Sad, and depressing times ;(

[Joshua Hurst]

Hello, My fellow reefers, Today I announced my blue maxima clam dead that i bought at the coral expo at 3:30. He had just completely sunk inside of his shell, and it was super depressing. I would like to figure out what happened so my gold clam doesn't die.

Lets get the facts.
I have 2 Kessils running on my 55 gal 48" long tank, I have 2 aqua clear filter with fresh carbon replacements ( is it necessary to have 2 filters?), and i have 0 power head ;/. My heater is working fine, and all corals did AMAZING except some gold mauls that have been shoveling since day one. I run my tank on mostly white with a lil blue for 10 hours a day. I don't have a skimmer.

Water Levels
Alkalinity- 3.2 Meq/L 9.0dKH
Magnesium-1200ppm
calcium-400ppm
salinity-1.024
ph- 8.0
nitrite- 0
Temp- 76 F

I dosed last night 100 ppm magnesium, 35ppm buffer, and 30ppm calcium.
Ill add more Magnesium if it needs it tomorrow.


Things to consider-
I recently got a diamond back goby, and he's been cleaning my sand making it cloudy in the mornings and mid day. Its possible that the clam got irritated from the sand and just died right? I dunno I'm just so sad!

 

[Joshua Hurst]

RIP My Favorite Clam.
Ps he never attached his foot...

 

[Nibejeebies]

I'd look at your temp. Everything I've read on the maxima they prefer warmer waters, I've been keeping mine in 79.5-80. That's something to consider. A couple of degrees may not sound like much but it can be devestatingly stressful on sea critters.

The blue spectrum should be higher from everything I've read about clams as well.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

sigh. so sorry

get a light meter . par or lux. i can help with conversion. i could say i have a Gersalrights Deriyche lampe 10 in from the tank. ok what's the par on that and what does a clam need, in par.
dont impulse buy clams. theyre hard. really hard. looks healthy but is in fact on its way out.
you need No and Po in the system or it doesn't feed the animals in the tank. no and po are nutrients. thats food.

 

[cee]

Yes, they're really hard, especially the small maximas. I don't buy them anymore unless I can find a 3"+ crocea. I think the smaller ones just need to be spot fed phyto often to survive.

Dave

 

[Reefrookie220]

With hang on the back filters, po and no are probably prevalent.

Give us a nitrate test, and a phosphate test. Also 76 is a little low for temp, not much but a little low.

No power heads = no flow, no flow = no filter feeding.


This is my opinion and you can take it or leave it, but if it were my tank I'd stop buying living creatures until I had the means (equipment) to care for them.

Flow is a necessity, no getting around it. As well as proper filtration. You should consider adding a sump and a skimmer. The sump will increase your water volume(increases stability), provide room for a fuge and skimmer.

It's a hard hobby to get into, and nothing is cheap. Especially the living things.


To some, the point of the hobby is to reduce our footprint in nature's reefs by keeping this living in the tank and propagation. If you're part of this group, I strongly recommend shopping for equipment instead of coral.

Like I said, only an opinion... What's that saying about "everyone has one..."

 

[Joey Marino]

I agree with @reefrookie, when I started this hobby I had a bare bones tank and put a ton of livestock in it. This resulted in careless deaths and ultimately loss of livestock and money. That same money could have been invested in equipment. This would not only making my experience easier (more enjoyable) but also more successful and may have kept that livestock alive.

I will expand upon what rookie said by saying that what you buy should also be something of quality that will last. A powerhead that fails after 3 months is once again, wasted money.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I am sorry. Clams are great, but can be very tricky. Especially maximas. I have kept maxima (usually under 1.5yrs - grown from babies and some large), crocea (9yrs - full grown when got it), derasa (6yrs+ - it broke its foot moving), and squamosa (3yr+ - snail ate it [bad red foot]). All have their quirks. Baby maximas (under 4in) are really tough. They hate being bothered by anything and they do need feeding. Larger maximas (over 5") just hate being acclimated to aquariums.

Balance of minerals is essential with clams. They need lots of calcium to grow (therefore all other minerals too). The goby could have bothered it with sand, but not the debris it stirred up. The clam would have liked that. Just not any bumping, sand on it, or moving it. Picky little buggers.

 

[Tahoe61]

Add some power heads and take that variable out of the mix. If lack of flow was or was not directly related to the clam's demise adding power heads will benefit the system and other corals, it's a wise investment.

Did you check for pyramids snails? Have you seen any polyclad worms?

 

[Joshua Hurst]

SO MANY FACTORS

 

[Joshua Hurst]

Add some power heads and take that variable out of the mix. If lack of flow was or was not directly related to the clam's demise adding power heads will benefit the system and other corals, it's a wise investment.

Did you check for pyramids snails? Have you seen any polyclad worms?

I haven't looked

 

[Willz]

SO MANY FACTORS

I'd stop buying living creatures until I had the means (equipment) to care for them.

There are a ton of factors that caused the clams demise in your OP. I think limiting the factors is our responsibility as reef keepers. This is, regardless of what anyone says, an expensive hobby. If you don't have the means to keep the animals alive then perhaps stick to clownfish and zoas until you can. Or FOWLR.

 

[BlueDevil]

Completely agree with everything @Reefrookie220 said and frankly I am shocked that you don't have any powerheads in your tank for water movement. Good flow in your tank is essential for all life, not just the clams. It is the very reason we reefers freak out when we lose power and are not able to have flow inside the tank.

Before you look at buying corals, which you seem to actively do, I would look at making sure you have all the right equipment in place first. Otherwise, your money spent on corals is just going to go down the drain.

Just my two cents worth as well...

 

[jenreefer]

Hello, My fellow reefers, Today I announced my blue maxima clam dead that i bought at the coral expo at 3:30. He had just completely sunk inside of his shell, and it was super depressing. I would like to figure out what happened so my gold clam doesn't die.

Lets get the facts.
I have 2 Kessils running on my 55 gal 48" long tank, I have 2 aqua clear filter with fresh carbon replacements ( is it necessary to have 2 filters?), and i have 0 power head ;/. My heater is working fine, and all corals did AMAZING except some gold mauls that have been shoveling since day one. I run my tank on mostly white with a lil blue for 10 hours a day. I don't have a skimmer.

Water Levels
Alkalinity- 3.2 Meq/L 9.0dKH
Magnesium-1200ppm
calcium-400ppm
salinity-1.024
ph- 8.0
nitrite- 0
Temp- 76 F

I dosed last night 100 ppm magnesium, 35ppm buffer, and 30ppm calcium.
Ill add more Magnesium if it needs it tomorrow.


Things to consider-
I recently got a diamond back goby, and he's been cleaning my sand making it cloudy in the mornings and mid day. Its possible that the clam got irritated from the sand and just died right? I dunno I'm just so sad!

Learning through experience is hard on the pocketbook. I recommend reading up on reef tanks and what is critical for success. Your lack of flow in the tank (as has been mentioned) is likely critical. Reef tanks need flow. While I have seen some success with all sorts of different setups, I have never seen long term success with no flow. While softies and some LPS may succeed with this setup, it is likely in time that you would see the tank start to go down hill.
Reef2reef is a great resource for all types of education on this hobby. Good luck

 

[tonto95]

I lost my blue clam too that my wife bought me. Everything checkout okay. It might have been stressed. The golden clam she got at the same time is doing great and spreads it's mantle out.

 

[Joshua Hurst]

I lost my blue clam too that my wife bought me. Everything checkout okay. It might have been stressed. The golden clam she got at the same time is doing great and spreads it's mantle out.

yea; My gold clam is doin good also

 

[Joshua Hurst]

With hang on the back filters, po and no are probably prevalent.

Give us a nitrate test, and a phosphate test. Also 76 is a little low for temp, not much but a little low.

No power heads = no flow, no flow = no filter feeding.


This is my opinion and you can take it or leave it, but if it were my tank I'd stop buying living creatures until I had the means (equipment) to care for them.

Flow is a necessity, no getting around it. As well as proper filtration. You should consider adding a sump and a skimmer. The sump will increase your water volume(increases stability), provide room for a fuge and skimmer.

It's a hard hobby to get into, and nothing is cheap. Especially the living things.


To some, the point of the hobby is to reduce our footprint in nature's reefs by keeping this living in the tank and propagation. If you're part of this group, I strongly recommend shopping for equipment instead of coral.

Like I said, only an opinion... What's that saying about "everyone has one..."

Learning through experience is hard on the pocketbook. I recommend reading up on reef tanks and what is critical for success. Your lack of flow in the tank (as has been mentioned) is likely critical. Reef tanks need flow. While I have seen some success with all sorts of different setups, I have never seen long term success with no flow. While softies and some LPS may succeed with this setup, it is likely in time that you would see the tank start to go down hill.
Reef2reef is a great resource for all types of education on this hobby. Good luck

I am sorry. Clams are great, but can be very tricky. Especially maximas. I have kept maxima (usually under 1.5yrs - grown from babies and some large), crocea (9yrs - full grown when got it), derasa (6yrs+ - it broke its foot moving), and squamosa (3yr+ - snail ate it [bad red foot]). All have their quirks. Baby maximas (under 4in) are really tough. They hate being bothered by anything and they do need feeding. Larger maximas (over 5") just hate being acclimated to aquariums.

Balance of minerals is essential with clams. They need lots of calcium to grow (therefore all other minerals too). The goby could have bothered it with sand, but not the debris it stirred up. The clam would have liked that. Just not any bumping, sand on it, or moving it. Picky little buggers.

TRUST ME not having a power heads stresses me out. I could put one in there, but its just too strong, and I don't want to dirty it up before it sells.

 

[jmann124]

TRUST ME not having a power heads stresses me out. I could put one in there, but its just too strong, and I don't want to dirty it up before it sells.

What powerhead do you have that you are calling "too strong"?

 

[Joshua Hurst]

What powerhead do you have that you are calling "too strong"?

Jabao Rw-15

 

[jenreefer]

TRUST ME not having a power heads stresses me out. I could put one in there, but its just too strong, and I don't want to dirty it up before it sells.

Before what sells? the health of your tank is at risk Several on here have tried to explain that to you. You must add flow to the tank for long term success.