clam with pinched mantle??

[christyf5]

Hi,

I got this clam a 3 weeks ago from J&L. It acclimated to the tank well and has been doing great but looking at it today its mantle looks a bit wrinkly to me. I did a search on RDO for wrinkly mantles and found I was perhaps using the wrong descriptor. I think maybe I have what they are calling a pinched mantle. Has anyone ever heard of this before or had any experience with it?? I think a FW dip was suggested in a thread on RDO but the clam returned to its pinched condition soon thereafter.

Here is a pic, note the pinched part in the middle compared to the "normal" mantle below it:


http://www3.telus.net/seamonkey68/pinchy.jpg

[Stretch]

How long has it been like that? Any other clams acting the same?

What kind of light and water conditions do you have it under?

How long was the freshwater dip?

[Jason McK]

I have seen a thread on Clamsdirst.com regarding this infortunatly I did not read it.
Here is the linkhttp://www.clamsdirect.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=312

J

[christyf5]

How long has it been like that? Any other clams acting the same?

What kind of light and water conditions do you have it under?

How long was the freshwater dip?

I think its been like this for only a few days. I have another larger maxima that I've had since Feb and Gords squamosa that has a missing hinge. The other clams are fine.

I have 2x250W 6500K Iwasakis and 2x40W NO actinics. Ca = 360, Alk 8dkh

Haven't done the FW dip yet, RDO crashed as I was searching for more info.

Thanks
C:)

[Canadian Man]

Hey Christy. Yes this is called "Pinced mantle"
I have no idea what causes it but I have to sit my clams in tank temp RO/DI water about every 6 months to rid them of this problem. It does seem to return but it takes 6 months for me.

I take a large bowl full of ro/di water and make it the temp of the tank. Pull the clams out and put them in the water for 30 minutes. Put them back in the tank. Within an hour they will be open but they will not extend their mantle for a day or 2.

Just did my BIG Derasa the other day and now it looks gorgeous again.

While I have them in the water I do take a tooth brush and scrub their shells. Gotta give them some lovving :lol:

[Aquattro]

Ditto to Jon's comments. I've had to do all my clams several times. If you have more than one clam, do them all at the same time.

[ABreefkpr]

straight RO water no salt?

[Stretch]

you mean for a dip?


If yes pure Freshwater for the dip

[Aquattro]

straight RO water no salt?

Yes, RO water at the same temp for 30 minutes. No salt. Really! :razz:

[EmilyB]

What on earth ?

:confused:

Why?

[Aquattro]

It's speculated that the piched mantle is caused by a parasite and the FW dip kills it. It works, so I don't ask too many questions. :lol:

[ABreefkpr]

:eek: :cool:

[christyf5]

Wow! 30 minutes?? :eek: I'm scared to do the squamosa tho. There is a giant hole where the hinge should be. Maybe I'll do a bit more research there. Does everyone do them this long??

Also, what about the pH of the RODI, you have to add anything to get it up to 8.4??

Thanks everybody!

Christy :)

[Aquattro]

Christy, the clams are able to seal themselves in their shell and tissue doesn't actually contact the water. Therefore pH isn't important. I heard Dick Perrin (Tropicorium) once forgot some clams in a FW bath overnight and they were fine. Consider other local bivavles that are out of water for the duration of low tide. They keep their own water during these periods. If you search thru the tridacna forum on RC, you'll find many references to these dips.

[christyf5]

So how the heck does the bacteria get killed if its hanging out on the mantle and the mantle is in the shell then?? Does it just hang out on the shell surface??

As well I don't want to dip the squamosa. I think a rush of FW will just kill it. For all I know it could be causing the problem. Could it be a carrier of the bacteria and not exhibit any symptoms?


C:)

[Aquattro]

Not bacteria, but a parasite along the outer edge of the shell. That's why it is affected by the FW while the clam is safe inside the shell.

[christyf5]

OK, thanks Brad!! :mrgreen:

[christyf5]

Well I did the dip last night and the mantle looks better albeit still a bit pinchy. I looked in the treatment cup this morning and found 3 black mean looking copepods that look like this:

http://www.reefland.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=705

(No my camera isn't that good, I found it in a thread on reefland.com) I also found about 20 smaller copepods that aren't really very easy to see other than the fact that they are a beige color on a white background. I think I may take them in to work and check them out on the dissecting scope.

Jon and Brad, did your clam mantles still look pinched after the FW dip and than go back to normal after a few days or were they perfect after the dip?

Christy :)

Before:
http://www3.telus.net/seamonkey68/pinchy.jpg

After:
http://www3.telus.net/seamonkey68/pinchyafterFW.jpg

[Stretch]

Oh yeah vast improvement give it a couple days it it will be awesome looking again

[Aquattro]

Christy, it varied, but after a full day they looked better.

[Canadian Man]

Yes Christy the mantle's still look kinda pinched for a while after. It gets better. The first time I tried the dip I was freaked to do it. I only did it for 10 minutes and that didn't do much. Then I went to 20 minutes and that helped a bit more. Then I graduated to the full 30 minutes. Much better.

[christyf5]

Thanks guys,

Yeah I was freaked too. I was only going to do it for 10 mins or so but I found some threads where people weren't having much success and ended up just stressing the clam out more by doing it twice. I'll just keep an eye on it for the next few days to make sure its getting better and not worse.

Thanks again!! :mrgreen:
Christy :)

[Samw]

Well I did the dip last night and the mantle looks better albeit still a bit pinchy. I looked in the treatment cup this morning and found 3 black mean looking copepods that look like this:

Christy, did you dip all night? I just tried dipping my Squamosa for 30 minutes tonight. We'll see if it works for me.

[Jason McK]

Looks much improved. Great to hear of your success.

If you wouldn't mind could you post how you prepared the water for the dip.

Thanks
Jason

[christyf5]

I just matched my RODI water to the tank water temperature, put the clam in for 30 minutes et voila!

BTW, the clam wasn't lookin so hot last night. I'm anxious for the day to be done so I can go home and see if its any better. :neutral:

[christyf5]

Just thought I'd update this. The clam died in the last week of November. Two days before I had lost Gords squamosa as well. My other maxima from seacare is fine. weird. :confused:

Christy

[Samw]

Sorry to hear that Christy. My Squamosa's making a nice comeback.

[Aquattro]

My clams are doing fine also after repeated FW dips. Maybe that one was too far gone?

[christyf5]

Ya, thats what I am thinking. And Gords didn't have a hinge so I didn't really expect it to do all that well. :sad: