dead clam

[leeks]

my maxima was alive one night and dead the next moring. my question is can a bristle worm kill the clam. because i found a monster in the rock next to the clam.the worm was at least 4" long and 3/8 around. and there was still some worm in the rock.

 

[jdeets]

Usually a bristleworm will only move in on a clam if the clam is already dying. I know that people in the past have blamed various detrivores for their clams' deaths, however, IMO these critters move in like a buzzard circles around a dying cow.

 

[danmhippo]

I doubt the culprit is the BW, It maybe something else. This happened to me a couple weeks ago. I have 3 clams that died one after another in 2 weeks period. These clams first showed sign of un-responsiveness to shadow passing overhead.

By the time the third one is beyond salvage, I took it out (flesh still attached) and found a white semi-transparent crab clinging tightly inside the clam. I smashed the crab and stumped on it. A week later, another 5" clam showing signs of slow response. I didn't catch it in time and by the time I noticed it, it is already too late. This time, I found another same crab in it with belly full of egg and it looked like some egg has been released.

So, next time you find symptoms of clam dying, take it out of the water and put it in a hospital tank. It could be the hitchhiker crab at work!

BTW, I don't think that crab depend on the clam meat to survive, as I found another one just now in the sump. That too is a female!

[ September 24, 2001: Message edited by: danmhippo ]