clams dying

T

Texas Aggie 06

Help! My clams are dying one by one and I cannot find a cause. Since its one at a time, I would think its some kind of bug or worm, but I have looked both day and night and I'm not finding anything. They look fine one day and then I wake up the next morning and a new one looks wilted and sucked in and within a day or two, hes gone. I have 6 clams and really don't want to loose them all! thanks
 
Tell us a little about your setup. What kind of clams are you keeping? How are your water parameters? How long has the system been running?
 
I suppose that would help... :oops:

its a 175 mixed reef, set up for about 1.5 years.
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0.25
Salinity: 1.025
pH: 8.08
temp: 80.3
 
I have lost one maxima and one crocea. The one I am watching now is another maxima (my fav :sad: ). I have 1 crocea, 2 derasas and 1 squamosa left.
 
I've been trying all morning to prepare FW for a dip, but can't get my RODI water's pH below 10.48 (which is higher than I thought RODI water stayed at) so maybe something is wrong with my RODI.... anyway, anyone have any other suggestions?
 
You might want move it to another tank. Maybe you have a friend that has a quarantine tank. Maybe something wrong with you water param? Ph?
A fw dip will help if it is bugs.
 
@Texas Aggie 06 wrote:
I've been trying all morning to prepare FW for a dip said:
I wouldn't trust the measurement of the pH of RO/DI water. Ideally it should be 7.0 but without ions, the meter may not measure it accurately.
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I tried the FW dip anyway just to make the best efforts I could but he's been closed up ever since, so I would assume he is gone, but I can't see inside yet. I also lost my smallest clam today as well....guess they are just dropping like flies. The last 3 still look great, but I am preparing myself for the worst. If its only the clams, do you think I should be worried about the rest of the tank? I have checked everything several times and all my levels are staying constant, so I don't think its the water, but I am at a loss at this point so I could be totally wrong. :cry:
 
Im no clam expert, but I love them and have some pretty healty ones. I hope Im not asking the obvious, But are you feeding phyto, and turning your skimmer off for a while when you do? Second. and I know this sounds weird, but have you added any bumblebee snails to your tank?
 
I did get a new clam about a couple months ago, and it was the first to die, but the next one didn't get sick for around 3-4 weeks, so I didn't really think about it, but that may have been the source of my troubles! I have only used the quaranteen for fish since my lighting on the tank is not sufficient for corals and clams, but I suppose I should think about it from now on. Still not sure if that was the reason or not, but thanks for the thoughts!!

Oh and yes I have been feeding them 3 times a week with the rest of the tank and have had most of the clams for about a year with no problems. I am beginning to think its some kind of bug or worm, but how can I get rid of them if I don't know what they are??
 
@Texas Aggie 06 wrote:
I've been trying all morning to prepare FW for a dip said:
Buffer your RO water. I mix 1/8th teaspoon of Kent Superbuffer in to every 5 gallon jug of RO I make.


Not that it is any consolation, but I am going through the same thing. Lose about one every month to 6 weeks. Haven't figured it out yet. VERY frustrating. I have moved them to my other tank, didn't help. Water parms are dead on. Feed phyto. Have tons of light. I have lost some that I have had a couple of years. Aggrevating to the point that I am seriously considering never replacing any of them.
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The reason I brought that up was a couple of years ago a disease went around that came into tanks from new clams and wiped out a bunch on clams that had been in tanks for years. I certainly do not know if it is anything like that or the same thing. The odd thing is if they are dying one by one, it would seem if a disease had been introduced they would contact it at the same time. Have you seen any Pyramid snails on those clams?
 
I had a nice little crop of pyramid snails that showed up shortly after the introduction of a new clam. But thanks to my wife's OCD and me planting the mental stimuli, after a couple of weeks of her taking each one out nightly and picking the pyramids off with tweezers then scrubbing the shells with a tooth brush ( while holding the clam in a bowl of water ) they disappeared.
 
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