Pinched mantel on my maxima?

[lakereef]

I've skimmed these forums and google to get a better picture of what pinched mantle looks like. I think my maxima may have it but not sure. Please look at these pictures and tell me what you think. Sorry about the quality, the new iphone sucks with LEDs.

Also seems different people have different opinions on the fw dip as well. Temp match yes, but does pH need to match as well?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/nu8ysa8y.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/agavujaq.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/2eny9ehu.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/da5e2u4e.jpg

[lakereef]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/a5y5u8aq.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/gunyma8y.jpg

[MM WI]

do a water change and any tank maintenance you are behind on. Dont let them talk you into fresh water dips are any **** like that. Your bacteria are too high in the tank. If your water temp is on the higher side, lower it. I like around 76F to keep bacteria and other animals that thrive in check. Lower organics and lower temperatures keep them in check.

good luck, your maximas look nice.

- mark

[moliken]

i agree w/ mm that a fwd is not needed, but how does mm know the bacteria count is too low?
and for reference fwd should be at same temp and as close to same ph as tank water.

[lakereef]

Thanks guys. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. This clam is so beautiful not to mention expensive, I'm trying to be careful!

[lakereef]

Clam looks about the same today. Here's a couple better pictures. I've hi-lighted the spots that concern me.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/03/qapujyva.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/03/ubezu6yb.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/03/9a3u7e7a.jpg

[MM WI]

I am talking about bacteria and other micro organisms being too high. This happens with high organic and high temperature. A little tank maintenance usually makes PM and other problems go away, If I said too low i was mistaken, i have the bad habit of head to text and hitting enter without checking for typos which can be very misleading sometimes

Keep us posted,:)

mark

[MM WI]

OK, i see it was lazy reading in this case - same difference. Did you take my advice with a water change, maybe clean your skimmer cup so it iwll work better, do filter maintenance if you use one, etc. ?

[lakereef]

OK, i see it was lazy reading in this case - same difference. Did you take my advice with a water change, maybe clean your skimmer cup so it iwll work better, do filter maintenance if you use one, etc. ?

Yup I did a water change and lowered the water a degree to 77. No change yet, will keep you posted.

[MM WI]

your in Milwaukee, we have likely met. Maybe at the Discovery World or the MARS swaps. If you have been in the hobby long anyway or in the area long.

- Mark

[Maxxumless]

Clam looks about the same today. Here's a couple better pictures. I've hi-lighted the spots that concern me.

I'm by no means an expert on clams, but that doesn't look like a PM to me. Just look's like he's not entirely happy. I don't see any tank info, so I couldn't even venture a good guess. If your lighting is 'almost' good enough (likely), a clam can take months to waist away. If it's too intense (unlikely), he could just be exposing enough flesh to fill his energy requirements. He could have a snail problem (have you inspected him carefully?). People in the reef hobby tend to look at water changes like computer people look at rebooting computers - the big difference being reboots have a much better track record.

Some other thoughts would be - Has he been moving or adjusting himself (I see he's on a plug... did he plant himself on it?). How long have you had him (clam's, especially Crocea and Maxima, tend not to have long life spans in aquariums at young ages)?

[lakereef]

your in Milwaukee, we have likely met. Maybe at the Discovery World or the MARS swaps. If you have been in the hobby long anyway or in the area long.

- Mark

Probably have seen you, but don't think we've met. I've only been in the saltwater hobby a little over a year. I am a member of the wisconsin reef society.

Quinn

[lakereef]

I'm by no means an expert on clams, but that doesn't look like a PM to me. Just look's like he's not entirely happy. I don't see any tank info, so I couldn't even venture a good guess. If your lighting is 'almost' good enough (likely), a clam can take months to waist away. If it's too intense (unlikely), he could just be exposing enough flesh to fill his energy requirements. He could have a snail problem (have you inspected him carefully?). People in the reef hobby tend to look at water changes like computer people look at rebooting computers - the big difference being reboots have a much better track record.

Some other thoughts would be - Has he been moving or adjusting himself (I see he's on a plug... did he plant himself on it?). How long have you had him (clam's, especially Crocea and Maxima, tend not to have long life spans in aquariums at young ages)?


Here's my current parameters.

Nitrate 0 (Serfert test kit)
Phosphates 0 (Hanna meter)
Cal 450ppm
Mag 1400
Alk 8.4

Light - I have the radion pro - running for 8 hours at about 70%, couple hours dawn/dusk. I have access to a par meter and believe the clam is in about 150-200 PAR on the sand bed.

I've been fighting hair algae for the last couple months, which I have tracked down the source. I have high levels of C02 in my RO water which was killing my DI seemly instantly. Hair algae was just starting to fad and now I'm seeing a very slight start of dino, especially in my fug. I've watched the phosphates go to zero and now the nitrates are zero as well. I'm guessing the little bit of dino and the recent water changes have brought those down to nothing. Dino worries my a bit, and I've had good luck with lights out before, but with such a small amount i'm not sure if it's needed. The corals seem unaffected by the dino for the most part, only a couple zoos are not opening.

The clam I added a few weeks ago right when I thought my numbers were finally perfect and before the mini dino outbreak started. I didn't see it in a store as a buddy picked it out for me, but I assume it looked similar. He hasn't moved off the plug that he came on, but seems like he's secured himself to it further.

[Maxxumless]

Well, the first problem may be your water; clams don't mind a little nitrates & phosphates. Many of the people that have had clams, especially maxima's and crocea's, don't maintain zero impurities. The ones that do usually feed their corals/clams to make up for fewer nutrients in the water.

The second problem is most assuredly light. Off the top of my head, crocea, which I have, regularly get on average 700-800 PAR, peaking over 1200, during a day cycle in the wild. Maxima aren't far behind. You're keeping your aquarium in perpetual dawn [PAR] light levels at the bottom of your tank.

Advice for clams can be complicated. Turning off your skimmer a day or two out of the week and running without strong chemical media for a little while could be dangerous, especially if you have algae problems and/or SPS. It's pretty obvious he's starving right now, so your best bet is to get him into an environment that he can recover in. If you cannot do that the best I can offer is to raise him to the top of your tank closer to the light, but not so high that he freaks out (say 400-500 PAR area) and begin to feed your tank with him in mind every few days.

[MM WI]

Maxxumless's advice is common here. They say you need tons of light. I have grown Maximas from tiny one inch clams to six or seven inches under 150 watt MH and under bright fluorescents. I have never and will never measure par. Water quality is the holy grail of salt water followed by a complete ecosystem with a very large variety of life supporting your aquarium. You are on the learning curve. My advice is take any advice with a grain of salt. My experience has thoroughly proven wrong a great deal of the dogma you will hear on the internet. I dont have any experience with the LED lighting so I really cant comment there other than saying I use much less light they recommend in here and i have clams the size of your head that started out as babies. So we can ignore that survive not thrive bull ****. To see if the clams want more light you can place them higher in the water column to see if they respond positively.

[Maxxumless]

Thus me saying clam advice can be complicated. I've kept derasa under PC lighting for years - so I know it can be done. I've also lost one under the exact same lighting after three months. I've used MH, T5HO, and now trying LED's (hate those electric bills). I've seen clams from the same parents grow twice the size as their siblings in the same tank under the same conditions. Reefkeeping can be very complicated and one of the reasons is there's so much conflicting (mostly anecdotal) observations in the hobby.

I highly recommend reading some of James W. Fatherree's work on giant clams and his aquarium observations... here (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/2/inverts).

[MM WI]

very good advice. There is a ton to learn on this hobby. I have been doing it since i was 12 and I am still learning and some questions don't just have one correct answer. You will need to find your path.

Maybe someday you will make it to buy animals here someday and you can check out my setup. MARS has for years been one of the best clubs in the county but recently it has turned into a ghost town. Too many people taking down tanks and moving away. I hope WRS is still active. Plus I have not been nearly as active lately either.

- mark

[lakereef]

After the 3 days blackout for dinos, I think the clam looks a bit better.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/10/urebyraj.jpg

In a couple days I'm planning on moving up closer to the light.

Nitrates 3ppm
Phosphates .09ppm

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/10/4a7ysu2y.jpg

[Maxxumless]

Is that a 60g? I'm fond of the Marineland 60g rimless version with the holes drilled on the bottom. It's a pretty deep tank though, which requires intense lighting.

Remember, animals have their off days too. Clams, IME, tend to open fully after the first hour or so of the light cycle, stay fully open for 5-6 hours, and will gradually contract toward the end of the day. So, if you're taking photos of the clam at the end of the day and not observing it during the middle, you may just be missing it's basking time. I'm no expert though, so take that with a grain of salt.

Hope it works out for you.