Derasa Clam is dying please help.

Discussion in 'Clams' started by Nea, Aug 17, 2009.

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  1. reef_guru

    reef_guru Humpback Whale

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    pyramellid snails?
     
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  3. Nea

    Nea Flamingo Tongue

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    We haven't seen any of them, are they microscopic?
     
  4. Nea

    Nea Flamingo Tongue

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    Hubby, says no to the snails.
     
  5. cannedmulder

    cannedmulder Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Take your water into your LFS and have them test it! But you really need to get better tests and soon! They will save your whole take!! When you changed bulbs did you turn them on the same amount of time as your old ones? Depending on how old you others were they could be burning your clam as they are too hot and bright! Clams like a lot but new bulbs can cause problems! Also you need to know your Ca level! Clams like a lot of calcium! Get those test kits but like I said take your water to your LFS and have them test and let us know what the levels are! Do this soon or you will lose that clam!
     
  6. Nea

    Nea Flamingo Tongue

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    we have had the lights on the same amount of time, but have recently like this past week, started having them on less, to kill some algae. The clam is on the sand at the bottom of the tank... it's a 75 gal.

    Is calcium and Kh not the same?
     
  7. devlzluv

    devlzluv Ritteri Anemone

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    ya same agree with canned, take to lfs and have them test. I use the red sea mag test and its pretty accurate to my lfs. Serious get good test kits, I know how its like to not have money when ya need it but dont buy anythign else till you get those they will help alot and let you determine what you need to do next. Calcium and kh are diff, kh is same/releated to alkalinity.
     
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  9. tigermike74

    tigermike74 Panda Puffer

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    dKH and Calcium are not the same thing by any means. dKH (also known as KH and alkalinity and carbonate/bicarbonate hardness) is the measure of the water hardness, also is the pH buffering capabilities of the water, which helps prevent pH swings. Mg, Ca, and dKH are all tied together and must be in correct balance for a tank to be healthy.
    Now, having NO3 in the tank is actually good for clams, they feed off NO3s, but you do want to keep it below 40ppm. Make sure that the tank has no NH3 and no NO2, those will kill it as well. As stated earlier, ditch the test strips and get vial based drip tests, they are more accurate.
    One thing that I did notice is that you have a serious cyanobacteria problem in your tank, and it is extremely close to the clam. I suspect that it was infected by the cyano, which is what lead to the death of the clam. Unfortunately, when a clam gets as bad as it is in the photo, it's already a goner. :(
     
  10. crazy reef love

    crazy reef love Skunk Shrimp

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    Has the clam properly cemented, one of my clams didn't do this and bristle worms crawled up underneath the clam and started to eat it. My clam was looking perfectly healthy one day then the next it just started to do exactly was your's is doing. hope everything works out.
     
  11. SinCityReef

    SinCityReef Astrea Snail

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    API makes decent test kits that run about 30-40 bucks a piece. You can get the basic saltwater kit at Petco, and I bet an LFS in your town has both. You'd have to get both the Saltwater and Reef master test kits, but frankly look at it as an investment. Even in a FOWLR tank, those test strips are notoriously inaccurate. They don't give you a reading, only "Acceptable" "Danger"..etc... not good. Get the good chemical tests

    +1with Guru, you got a clam, you got rock, you got a reef ;)


    I actually think it may have something to do with the fact that you changed your bulbs next week. Occasionally I have had my clams react to that. Your pictures are a little bit hard to see though. It seems odd it happened a week ago and it should be reacting now, **IF** that is even what it is. Adding phyto to the tank is good, no, no need to spot feed it. If you can see it in the water, it's too big for your clam to digest and will just clog up his inner workings. They're filter feeders. Put a bit in the tank once a week, and your clam will get it :)

    Kh is Karbonate Hardness. Not calcium. Calcium is important because your clam needs it for his shell to grow. You absolutely *must* test for this to have a clam and keep him happy :) Mg is also important, but less so. As a general rule if your CA and KH are in line, you should be okay (Not always, but usually)

    HTH
    ~Renee