What does a gaping clam look like, and also what does a bleaching clam look like?

[SINNERMF]

Like the title says, what does that llook like? Also if a clam does bleach, will the color come back? Just Curious.
Thank,
Mike

[[17]shawn[17]]

bleaching
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/shawn_1991/Picture100.jpg

[brandon7491]

aww poor maxima hope it gets better

[boggs32]

I hadn't seen this before. Great question and thanks for sharing the pic. I'm assuming they can recover to full color?

[skinz78]

wow that is the worst bleaching I have seen, have you started moveing it up slowly?

[mbbuna]

this is gapeing

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6300/gapingclamom6.jpg

[Kristof1]

Hi Forum,

when clams are bleached then they have lost their zooxanthelles in the bleached area. Moving the clam into brighter light won´t help in this case.

Better is this way:
Cut a piece of a Clam-Mantle or a Soft-Coral (both include Zooxanthelles) , put them into a Mixer and mix them well.

Poor the fluid through a 25µm sieve.

Move the clam in a very small tank (or something else that fits best to its size).

Feed the clam with the filtrate (the content of the sieve) and wait about 6 hours.

Put the Clam back into your normal tank.

I recommend feeding vitamines and Aminos too.

The Clam will filter the Zooxanthelles out of the water.but does not digest them. They will be transported into the Mantle and will be warehoused there.

This is the same way that is used for baby-clams in Clam-farms.


Best regards

Kristof

[SINNERMF]

will the clam or discolored area turn the same color as what was put in the blender? Or can the clam make it a certain color?

[Kristof1]

Hi Forum,

the colour of the clam is not the result of the zooxanthelles. There are Pigments which are wharehoused around the the zooxanthelles. They make the colour you can see.

The Pigments will grow aound the zooxanthelles.

I´m sorry sorry, but i can´t say anything about the colour after the explained procedure. I´m lucky that i still had no bleaching. My reply bases on my intensive inquiries about clams.

But that´s a good question!

Best regards

Kristof

[a4twenty]

zoox. can reproduce in the mantle of the clam if better lighting conditions are provided, so much to the point that the clam will start to dump zoox. with their waste. ( brown string from the incurrent siphon )

not only can they take zoox. in through there digestive system without harming them, the zoox. in there waste is expelled unharmed as well.