Clam with Severe Pinched Mantle

[jf2381]

I picked up this clam two days ago to nurse it back to health.
As you can see form the picture the state of the pinched mantle is severe.Hopefully i'm successful and I can bring this beauty back to it's full splendor. On a positive note, it's not gapping and it reacts to shadows.

I did the fresh water treatment yesterday and it seems to be reacting positively. 24 hours later and it is extending the mantle more than before.

Have any of you had any sucess treating a clam in this state?

 

[prattreef]

It doesn't look all that far gone and the fact the it isn't gaping and reacts to shadows/light is a good sign. I have had success with freshwater dips for pinched mantle. I'd say your chances are pretty good for recovery.

 

[jf2381]

I hope so because I remember it when my buddy first bought it and it was really nice.

 

[Aquatic Life Direct]

It doesn't look all that far gone and the fact the it isn't gaping and reacts to shadows/light is a good sign. I have had success with freshwater dips for pinched mantle. I'd say your chances are pretty good for recovery.

I agree with randy... should be fine after a treatment or two... I've had lots of success with freshwater dips as well..

 

[Mattl22]

Does it have some kinda parasite??


Sent from my iPad using Reefs

 

[jf2381]

Does it have some kinda parasite??


Sent from my iPad using Reefs

The only thing that came off during the dip was a small brittle starfish.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

It may simply be that you transferred the clam to an environment with better conditions. If it wasn't too far gone, you may get an excellent recovery. I for one have not had success with freshwater dips.

 

[reefman]

i find fresh water dips are mostly temporary fix n should be monitor closely (i.e. duration n water par). i believe clamsdirect have done research on its parasitic origin and has a cure.

 

[jf2381]

It looks like it is starting to extend the mantle a bit more.

reefman - I checked clams direct but did not find article. I'm going to send them an e-mail.

 

[reefman]

heres some info on it
link

 

[jf2381]

heres some info on it
link

Thank you for the material.

 

[jf2381]

I just finished reading the article and at this point the only treatment is fresh water dip. Also, based on the life cycle of the parasite I think I might get lucky since the clam was never in my display. That eliminates any chances of me intoducing any in the spore stage to my tank.

I just finished doing the second dip and the clam is reaction much much better.

 

[mheaven]

Looking good jose. hopefully you can bring it back

 

[jf2381]

Hey Danny..

I think it will make it. This picture is from today.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Very nice job, a lot of people would have just chucked the clam and gotten a new one. I get a lot of enjoyment from trying to bring back fish and corals that just need a little TLC

 

[straightjiggy10]

awesome he's looking good

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Pinched Mantle

A friend of mine was breaking down his tank and gave me this clam. I noticed that it was suffering from a severe case of pinched mantle. My first thought was that this guy would be gone in a couple of days. Then, I remembered reading about treating clams with freshwater.

I will list out the step that I took to treat the clam.

Step 1 Make RO/DI water
Step 2 Increase PH to match Tank’s PH. Use baking soda to help raise the PH. Also make sure the temperature is the same as in the tank.
Step 3 Take clam out of tank and place into bucket. Move the clam around in order to circulate water around the mantle. I placed a small (Koralia 1) power head in the bucket. The clam was in the bucket for 35 minutes.
Step 4 Take the clam out of the fresh water and place back in main tank or QT.
Step 5 Repeat Step 3 in a few days if needed. Make fresh water!!!

I noticed that the clam started to recover right away.

24hrs after first treatment. (Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the clam before treatment.)

Day2 – The mantle is extended a bit more

Day 3 - Dipped clam again

Day 5 – The mantle is extended about 50% more than day one.

Clams direct have been doing some research on the cause and treatment but based on the article they ran out of funds. For the time being the only treatment is to dipped the clam in freshwater. I believe that it kills off the parasite that is affecting the clam.
Reefman – Thanks for the link to the article.

Best advice I can give is the same one that all other member will give you…QT your livestock before adding to your display. If QT is not an option then treat the clam, especially if you have more clams in your display.
I like to point out that this is the first clam that I have treated. I have kept clams in the past but I am no expert. Take my advice at your own risk. What worked for me may not work for you.

Reference

Dr. Basti, D., Bouchard, D., and Neigut, B., 2009, Pinched Mantle Syndrome in Giant Clams,http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_4/clams.html

This is JF's process. Thank you for taking the time to write this up. Thank you for the great informative thread.

 

[jetthril]

judging by the coraline coverage, this clam looks like one of the wild harvested...I had similar issues with a 6 inch french polynesian maxima that was wild caught. Freshwater dip didn't really help in my case, but it couldn't really hurt. Mine had similar symptoms starting 2-3 days after I got it.
One main issue may be light acclimation. You may want to contact the seller, figure out what type of light it was under. If the brightness of the light in your tank is too much, this may be a sign of light shock. In this case, please put it somewhere in the tank where it's a bit less bright.
Wild caught clams are infamous for being very sensitive to changes, since the changes they dealt with in nature are very minimal.
Last a bit of my advice, check your water parameters see if anything is out of range.

Best of luck on your clam's recovery

 

[CJM1224]

This is JF's process. Thank you for taking the time to write this up. Thank you for the great informative thread.

ditto!

 

[tonyyammine]

nice clam