Clams (plural) died-Need input Please

Discussion in 'Clams' started by Reefnjunkie, Aug 14, 2009.

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  1. Reefnjunkie

    Reefnjunkie Feather Duster

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    Hey Guys a few Questions as I have had some real bad luck in the last month with 3 Maximas.
    I had 2 Maximas that were on rocks-foots attached well and life had been great for about 2 months, over a period of 2 weeks both clams committed suicide-or that's how I call it-laugh/cry
    Both clams seemed to release from the rocks they were on and ended up inverted on what would have been were their mantle was, one landed on a rock the other on an Acan Coral.

    Both of these like I said had been in place for nearly 2 months before the jump.

    The only reason I placed them on LR was someone told me they prefer rockwork, since I have heard otherwise-I plan to do a lot of reading before getting another since I have had a 3rd that has died.

    The 3rd was one I bought from Reef Empire on EBay- I have bought many corals from these folks and these guys have great stuff and positive reviews
    The one I got from them was a Maxima Giant Tear Drop as it was called and here is a photo;


    This one I placed in the sand and everything was great one day he was looking perfect the next day I find 6 hermits on top eating away at its mantle-my Local Reef store told me he was doomed and I may as well pull him from the tank.
    The other two I was not QUITE as upset, but this one I have never ran across before-I am sure I will again but this was a very nice one -IMO
    My water Params are
    CA-450
    KH-11
    PO4- .06
    NO3 -12
    MG- 1220
    My equipment is listed below, I have upgraded my Lights and Skimmer, but not since these guys died

    The only thing I have done differently was I started Vodka dosing 5 days earlier and am following the guidelines from this link;
    Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com

    Anyone have any ideas why I might be KILLING my clams-the loss in money is a drag but I could really care less about the money, its not knowing WHAT is going on.

    I want to think its the Vodka dosing, being analytical I look at what's new, what's different, what's changed-Vodka dosing is the only new component and I have followed those directions trying to error on the cautious side when figuring my total water volume. The only other changes I have noticed is that my Tyree Toadstool has not opened in a week and my Red Gonipora has not extended as much as it has in the past, other than that everything is looking great-I did have my Red Bulb anemone split-which I have heard they do when they feel like they are in danger-Not sure if that is true just one persons opinion

    I'm at a loss and would love ANY information to figure it out

    Thanks to anyone who answers!!

    SG-1.025
    Tank Temp 75-77
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2009
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  3. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    My guess would be the vodka dosing, clams are very sensitive and require very good water quality. When they release their foot like that it means they don't like where they are. I initially thought it was due to poor lighting, but your lighting should be adequate for clams. Vodka dosing requires great expertise and care, even if you did it correctly, the clams may not have liked it.
     
  4. Crimson Ghost

    Crimson Ghost Blue Ringed Angel

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    Agreed. two take aways here; 1. Clams like good water quality 2. vodka dosing. if you had good water quality you would not have been tinkering with vodka. I suspect the swings in condition caused it and potentially rushed what the elevated nitrates were going to do in the long run. Sorry for the loss.
     
  5. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    Keep in mind that clams take a while to die, they may have been on their way out when you got them, but or that many to go, it's probably not the issue.
     
  6. Reefnjunkie

    Reefnjunkie Feather Duster

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    Crimson are the params I stated poor water quality in your opinion????
    NO3 @12ppm, and the rest????

    If you maintain levels of NO3 below that and have fish in your tank please share how you do it.
    I looked in to denitrifyers and everything I read said the suck and for 300.00 plus I looked into dosing, I have read quite abit on Algae scrubbers but dont want to go through all that-although I am pretty convinced they work or the people that posted are liars.
    The Vodka dosing is just because I'm looking for "near perfect" water conditions with respect to Ca,Mg,PO4,KH,SG-and well having nitrates of 12 is great but zero is better-that is of course as long as you dont kill things along the way.

    It looks like the latest project was lethal-The first 2 that Killed themselves-that was before the dosing-I thought it strange after a few months in place they decided to jump.

    Perhaps a thread asking about peoples experiance in Dosing would be better suited-Sadly I have never ran across anything that said "x,y,and z died" while I started dosing.

    Lots of good reads in favor of dosing maybe I have not dug deep enough to find out the hazards or negatives

    I agree that its a safe assumption that the dosing caused it, since I cant see or find anything else that suggests otherwise.

    Its the last clam that I will figure I killed that really has me pissed, as I type this the Tyree is opening up so that sort of lessens that theory.

    Well time to go find 20 different opiniions and that make my own :confused:


    I do 25% H2o changes every 2 weeks

    Thanks for the feedbacks
     
  7. Reefnjunkie

    Reefnjunkie Feather Duster

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    the deceast-spelling???
    [​IMG]
     
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  9. Reefnjunkie

    Reefnjunkie Feather Duster

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  10. horkn

    horkn Giant Squid

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    Clams are typically pretty hardy critters.

    I lost all 3 of mine that I had a while back when 1 or both of the 2 new ones from ORA had clam parasites. They took out my 2 year old awesome colored Squamosa. ORA stopped selling clams for a while and acknowledged they had disease issues, but that was the last I heard, and that was over a year ago.



    Other issues with clams can be pinched mantles, and pyramellid snails.

    Other than that, they can deal with a wide variety of water parameters as long as they have adequate light.

    I am looking to get another clam soon.
     
  11. horkn

    horkn Giant Squid

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    Do you have any Halicheores wrasse(s) in your tank?