Derasa with pinched mantle

[deskjockey]

Well four days ago the mantle on my 5" derasa began to pinch near the exhalent siphon. He was and still expands well with no signs of gaping. I have been keeping up with all of the posts in the last few months regarding the mysterious deaths and pinched mantles, and the thing that gets me about this is I have not introduced any new clams!! Hes the only one in the tank at the moment (until I put up my new lights). I have had this clam 6 months now with very good growth under PC's (see growth line in pic).

I plan on giving it a FW dip tonight and thought I would ask if any new developments have come out regarding a cure for the pinched mantles.

Well any info would be greatly appreciated
Alex

 

[Mikef1]

You said you have it under PCs. This could be your problem a lot of clams have a hard time living under PCs. They will live for an amount of time and then just fade away and die. Sorry about your clam.

 

[deskjockey]

Mike-
Its not a "not enough light" issue. As I stated there are no signs of gaping or bleaching (well forgot to mention that). You are correct about the lighting issue but contrary to that rule Derasa and Squamosa clams can be kept under PC's (to a certian degree of course) if they are adequately taken care of and water conditions are kept in check.

Currently its under 4-96watt PC's

 

[reefann]

IMO in certain applactions pc's for a Derasa is fine. How deep is he and what your light scheme?
JJ
_________________
what is recession

 

[deskjockey]

JJ
Its a 55g 18" tall and with the clam on the sand in brings it close to 18"-19" from the lights. The lights front to back are W,B,W,B. The daylight bulbs are 10k. I recently purchased two 150w HQI pendants but Im still trying to have a hood made to accomidate the needed clearance. :?

 

[toptank]

Alex,

FW dip has proven to help with the pinch mantle problem. Be sure to bring that pH up in the dip.

Barry

 

[GSchiemer]

Well four days ago the mantle on my 5" derasa began to pinch near the exhalent siphon. He was and still expands well with no signs of gaping. I have been keeping up with all of the posts in the last few months regarding the mysterious deaths and pinched mantles, and the thing that gets me about this is I have not introduced any new clams!! Hes the only one in the tank at the moment (until I put up my new lights). I have had this clam 6 months now with very good growth under PC's (see growth line in pic).

I plan on giving it a FW dip tonight and thought I would ask if any new developments have come out regarding a cure for the pinched mantles.

Well any info would be greatly appreciated
Alex

From the looks of the picture, the clam doesn't look to bad. It almost appears that something is irritating it. Have you added any new fish lately? What fish are in the aquarium now? Have you checked for Tathrella snails, which feed on the mantle and appear in the open at night?

Greg Schiemer

 

[deskjockey]

GS-
Well I havent added any new fish. There is a Six line wrasse, 2 false percs, 2 chromis, & 1 cleaner shrimp. I have checked for the snails but couldn't find anything. I have never seen the fish nip at the mantle (except the wrasse checking out the shell) but every once in a while a snail latches on and bugs it or my cleaner shrimp picks at the shell. I thought maybe it had been nipped by the cleaner shrimp but I haven't seen him near it for some time.

Over the last week I have noticed the progression of the mantle pinching a little more. I haven't given it a dip yet but plan too tonight. Im glad Barry reminded me about adjusting the PH first.

 

[GSchiemer]

GS-
Well I havent added any new fish. There is a Six line wrasse, 2 false percs, 2 chromis, & 1 cleaner shrimp. I have checked for the snails but couldn't find anything. I have never seen the fish nip at the mantle (except the wrasse checking out the shell) but every once in a while a snail latches on and bugs it or my cleaner shrimp picks at the shell. I thought maybe it had been nipped by the cleaner shrimp but I haven't seen him near it for some time.

Over the last week I have noticed the progression of the mantle pinching a little more. I haven't given it a dip yet but plan too tonight. Im glad Barry reminded me about adjusting the PH first.

Cleaner shrimp can sometimes pester clams, so keep an eye on it. Back away from the aquarium and keep your eye on the clam for awhile to see if anything is bothering it. Also, check for parasitic snails. They look like grains of white rice and congregate under the mantle and around the byssal gland. They're more visible at night.

Based upon the picture, I wouldn't resort to anything as drastic as a freshwater dip yet. I suspect it may do more harm than good

Greg Schiemer

 

[deskjockey]

Okay Ill give it a little more time. Just wondering though since Ive had the clam this long wouldn't it have shown signs of the Tathrella snails bothering it by now? Ive done lots of research on clams lately since I plan on having more in the coming weeks but I haven't really found any info as to how these snails are introduced to the system other than an infected clam. Can they be introduced with new corals or the LR that they are attached to?

 

[GSchiemer]

Okay Ill give it a little more time. Just wondering though since Ive had the clam this long wouldn't it have shown signs of the Tathrella snails bothering it by now? Ive done lots of research on clams lately since I plan on having more in the coming weeks but I haven't really found any info as to how these snails are introduced to the system other than an infected clam. Can they be introduced with new corals or the LR that they are attached to?

It may be that the Tathrella snails reached a level where they are now impacting the health of the clam. They are usually brought in on clams exclusively and reproduce readily in the aquarium.

I wouldn't introduce any more clams until the one you have appears healthy again.

Greg Schiemer

 

[Minh Nguyen]

Without adding clams to the tank it is almost impossible to add the pinch mantle pathogen to your tank. Because of this reason, I think it is highly unlikely that you have the same disease that I had in my tank. Don't rush into treatment that will not help but will stress your clams.
Anything that bothers the clam can cause their mantle to pinch. I would recommend more observation and rule out other causes before assume that the disease process is the same (highly unlikely IMO)

Minh Nguyen