Clam question

[drdude05]

I bought a clam from my LFS last Thursday. I was doing some reading on the clam forum and overall it seems to be doing ok except that its mouth, as described by Whisky in the FAQ section, is gaping. It was not doing this yesterday morning, but has been gaping more often than not over the past few days.

I now know this is a sign of stress, but how do you figure out what from? Could it be something as simple as I need to turn the calm 180 degrees so the mouth faces into the current instead of with the current? or are there other things I need to check?

[Loverotties]

What type of clam?

[drdude05]

Well, I am ashamed to say that I'm not sure. the LFS guys didn't know, but with the research I did before buying one I was thinking it is a Crocea. I snapped some pics to show what it is doing. Sorry they are dark.

[partobe]

I had one and it died but from a fish continuously picking on it. I think your correct about the type. Whiskey informed me that those clams like allot of light and he suggested I place mine on a rock not the sand and to place it high up. Good luck! You might want to pvt msg whiskey he knows allot about clams and loves to help.

[zxcv123]

whisly told me that it is normal for clams to gape within the first few days of entering the tank.

That looks like a crocea clam.

Is the clam in too much flow? Are the water parameters ok?
Is there anything picking at it or any pests around that look like snails?

[DeltaChiNick]

Clams do not like alot of flow, also it needs to be on the rockwork and it requires very high light. What kind of lighting are you running?

[drdude05]

Well, most of that I can cure.

Tank levels:
SG 1.024
Temp 79
PO4 0
Mg 1300
Ca 420
Alk 2.96

I run three 250W MH and two 140W VHO actinics. The clam has been in my system four 4 days now. AS for flow, there is alot but the clam mantle is not flapping like it is getting direct flow. I can place it higher in the tank on some rock if that will help.

[zxcv123]

Originally Posted by drdude05

Well, most of that I can cure.

Tank levels:
SG 1.024
Temp 79
PO4 0
Mg 1300
Ca 420
Alk 2.96

I run three 250W MH and two 140W VHO actinics. The clam has been in my system four 4 days now. AS for flow, there is alot but the clam mantle is not flapping like it is getting direct flow. I can place it higher in the tank on some rock if that will help.

Keep an eye on it for another day or two. If it doesnt get normal by then, talk to Wiskey.

[Wiskey]

People have been talking about me

I'm waiting for a plane home right now, it will be nice to get back to my high speed internet.

I agree with above, it definitally does look like a Crocea.

Whenever I move my clams most of them seem to get mad at first, gape and do allot of opening and closing buisness, a few days later they seem to settle in. If it were me I would place it on a small rock between two larger rocks to keep the clam in place. I would put this rock in the lower 1/3 of your tank to keep it out of flow, and for better viewing, I think you have plenty of light for it there too.

Nothing looks really wrong with it, but it does look un-happy for some reason, maybe a good move is just the thing it needs (hopefully).

The other thing is this is one of the most commenly damaged clams in collection, the Byassal gland is torn and it gets an infection. This is almost always fatal, and there is nothing you can really do about it, plus you really can't tell the damage was done, it usually takes about a month or two to die from poor collection I hope yours was not damaged.

Whiskey