New clam

[lynncgo]

Hi All,

I just got my first clam. I love it! It's so pretty. I believe it's a maxima from Australia. Can someone please tell me what signs there are that my clam is unhappy or sick? I want to make sure I know any symptoms for clams so i can be proactive if anything goes wrong. I know fish symptoms. Not familiar with clams.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Mr. Plant]

Hey, Lets see a pic

 

[Mr. Plant]

Not a clam expert, But what I do know, make sure the mouth is not gapping ( open wide ) Foot need to be in good shape, When you create a shadow in front of it, If its healthy it should close a little....

 

[Reefomeez]

The mantle should stretch out completely...if it looks like its not extending a part of its mantle then it could be pinched mantle. Also it's color will tell you. If it starts to bleach then it's not healthy. At night check for pyramidellid (sp?) snails. They're bad but if you have a wrasse it'll eat them. Most of all watch your water, so long as your water is in great condition the clam should do fine.

 

[Six2seven]

If it starts spitting out white fluid by retraction something is bad and is trying to heal itself. I've seen my clam recover from this but is a big no no

 

[lynncgo]

Wow lots of stuff. Thanks for the help everyone. I will post up a pic as soon as I can. The clam is about 50% open to what I think it should be at.

Any recommendations on calcium levels? I keep mine around 420, but my LFS had theirs at 450. Is that considered a big difference?

 

[Mr. Plant]

Keeping your calcium steady is whats important. 420 is fine

 

[lynncgo]

Pic of new clam! It's so hard to get a picture that shows the true color..... it's really electric blue.

At first I thought it was going to open up more, but looking at it now, I think this is as wide as it's going to get. The clam is only about 2" right now.

Does anyone know exactly what type of clam this is? All I know for certain is that it's from Australia.

 

[ClamMania]

Thats def a Maxima

Pic of new clam! It's so hard to get a picture that shows the true color..... it's really electric blue.

At first I thought it was going to open up more, but looking at it now, I think this is as wide as it's going to get. The clam is only about 2" right now.

Does anyone know exactly what type of clam this is? All I know for certain is that it's from Australia.

View attachment 12789

Now why do you think this clam is from Australia?
I haven't seen anyone that is shipping clams from Australia..

 

[ClamMania]

For this clam lighting is very important, so is Cal, Alk, and Mag.. From the color I know it comes from shallow waters.

 

[lynncgo]

Well my lfs told me it was. They had different sections.... from ora, from local, from Australia. I don't think there was a reason to lie. The price differences weren't crazy between the three. I was just so excited that I forgot to ask what type it was.

 

[Reefomeez]

Sweet clam. Like everyone has said, keep an eye on your params. Consistent levels are the key to success with clams.

 

[BeanMachine]

When purchasing the clams its important to check the base for pyramid snails... I will take a tooth brush and scrub the shell really well just in case before they go in the display tank.

 

[ClamMania]

Also watch out for gapping mouths, not a good sign.