clam issues

[Fly Guy]

Ive never had a problem with my clams before. really have no idea what is up here

Heres the deal......in one of my tanks I have 5 clams. 4 croceas and a maxima. 3 of the croceas are 5.5" and were survivors of my crash this summer. 2 months ago I added a maxima, a squamosa, and a crocea, all 2.5" and all from ORA. The squammie didnt make it through the first week.

about 5 weeks ago I start to notice "sluffing" from the base/foot of one of the larger croceas. He has full mantle extension so I just watched it closely looking at night for any predators.....havent seen anything but he is still sluffing.

Now, all 5 clams constanly have a string or two of what appears to be air bubbles hanging off of the underside of the mantle and waving in the flow just above the mantle. One of the croceas is starting to get a decent pinched mantle on one side. several of them have the edges of their mantle looking kind of "crinkled"

??? Any ideas?? Any steps I should take??

first pic- the "sluffing" foot. This has actually gotten better since i first noticed it and this clam has full mantle extension as well as doesnt have any of the bubbles coming off of the mantle



You can see the pinched mantle along the right side, and a string of bubbles on the left



Here is one of the smaller clams. You can see the "crinkled edges" i mentioned as well as a string of bubbles hanging AND on the right side under the mantle is a string of bubbles attached to the shell under the mantle on the right side



more bubbles

[jenajet]

Okay, I'm no expert but I read that when irritated they excrete a mucus as a defense mechanism. I will try to find the article. It is somewhere in clam faq but I have to find it.

[jenajet]

Okay that was something else but here is your issue discription

Excess Mucus

Tridacnids normally release some clear mucus from around their mantles and upper surfaces. The mucus often has some air bubbles within it. The clam is getting rid of excess carbon from photosynthesis. Excessive mucus can clog mechanical filters and is a sign of irritation. The irritation may be from something in the water or form a nearby coral. Avoid handling your clam since you don't want to irritate it anymore, but provide it with a stronger flow of water - remember clams don't like a strong current so only do this to remove the excess mucus. If this doesn't clear up the problem, do some water changes and add some good quality carbon. Obviously, if the clam is being annoyed by a coral, move the coral.
entire article
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fish...9/fnc0999.html

[Fly Guy]

interesting jena. Thanks.

You know what, I have been doing lots of fragging and other work for the last couple of months from the rebuild and at least once a week have had the halides on for 16 hours or more. The halides are the only lights I have above this tank so to really see anything I dont have the option of just turning on the actinics like my other tank. That excess light may bery well be whats causing the excess carbon and the resulting mucous.

That doesnt speak to the sluffing foot that the one clam has, but incidentally, that same clam with the sluffing foot is the only clam with no bubbles and is also the closest to the bottom of the tank. The other 4 with the mucous issues are at the top fo the reef more or less.

[jenajet]

Is it clear or brown? This talks about problems with foot.

Brown Mucus Underneath

A clear, brown, thick gelatinous mucus is sometimes found around the byssal opening. The clam is trying to protect itself from contact with irritating substances (ex. coral mucus) and keeping worms, snails, and crabs, etc. away. Although considered a harmless condition, I would make a definite effort to find any possible irritating critters.

[Wiskey]

Great posts Jenna!

I wanted to add that I see things like this when my clams are being irrated,.. in my case it's a fish that keeps nipping at the mantle that irratates them.

Whiskey

[jenajet]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

Great posts Jenna!

I wanted to add that I see things like this when my clams are being irrated,.. in my case it's a fish that keeps nipping at the mantle that irratates them.

Whiskey

You get the credit here, by doing the faq's. I just remembered cause I was reading it this morning!

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by jenajet

Is it clear or brown? This talks about problems with foot.

Brown Mucus Underneath

A clear, brown, thick gelatinous mucus is sometimes found around the byssal opening. The clam is trying to protect itself from contact with irritating substances (ex. coral mucus) and keeping worms, snails, and crabs, etc. away. Although considered a harmless condition, I would make a definite effort to find any possible irritating critters.

Its clear and I have been watching it closely and havent found anything. I have even waited until the middle of the night and blown it out from the backside with a MJ1200 to see if I could find any critters