leopard wrasse picking at clam.

[es1887]

so just as the title says, my leopard wrasse has been picking at and around my clams mantle. well not actually the mantle. it is picking at the inside of the shell. it constantly does this, no matter how much she eats, and she is a pig. i just saw her nipping at the inside of the shell and come up with a long (1/4") piece of some thing from the inside of the clam. again it is not actually getting the fleshy mantle, but just right above the mantle. it obviously is keeping my closed probably more than it would like to be. i am worried about the clam dying. has anyone else had the problem? i have six other clams and it only seems to be picking at 1 maxima, she doesnt even touch the much larger derasa i have. any help would be much appreciated. thanks

[namxas]

I kept a leopard wrasse for several years with about 5 clams and altho she did pick at the shell margins of the clams, she never actually picked at the mantles. The clams never seemed to mind, and I know the wrasse was simply hunting and cleaning the shells up.
Is it possible that the maxima may have Pyramidellae hiding beneath the mantle? Most wrasses do eat them with gusto.

[snorvich]

Is it possible that the maxima may have Pyramidellae hiding beneath the mantle? Most wrasses do eat them with gusto.

Or pyramidellae eggs? I have clams and leopard wrasses with no issues.

[namxas]

Or pyramidellae eggs? I have clams and leopard wrasses with no issues.

That too... :)

[es1887]

definitely do not have any of those guys. it only does it to one of the clams, which is now starting to open up some more since adding the wrasse. she would constantly pick at the outer shell, which would make the clam flinch a little and then when the clam flinched she would pick at the inner part of the shell. and by inner i mean still at the top portion of the shell, just on the inside of it. she doesnt actually touch the mantle, just the shell. and when i saw her pull something off it was thin, fibrous, and about a 1/4" long, it looked like a piece of bone. she would literally latch on and try to rip off what looked like a piece of the shell. it is weird. it thought for sure she was picking at some pest the was potentially eating my clams, but i searched and searched and found no such evidence of any pests. i do hope that she stops doing it though. i have moved the clam to a different spot and she seems to have calmed down a little bit. maybe it was just in the spot she wanted to bury in. thanks for the replies!