Known Clam predators.

[montepora]

Please share if you ever experienced the same.

I woke up this morning to find my 1.5" clam dead. The meat is all gone, the clam was upside down with this thick mucus covering the shells. This has to be predator of some sort and I would like to get some directions on what to look for. This is second time this happened, the first one was a few months back also to a small clam with exact the same result, clam up side down, thick mucus and the meat all gone. I have several clams and these two are the smallest.

Thx.

[scapes]

i've had many of clams that would be fine when i went to bed and wake up the next day-POOF! dead. just b/c the shell was upside down doesn't mean a predator killed it.. nasarrius snails and bristleworms will eat the clam once it's dead and they could have moved it in the feeding frenzy. for this reason, i have given up on buying clams. they are just too finicky for me

[moliken]

meat gone means yr cleanup crew did its job. many predators can kill a clam. why don't you list yr inhabitants? that might be a good place to start to id predators.

[tahoe61]

Do not buy clams 2 inches or under, they will most likely not survive in the average hobbyist tank. Their nutritional needs can not be met in a closed system. The only chance is target feeding with phyoplankton, but that is hit and miss. Save you money and get a clam over 3 inches. Sorry for you loss I know it is frustrating. The larger the clam the better the chances of success.

[Flamehawk1221]

piramelid snails the size of a grain of rice. Check the underside. Whelk snails. Check the clam at night with a flash light.

[thompsontwins]

what about low PH 7.8

[SMITTY27030]

ive bout given up too...i have keyhole limpets and thing that is whats taking mine...but dont know what to do to rid them

[moliken]

update, monte??

[montepora]

update, monte??

All the other larger clams I have are doing fine, my parameters are fine. I have SPS dominated tank and the tank has been set up for the past 5 years without any issues. I did not see any pest snails around the empty shells either.

The reason why I thought of the predators is because the way the clam was eaten (turned upside down), the secretion of mucus to me is a defense mechanism when the clam was under stress and when predators preying on the clam, it would start from the bottom where they can have access to the foot of the clam and work their way in. However, I think some of the forum members are right, smaller clams tend to be unstable and unless you have a dedicated set up for them, I wouldn't try them again.

Thanks.