretty normal, I'm not particularly concerned about them.

minus9 · Dec 1, 2023

Where did you get the clams from? Is it a place that keeps clams normally? Sourcing healthy clams can be a challenge sometimes.

minus9 · Dec 1, 2023

Btw, sorry to hear about the clam.

DaJMasta · Dec 1, 2023

Petco - shipped from purchasing online. While I don't have a lot of faith in their in store lighting being able to keep stuff alive, I would have expected it was basically a drop ship from ORA.

minus9 · Dec 1, 2023

DaJMasta said:
Petco - shipped from purchasing online. While I don't have a lot of faith in their in store lighting being able to keep stuff alive, I would have expected it was basically a drop ship from ORA.

I would reach out to petco and find out if that was the case. My guess is it was at a petco warehouse/facility and not dropped directly from ORA, but I could be wrong? I would either buy in person at your LFS or use a different vendor like @PacificEastAquaculture or Clams Mania if you can. I’m sure there are a few others that only ship healthy clams, but shipping can be stressful no matter what.