Deresas gaping with strange tube inside

[ejk17]

Hey there guys my deresa that is around 5" has been gaping for around 5 hours and i am wondering what could be wrong with it.

Params are good and i did pick him up and inspect him for worms or other inverts.

Inside there seems to be a large tube structure filled with liquid. It is def. part of the clam but i am not sure what it is and i have never seen it before.

The best pic i could get:

http://i55.*******.com/34ig5e1.jpg

http://i55.*******.com/2lc8mdt.jpg

Anyone seen this before or have any suggestions on what i can do to help it not gape anymore?

[moliken]

how long have you had the tank setup?
how long have you had the clam?
how much mantle does it usu show?
pm'd u

[ejk17]

how long have you had the tank setup?
how long have you had the clam?
how much mantle does it usu show?
pm'd u

The tank is 2 years old and the clam is around 2 months old. The mantle usually hangs off the shell about a third of an inch. I also have 4 other clams in the 90 system with no issues

[NYCBOB]

the clam may be ok. some clams do open very very wide. the mantle is extended, so its actually healthy.

[ejk17]

The clam has recovered! it seemed like the foot of the clam was actually in the clam! i dont know what was going on but it is fully recovered (for now).

[mroccoralman]

Good if it ever happens again do a freshwater dip thats what I do with my new clams since you cant dip them in coralRX.

[moliken]

must disagree. do not fwd. anything on the clam won't be affected by the rinse and can easily stress the clam if temp or ph is off or clam is in fw too long.

[klepto]

anything on the clam won't be affected by the rinse
Huh? Of course things will be affected. Pods and numerous other microfauna will be killed because of osmotic shock. Pyramid snails could be killed as well.

I have had good results treating pinched mantle with fresh water dips on a couple different clams. I haven't lost any in a dip and they all appear to recover from the stress rather quickly. I don't bother adjusting for pH, but only dip for a few minutes (usually around three).

Why do you so adamantly advise against FW dips? To me, it seems counterproductive to write off FW dips as a potential treatment. Clearly, the symptoms have to warrant the usage of the dip - I'm not at all advocating the random dip. Can you point me to some concrete information on why FW dips should be avoided?

I'm relatively new to keeping Tridacnids in my personal tank, but have taken care of dozens - including some mature T. gigas and T. squamosa that have been in captivity for years. I have also witnessed large moralities with small T. squamosa imports which I believe could have been avoided with FW treatments.

Don't take this as an attack, I'm trying to understand your advice and learn more about Tridacnids!

[moliken]

i have no probs w/ fwd as treatment for pm. it works. that's not the issue. as a preventative before putting clams in a tank, it's unnecessarily stressful. that removal of undesirable stuff should be done in the clam qt time. fw will absolutely not kill pyram snails.
here's a quote from wetweb media:
Anthony, I recently lost 2 gold Maximums to what I have been told is Clam Disease. Several people tell that where I purchased them has had tanks that are infected. What is this mysterious clam disease and just how can I eliminate it from my system. Should clams be freshwater dipped? Thanks Mark
<I would almost never recommend FW dipping clams. I am also quite doubtful that whoever suggested your clams had "clam disease" has a clue (however well intended they might be). The higher rates of mortality from select clam shipments recently have been limited more to batches rather than a locale/source or specific pathogen (despite folks in the industry looking for an excuse for their poor husbandry as retailers or wholesalers). We have seen this many times with other animals. There is likely no new disease... just poor handling by at least one of the bigger players in the chain of custody (importer, LA wholesaler, etc). If a LFS has a "clam problem" then they simply have water quality issues. To answer you question, bud... there is no definitive ID of a specific pathogen for this recent "condition". Preventing and eliminating it is simple: QT all livestock for 4 or more weeks first. Containment and control. Never add any fish, coral, other invertebrate or plant to your tank without a 4 week QT. It's Russian roulette if you skip QT. No meds here... simply good water quality! See the references to feeding ammonium or nitrate to clams in my coral prop book or better (!) Daniel Knop's Giant Clams book. Do this in QT to power feed the clams. Natural resistance is better than anything we can offer Tridacnids. Medicating invertebrates is still in the dark ages. With kind regards, Anthony>
on pg 199 of fatheree's book he claims that you can try a fwd for removal of stubborn algae on clam shells, "but it's drastic"
it's just unnecessary. other methods won't stress the clam nearly as much. he does recommend a 30 min fwd for protozoan removal, not for a healthy clam.
cannot locate any specific articles on it right now.
i'll ask the reverse of you: locate some concrete info on the reliability and advocacy of fwd on healthy clams. not fighting either, but i'm fairly confident about this.

[klepto]

i have no probs w/ fwd as treatment for pm. it works. that's not the issue. as a preventative before putting clams in a tank, it's unnecessarily stressful. that removal of undesirable stuff should be done in the clam qt time.

Okay, so FW dips are advisable if the clam is showing pinched mantle, but otherwise should be avoided.. Is that right?

I haven't found much info on the subject. Here's the article that encouraged me to give it a try;

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/jf/index.php

Fatherree writes: "This treatment is highly effective, and while it may be stressful, it shouldn't kill any clams that aren't already seriously compromised. It might sound hard to believe that a tridacnid can survive such a long period in freshwater, but you should note that in their natural habitat many live in very shallow water and often become exposed to air at low tide and can end up sitting in the rain for up to several hours before the tide comes back in. Dick Perrin, owner of Tropicorium, also told me a story about putting a few clams in a bucket of freshwater and actually forgetting about them for several hours, but they all survived, too. The pinched mantle condition is consistently fatal unless treated, so even if a freshwater dip is stressful to a clam, you've got nothing to lose by trying."

[moliken]

Okay, so FW dips are advisable if the clam is showing pinched mantle, but otherwise should be avoided.. Is that right?
that's the essence. fwd is a necessary, properly done, for pm disease. caught early pmd can be gotten rid of w/ a fwd, but for an unhealthy clam, it's usually too late.