Clam killing bristol worms!!!!

[The Grizz]

So a couple of days ago I notice one of my large clams was looking a little funny, not fully opening. Then 2 days later the light's came on and all that was left was a shell and a big chunk of clam guts floating around the tank.

I lifted out the shell and to my surprise there was a bristol worm under it about 1 1/2" long, out came the tongs.....bye bye worm. I put the shell in a bucket with hot fresh waster to soak the shell ( wife wants to keep it ) and after about 10 min soak I pulled it out of the pail flipped it over to find 3 more bristol worms sticking out of the part if the shell that was still joined.

Has this happened to anyone else??? Should I move my other large clam off the sand bed as well??

[BlueTang<3]

I have seen bristle worms under my clams before i made epoxy bases for them to sit on as even in the instruction for the dd epoxy it talks about bristle worms attacking clams. The trick is to keep the clam on the base

[Albertan22]

Could be that the clam died on its own and the bristle worms were just doing their thing as part of the CUC... Have you seen bristle worms on your live clams at all?

[Skimmerking]

Dude sorry to hear about the big clam. I didn't for the longest have wrasses at one point I had 12 clams in my tank. Then they were dropping one after another, now I have 2 huge clams in my tank big Bertha and medium Clyde now with all my wrasses that I have now after seeing the few worms that I have I have no worms what's so ever. I think that it was either the worms or the stomella snails. But I can't see it being the snails thou since that I have checked and never found any it must of been the worms.

[The Grizz]

The clam was healthy as far as I could tell, this is what it looked like just a couple days earlier:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx291/GRIZZtheWELDER/165%20gal%20tank%20build/100_3410-1.jpg

This was the first time that I have seen ANY bristol worms in my tank. I am going to try a small piece of pvc pipe and put my other large clam on it.

[The Grizz]

Had 6 clams now down to 5 :cry:

[whatcaneyedo]

Sure I've had it happen before. The bristle worms in my tank are instantly feeding off of anything that has recently died which has included a few clams. But I know they didn't kill them. The majority of bristle worms are scavengers. Unless you see them feasting on a live clam I wouldn't jump to conclusions.

[whatcaneyedo]

Skimmer King You're thinking of pyram snails. Stomatella are highly beneficial herbivores.

My vote is for a protozoan infection as what you've described sounds more like the 'pinched mantle' condition. I had it happen this spring, on a Monday my big maxima looked like this and by Friday it was dead. There were many bristle worms all over it as soon as it was dead. Yet I have a smaller maxima that was sitting right next to it in the sand which is still there, fine and healthy as always. I actually have 6 clams in the tank still, 4 of which are in the sand.

This picture is from that Monday after I transferred the clam to another part of the system because I thought that maybe it was one of my fish that were bothering it.
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/whatcaneyedo/Picture750.jpg

[Skimmerking]

thanks. Man I knew it was something like a snail

[Skimmerking]

thanks. Man I knew it was something like a snail plus they know if somthing is dying too in the tank along with shrimp too

[The Grizz]

Well I hope it was not the worms that killed my clam because I don't want to lose any more anytime soon.

[Slick Fork]

+1 to the bristle worms just being scavengers. I had tons in my old tank and they were always the first to the feast but I never had any trouble with them attacking anything healthy

[michika]

In my experience, and I've had A LOT of clams, worms come to feast when clams are dead or dying. Putting clams on bases can help, but if your clam doesn't want to stay put, its the way it goes.

It was a very pretty clam, and looked rather healthy from your photo. Although Whatcaneyedo's photo looks like Pinched Mantle, or its just in an awkward state of retraction/extension, which is different.

[The Grizz]

I don't think it was a pinched mantel for the simple reason that it would never close up all the way. It was open at least 1" when totally closed even when I would pick it up to reposition.

[Seafan]

So sorry to hear you lost your clam :sad:, It was really beautiful. Have to agree that the bristle worms are scavengers after the fact.

[Murminator]

Bristle worms like the deader the better they will move in after it has died usually not before. Clams, fish, coral can be funny perfect one night dead the next morning thats just how is goes

[Wayne]

I have mine on a shelf that keeps him safe from worms. That hermit crab is thinking about being a problem though :smile:

http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy22/Racing_Rush/IMG_2531.jpg