Help! Clam not opening..........

[Reef Goalie]

My Crocea, which has been in the tank over 2 years and has shown excellent growth, has stopped opening. It was always wide open in the tank about 4 inches from the water surface. It was not moved and does not appear to have been attacked by anything. All water parameters are the same as always, and lighting has not changed either. The clam is under 250W MH with supplemental actinic NO in a 75 gallon tank. I looked at the clam and it does not appear to have any damage or predation. It opens slightly with the lights out, exposing its innards, which all look OK. There are no signs of any attack. All supplement additives are the same (DTs, Ca and alk from SeaChem). Any suggestions? I would hate to lose such a great creature, which has grown and florished in the tank. Any input and suggestions would be very much appreciated..........

 

[linuxpng]

I have a derasa that did the same thing awhile back. I ended up picking up the clam and noticed a couple bristle worms on the bottom. I picked them off with some tweezers and the clam seemed to go back to normal.. That lasted about a week without fully extending it's mantle and opening fully. What I'm saying is something might be irritating it and it may not be a big deal. I would just check the underside to make sure you don't see any worms nibbling. If your clam has been successful under your current water parameters I don't see how you could/should do anything different. Just my 2 cents.

 

[NewMan]

from what i understand, clams of all kinds are very vulnerable at the bottom which is very prone to worms attack. Hence what linuxpng says might be the reason. perhaps you might want to check out the bottom part for any infections

 

[fishfanatic2]

Be VERY careful when picking a clam up. Pyramid snails can also prevent the clam from opening the mantle.

How long has it been since it opened?

 

[Reef Goalie]

It has been about a week now with the clam only partially opening. The color still appears bright blue inside, although the flesh has not opened to the point of overlapping the shell for about a week. I did pick the clam up this morning and turned it over. The teardrop shaped opening under the clam has a pinkish color to it. I cant tell if its a bristleworm or the clam body. I dont want to pick at it until I'm sure. Any ideas?