Crocea Clam Rescue

[Unarce]

One of my LFS is chock full of dying Tridacnid clams, unfortunately. For a song and a dance, I bought one today for $5.00. He seemed to have the most promising coloration of the bunch, but was gaping terribly and a bit receded. He's not lethargic yet and reacts quite quickly to movement. He's about mid-age at around 4".

I've raised Crocea before, but have never tried to nurse one back to health. Other than knowing that the conditions in my tank are better than where it came from, do any of you have any tips on bringing it back to full bloom. Could it be too late?

 

[Anonymous]

You could feed it some DT's.

That's about all I can think of.

Good luck!

Louey

 

[Unarce]

I'll definitely be feeding this guy. Although, I stopped using DT's over a year ago and switched to Instant Algae Coral & Clam Diet.

 

[eddi]

Reefnutz,

If gaping is the only thing you can see that is wrong, try a fresh water dip for about 3-5 minutes. I have never trued it myself but I do know two people that have successfully done it to combat gaping.

I don't know what the dip does, but it seems to work.


Eddi

 

[reefann]

If gaping is the only thing you can see that is wrong, try a fresh water dip for about 3-5 minutes.

I dont know why this would work but it seems extream. I though gaping was a sighn of long term hunger? Could someone elaborate on this? I would definatley feed it and check for pyramid snails. Although I doubt pyramid snails are causing the problem
JJ
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1950 recession
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what is global recession

 

[Unarce]

I've never tried a freshwater dip before. I agree with reefann that it does seem a bit extreme. Hopefully, someone can expand on what the benefit might be.

As of now, he's still gaping and lost quite a bit of tissue while at the LFS. I'll be feeding him daily with Instant-Algae. He's still very responsive to movement and attached to a rock within a couple of hours yesterday.

 

[Anonymous]

That's very encouraging, rn. If it were me, I'd go to (gulp) Clams Direct and ask around on their forums. Barry seems to know quite a bit about Tridacnids, and may be able to offer other ideas we don't have.

Please keep us posted!

 

[Unarce]

Thanks, seamaiden. I'll give them a shot.

 

[eddi]

Reefann,

Actually a fw dip is not extreme at all, it is a common method to cure a number of clam ailments.

I called one of my friends that tried it and here is what he told me: Gaping is a sign of stress, most probably due to a lack of proper 'breathing' by the clam. That can be caused by parasites that are killed by the dip. He stressed to make sure the fw is RO/DI, same temp and ph as the water that is currently housing the sick clam. He has had two clams that have shown significant signs of improvement after the dip.

I have several clams myself but have fortunately never experienced gaping so I do not have first hand experience. I am relaying someone else's findings.


Eddi

 

[Unarce]

Eddi,

The clam attached itself already. I chiseled a whole in one of the largest pieces of live rock in my tank specifically for a Crocea. It's deep enough where only his mantle is exposed. Would it be worth stressing him out more by removing him for a FW dip?

 

[eddi]

RN,

Usually it is not a good idea at all to remove a clam after it has attached. In this case, however, you need to use your best judgement. If you think you can break the rock without damaging the clam, you may want to try that as a last resort.

How does the mantle look? Is it retracted? And the syphon? Is it over-extended? As long as the clam reacts quickly to change of light I would not stress it any more than you have to.

You are really in the proverbial catch-22. If you wait for serious signs it may be too late; if you try to help it now you may actually damage it more. It's a tough call. I would watch it closely before doing anything. The sad truth is that it was probably that way at te LFS for a while and may very well be too late no matter what.

Good luck. Keep us posted please.


Eddi

 

[eddi]

RN,

I remembered reading a post a while back about someone else that dipped a gaping clam with success, so I went looking and found it. Here it is:

http://www.reefland.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10822


Read it then decide on your own.


Eddi

 

[Unarce]

Thanks, eddi.

I don't know how long he's been at that particular LFS. According to them, they had just received a large shipment of crocea's. Some were already dead. Most, just barely. I'd imagine that it's a good sign that he was able to attach within a couple of hours. He reacts well to movement and has decent extension of the mantle considering how much it has shrunk compared to the shell. I'll post it's condition periodically as the days go by.

 

[Unarce]

UPDATE:

He's still alive. Still gaping. No increase in tissue mass, but he did poop yesterday. So, I'm hoping the daily feedings are helping.

 

[Unarce]

UPDATE:

He's still alive. Still gaping. No increase in tissue mass, but he did poop yesterday. So, I'm hoping the daily feedings are helping.

 

[Philippe Dor]

All those 4" croceas have most probably spawned after arrival at the shop and are dying from the stress. 4" Croceas are definitely not farmed as they would have to be at least 10 years old, and nobody would keep clams that long!
These clams are likely wild caught from the Philippines and it was spawning season there a few weeks ago.
If it is reattached, just leave it alone and drop the temperature of your tank slightly to get more oxygen in the water and it will recover without problems. 25 -26 Celcius is best for this, but be carefull to make this drop in temp very slowly, over several hours, or you will stress it and everything else in your tank. cheers, Phil

 

[Unarce]

Update:

After 10 days, he's still gaping. However, one sign of tissue growth is that the tentacles have begun to show in the inhalant siphon.

 

[Unarce]

Happy New Year everyone!

Just another update. After 36 days, the clam has increased it's tissue mass considerably. It's still gaping, but I've read that some Crocea's are just like that. I'm hoping it will go away. I've never had one gape this much. Sorry about the pic. It's a camera phone.

 

[Anonymous]

That is great news reefnutz.

Have you noticed any growth of the shell on this clam? Once it's starts adding new shell growth you can be fairly well assured that it is healthy. Crocea's do grow rather slowly though.

Louey

 

[Unarce]

Thanks, Louey.

As of now, there's about 2mm of white-shell growth at the top.