Clam dying?

Doc

I don't work for anybody
I noticed this morning that my clam's mouth ws gaping open more than usual and that the lips are pulled in. It seems as if there is something wrong with it. Any ideas? there is still color, but the lights have been on for an hour and it has not reached out its mantle. I have not turned it over to see if the foot is all brown and nasty, but I fear it is sick.

-Doc
 
How long have you had the clam Doc?Has anything nipped at it?And have you checked for parasites?
Thats about all I can think of that might be causing your problem.
 
That's exactly what happened to one of my clams! It was doing fine for a long time, and my other clam was looking great, but then it started to retract its mantle... Once that starts to happen, it means they are on their way out. I left it alone for a day or so, but then my cleaner crew started climbing all over it (they smell death knocking on its door), so I moved it up to the rocks, but when I flipped it over to see its foot, it was just a slimey gooey mess. I pulled it out of the water and that thing was STAN-KAY!!! That's when I knew it was gone.

Just saying, what you're describing was exactly how mine started going downhill. I still have no idea why it died. Like I said, the other clam was positioned about 8 inches away and is thriving.
 
sorry to read this doc..i have spoken to friends that had clams before and thats the way as biff said they start to die..clams are very delicate..it doesnt means that your system lacks of somting..somtimes they just die without reason...
 
yeah Rigo, guess it was time for it to go. I pulled it out of the water when I noticed stringy white stuff coming out of the mouth. I turned it over and the meat on the bottom was pretty brown and it had a wonderful odor to it. reminde me of that left-over liquid smell in an old package of bologna. Pretty nasty.

I cut out the animal from the shell since I did not want it to fall apart in my tank and cause an ammonia spike that would kill my whole system. I tossed the animal and cleaned out the shell. My wife is starting a collection of marine seashells, starfish skeletons, and dead coral for the living room "ocean theme". I will keep it outside until the left over meat is all gone and wash it out again and place it proudly on display. Such is life.

-Doc
 
I never noticed parasites on it nor small snails eating it. I have no idea what happened, but I will not be trying another one for a while. I cannot justify losing another $40 for an animal that I cannot help live if it gets sick. I am not familiar enough with them to risk it again for a while.

-Doc
 
I don't seem to get emotionally attached to inverts and clams the same as I do the fish. It is tough to convince me clams have personality, regardless what Disney tells me

-Doc
 
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