[emmanuel]

I bought 2 small(2 1/2 inches) croceas a month ago they both looked good after a few days one of them had one side of the mantel retracted the other one looked fine after a few days the ill looking one died and a few days after that the one that looked good died with no warning.
Since the death of these clams i added a phosban reactor with phosban media and another one with super activated carbon.Sunday I purchased 2 more croceas same size as before acclimated them and one of them is showing the same signs the mantel on one side is not opening all the way this happened after one day in the tank . The only thing I didn't do that I see I should have after spending a couple hours on this site ( clamsdirect)is acclimate for lighting I placed the clams in the center of the tank .
My tank is a 125 rr with a 40 gal sump with a refugium running calurpa, 3 150 watt 14000k HQI MH, 4 96 watt pc 2 dual actinic and 2 10000k (I usually only keep the atinics on) all the bulbs are a month old I have a aquac ev120 skimmer , 700 gph closed loop on sea swirls, 1000 gph return on sea swirl, mj 1200 moded supposed to give 2500 gph, 2 phosban reactors as mentioned above, korallin calcium reactor with ph controler running arm media, ground probe, 200 lbs live rock lps and sps, nothing close enough to sting clams , 3 cleaner shrimp, about 25 cerinth snails,about 100 turbo snails, about 30 red leg scarlet hermits, some blue leg hermits, maroon clown , percula clown, six line wrasse , pencil wrasse, 3 dispar anthias , 2 chromies , bicolor blenny,
the tank parameters are everything undetectable except nitrates sometimes get to 5, alk 10 dkh, calcium 420-450 I don't have a magnesium test kit but i have to get one
Please note thru all this I have a crocea clam 4 inches for about 4 months healthy and have had clams in this tank before but sold them cause i thought I was getting out of hobby. The tank is running 5 years and for the past 2 months I have been doing water changes religiously 25 gallons every 2 weeks. .Before that 30 gallons every month. I feed the tank DT's phyto. I spend most of my time sitting by the tank atleast 3 hours a day and never noticed anything pick at the clams I also look at night with a flashlight checked for pyramid snails the only thing at night that I saw was a couple spaggeti looking worms very thin retract when light hits them they are on one rock were the sick looking clam was ( same rock the first clam that died was on) but no worms near the other clam

	MH Metal Halide Lighting, typically used for high intensity light demanding corals such as SPS. Bulbs come in varieties of spectrums (7k, 10k,20k), and intensity (175W, 250W, 400W).

	PC Power Compact Lighting, typically used in lower light aquariums supporting soft corals, LPS, and fish. Their low cost and cooler operating temperatures are an excellent choice for beginner aquariums and smaller tanks.

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

	LPS Large Polyped Stony corals – In the aquarium hobby this is a common division of the species of stony corals based upon the visual assessment of the size of the polyps. Corals in this category were among the first stony corals to be kept successfully in captivity and include many very beautiful species. Commonly kept Genera include Euphyllia (hammer/frogspawn coral), Favia (brain coral), Plerogyra (bubble coral), Lobophyllia (meat/tooth coral), and Caulastrea (candycane coral). LPS corals also include the popular solitary non-colonial stony corals such as Fungia (plate coral), Cynarina (button coral), Trachyphyllia (open brain coral), and Herpolitha (tongue coral). Like their SPS counterparts, LPS corals require good water quality, intense lighting of the appropriate spectrum, adequate water movement and regular supplementation of calcium.

[emmanuel]

I am getting water ready for a fresh water dip cause I don't want to waste any more time should be ready in another 10 minutes I hope the right person sees this and responds quick if its not the right thing to do . The above post is a copy of my post in the emergency section in clamsdirect.com I posted yesterday morning the only response I got was a welcome and an email soliciting business from me .

[House of Laughter]

definitely pinched mantle - fresh water dip for 20 mins in ro.di water at same temp as tank and it should be OK

House

[emmanuel]

thanks for the quick reply and thank you again for the awesome group buy

[reefman]

i had fought pinch mantle for at least 7 months. had 5 out of 7 made it. now they are doing fine for over 3 months.
from the pic, i can't say for certain its pm. but thats only judging from 1 pic.

[emmanuel]

I fwd for 25 minutes put it back in tank and it opened up within 2 minutes ,it looks the same as it did in the picture above I thought it would shrivle up after FWD

[reefman]

do u have any more pics of it like in diff angles n like a full shot of the tank?

[emmanuel]

heres a shot but the mh lights are off its the lower clam

	MH Metal Halide Lighting, typically used for high intensity light demanding corals such as SPS. Bulbs come in varieties of spectrums (7k, 10k,20k), and intensity (175W, 250W, 400W).

[emmanuel]

I was told to remove phosbanmedia and use carbon in both reactors - so I did any comments on this

[Jasonanatal]

Emmanuel, I would definitely try posting your questions for Pinch Mantel in the http://www.clamsdirect.com Fourm. Not implying that Manhattan Reefs is not a place were information can be found and shared to assist you in resolving the Pinch Mantel of your Crocea Clam. I am just pointing out a website that the owner specializes in anything having to do with clams as well as extensive research encompassing the Pinch Mantel of Clams. Barry the site owner is usually pretty good as chiming in with his opinion and suggestions on how to resolve issues with Clams or to provide information on how to care for your clam. You know the old saying "When in Rome do like the Romans"!

Now for my questioning on this matter and hopefully I can assist with what is happening to your Crocea Clam. Now in my personal opinion and experience Freshwater Dips for clams may not entirely provide any type of assistance whatsoever. (Once again this is my opinion and I'm not preaching it as gospel.) The Freshwater dips are alittle trick that seems to have permeated all aspects of attempting to resolve a Marine Aquarium related problem especiall in the measures of curing Cryptocaryn or Ich as we have come to label this is common name. I would rather see you not stress the Crocea Clam any more then it is already since that will just accelerate the issue at hand and eventually lead to the lose of such a beautiful specimen.

1. Have you ever at any time dosed your Aquarium with medication containing Copper? Purchase the Aquarium from anyone who had used Copper within it or you couldn't actually confirm that Coppoer was used on this Aquarium? Have you tested your water for any traces of Copper? This can definitely be the end of any Clams that you place in your Aquarium.
2. What method of acclimation to your water parameters and lighting exposure did you use when adding your Crocea Clam? How close to the surface of the water and your lighting source is your Crocea Clam positioned within your aquarium? To reduce the amount of stress that your Crocea Clam is being exposed to move it to the sandbed of your Aquarium or at least as close to it as possible while still allowing it to receive light. Reducing your photo-period exposure time will also effectively help to accomplish this as well.
3. Do you have any livestock whatsoever that could possibly pose a threat to your Crocea Clam?
4. Last but definitely no least after about an hour of of lights out on your aquarium take a flashlight and lift your Crocea Clam up to investigate underneath where it's foot is. You may find that Pyramid Snail may be the culprit since their usually out on a feast during night.

Now once again I pesonally do not consider myself an expert but I do have experience with Clams since I believe they are one of the most beautiful specimens that you can keep within your aquarium. To show some results on my theory of minimizing the stress of your Clam to overcome your issue please read on. I had my Deresa Clam in a 10 gallon Aquarium setup for about 1 month which I just plopped him in while I setup my new and currentJBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium. I exposed this little guy to 8 hours of 300 watt 14,000k Metal Halide Lighting which caused my Deresa Clam to show sign os Gapping, Pintched Mantel and half of it to Bleach. Within 1 months time of tender loving care and spot feeding on a day to day basis with Marine Snow, DT's Phytoplankton and Cyclopeeze here is what my Deresa Clam looks like today.

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.