Help me Help my Clam!

[MizTanks]

She's been through a lot of late. Been battling cyano don't ya know eh. 2x ChemiClean treatments a couple month apart. 2x lights out a couple months apart. All new lamps added in February. Then a crab got stuck into my ato float switch and dumped 2g's of RO/DI into tank. Lowering to SG from 1.025 to 1.023
Well the last week I've seen an increase in her mantel color as it was somewhat faded. Thinking it was due to old lamps and now the new lamps were helping. Now the past 3 days she's closed up way more then what I'm use to seeing. Usually she wide open! Today she's looking like this. But with much better color and I see new growth on her shell.

[dlhirst]

Any chance you've got a new fish in there? Or perhaps, an old fish learning new tricks? My clam was presenting like that for a short while when I happened to notice my black blennie was nipping at it. That fish had co-habited with the clam for most of a year before starting this behavior. Took the fish out of the tank, and the clam has been happy as a, well, clam, ever since.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

+1 to something irritating it. In addition to fish or inverts, it could also be a combination of light shock and the other stressors you mentioned. The best thing to do is remove any stressors and maintain stable water quality.

Are you running any phosphate removal media right now?

Tom

[MizTanks]

I've got a lil yellow tail damsel that I've yet to see go near the clam. And sometimes my cleaner shrimp will very quickly crawl across it but that's it.
I am running PhosGuard. In a bag in my lil fuge. I'll be doing another WC tomorrow to get the SG back up to normal.

Update: UGH!! My clam sits on an empty half shell. Never has attached. Well tonight I decided to lift her up and what do I find? Bristle Worms!! Even up inside where the foot is supposed to be I don't know how to keep them away from her!! It's no wonder she's never attached. I've been chasing them off and away for a long time but they come right back. I don't know what to do....

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Don't worry about the worms. They only eat dead/dying tissue. More than likely they are just seeking refuge under the clam.

[Dylan R]

Are clams fairly easy to take carenof? I hear a lot of mixed reviews

[MizTanks]

Well she's not doing good. Shell slightly ajar & mantle totally inside. Not reacting to light and barely to touch. Been like this all day

I've had great luck with this clam. Never an issue until now. Almost 3yrs I've had her and her demise makes me very sad.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

So sorry to hear this. I know how attached one can get to their Tridacna clams. I'm going to hold onto hope but it doesn't sound promising.

Tom

[dlhirst]

Dylan, my limited experience shows that clams are pretty easy to care for, provided that you have pretty stable water and sufficient lighting.

[Dylan R]

Dylan, my limited experience shows that clams are pretty easy to care for, provided that you have pretty stable water and sufficient lighting.

Thank you, I hear the smaller they are the more difficult it is to take care of