Possible Case of Pinched Mantle (T. Gigas)

[bassettmd]

Hello,

I have had this clam since Janruary of this year and as you can imagine it has grown quite some bit in that time frame (it is now around 16 inches in size). Since Friday I have noticed that the mantle has been largely retracted... not extending out over its shell during both the day and night time periods. There are no locations of localized bleaching, bite marks, etc. I do have 3 other clams in the tank, all of whom are unaffected by whatever is going on.

I have watched the tank all day to see if anyone (the trigger) has been nipping and I have see nothing. No signs of pyramid snails or any other parasitic organism. Could the sarcophyton on his right be causing this in any way? The only thing that comes to my mind after being in this hobby for over 2 years and working at two LFSs is pinched mantle... let me know what to do for I have the freswater up to temp and pH in case a fresh water dip is needed!

Tank Equipment:
- 2x 250 metal halides (14k bulbs, less than 2 months old)
- Aqua EV 180 protein skimmer
- Lifegard 24 watt UV sterilizer (run reverse cycle)

Tank Inhabitants:
- Niger trigger
- Sailfin Tang
- Maroon Clowns
- Target Mandarin

Chems:
#1 Calcium 450 ppm
#2 Salinity 1.025 (refractometer)
#3 Alkalinity 12 dKH
#4 Ph 8.3
#5 Magnesium ?? (dont test, but perform regular 10 gallon water changes which keep it in check)
#6 Temp 76-80 deg F
#7 Nitrates 10 (i keep nitrates here all the time since it is primarily a softie & LPS tank)
#8 Nitrites 0
#9 Phosphate ?? (havent tested ever..., no algae growth in tank whatsoever)
#10 Ammonia 0ppm

I would be very willing to go buy a test kit for both phosphate and magnesium... let me know if you think this would be necessary. I DO NOT want to lose my prized clam!

Most Recent FTS: (Gigas on the Left)
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u18/bassettmd/Reed%20Tank%2011-26/IMG_3012.jpg

[bassettmd]

Most Up To Date Photo:

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u18/bassettmd/DSC05060.jpg

[a4twenty]

i don't see any signs of PM but maybe you could post a top down pic.


how do you maintain Ca, Alk and Mg??

have you recently started dosing anything new?

are you using a GFO?

[bassettmd]

I maintain Ca and Alk with Kent Turbo Calcium and Seachem Reef Builder dosings 3x per week. I perform a ten gallon water change every week. I am going to pick up a new bag of carbon today just in case. I am not currently using any phosphate media (not in the last three weeks), however I have been using the Kent phosphate media for as long as I have had the clam. Only thing that I have been dosing that is new is called Kent Marine Tech M ( i dose two capfuls every week)... but just to boost mag levels a little due to the fact it is a reef tank with clams and some SPS & alot of LPS

[a4twenty]

tech m contains iron, if these symptoms have been occurring since starting to dose this ......

i would stop dosing, run the new carbon and do a water change as well.

also please post a top down pic when you get a chance.

[bassettmd]

I have been dosing this product for about 2 and 1/2 months now... would you still say to discontinue use based on this? Symptoms have been showing since this past friday.

[a4twenty]

for now, i'd stop just to be sure

as i said in my first post i don't see the common signs of PM but another pic from another angle may tell a different story.

[mbbuna]

i dont see PM either. magnesium is used at about 1/16 of Ca and alk. are you testing and dosing MG to get to a desired level? or dosing as per the back of the bottle?

[bassettmd]

Updated Pics:

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u18/bassettmd/DSC05062.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u18/bassettmd/DSC05061.jpg

See any signs of PM?

I dose blindly two capfuls blindly (bottle reccomends 1mL per gallon) Cap is 5 mLs... tank is 65 gallons. I dont check magnesium levels, but I can tomorrow however I do not see any problems over the past two months with my large variety of corals or other clams. I will stop for the time being, and check mag tomorrow. Any one think the sarcophyton could be to blame? Any other theories?

[a4twenty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11307556#post11307556 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bassettmd
Any one think the sarcophyton could be to blame? Any other theories?

i'm not sure but leathers can play some nast chemical warfare, any chance you could move the coral?

[skinz78]

would running carbon help neutralize chemical warfare?

[bassettmd]

Yes it does... One of the reasons why I run carbon in my tank all the time. I put a new bag in as of today, I hope that this will clear things up!

[johnnybravo234]

Ditch or move that leather.. they can be very nasty to neighbors. If the clams mantle was touching it, the leather was probably producing some nice toxic slime.

[johnnybravo234]

Hows he doing?

[bassettmd]

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated... He is doing much better currently. I removed the large sarcophyton near him in case that was causing him any harm and added a large fresh bag of carbon to my sump. While he is not 100% better, his mantle extension is improving every day. Thanks for everyone's help, I will post some pics of him when he has made a full recovery!

[a4twenty]

good to hear :)