Its as I feared...

[ezcompany]

Tonight my black and white maxima wasn't looking too well.
It kinda looked like pinched mantle. I took her out and it was as I feared, the snails that I thought were baby ceriths were chillin on the shell. I found 1 on the black and white, and 3 on the blue and red. The problem is, the chutes in their shells are so deep the pyramids are impervious to the toothbrush. Finding 4 snails on 2 of my clams is enough for me to conclude they are pyramids. I have brushed all 5 of my clams, inspected them with a flashlight, and removed what i can using a syringe. two were located near the mantle, 2 were hidden well within the deep scutes of the maximas. the base of all the clams look to be fine. two of the clams were attached too strong that i didn't dare risk cutting their threads. the others i cut as far as possible using an exacto knife. I think I'm going through a nightmare.
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1299/img4334ar0.jpg
notice the tan color at the tip which is why i thought it was a cerith
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/3044/img4331eg0.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8548/img4326rz3.jpg

[mbbuna]

EZ sorry to here you got pyrams. i replied to you over there about what you need to do. also this is one of the reasons i made this thread, it can save you a lot of heartache especially if your collecting clams as you are.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=987725

[ezcompany]

Yeah, its pretty amazing at what can slip by your eye.
Fortunately I think I caught this pretty early so no significant damage has been done. Tomorrow I should remove most of my sand where the clam is to isolate the predator. I was also planning to go bare bottom anyways. I will brush my clams 3 times a week for a month, then once a week the month after that.

[Unarce]

Good luck, ez! I'm having issues with my teardrop as well:( Haven't been able to find any snails, though, so I can't pinpoint what's wrong.

:( :( :( :( :(

[ezcompany]

Karl, which teardrop, the rainbow one? can you post a pic? maybe others can help you out!
When you check for snails, you really have to go over them well! I took mine out of the water and inspected it for 15 minutes using a flashlight, toothpick, and syringe. i even used a cutter to cut any extra crap on the shell to check, such as old vermetid snail tubes.

[Unarce]

Yes, it's the rainbow:(

I'll try and post a pic as soon as I can. Yesterday, there was very abnormal extension, where it would just cup up along the edge. Extension was just barely over the shell. It's not folded over like PM, so I'm stumped. I took it out for inspection (usual flashlight, toothbrush, & toothpick) and didn't find anything.

During my observation yesterday, the clam did not react at all to any movement or light change stimuli, only touch. Today, it's reacting to movement.

I'm going to leave it alone for a few days, as I don't want to stress it out anymore than I should. Color teardrops seem to be the least hardy of all clams, so it's looking at an uphill battle.

Maybe I'll get a Christmas miracle.

[Sal Amato]

:lol:

[mbbuna]

Karl

are you having any fluctuations in Alk?

have you made any large adjustments in Ca or Alk?

have you started or stopped any additives?

[Unarce]

No changes, Chris.

Here's what I'm looking at now. Lights are off, but the extension was not much different than when the lights were on. Looks a little better than yesterday, but I don't know if I'd call it a major step up.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/unarcephotos/Clams/sick.jpg

The cupping of the mantle is just plain weird.

[mbbuna]

the only times ive had anything like that was an Alk issue.

you dont have a nipper do you?

[Unarce]

I'll double test my alk tonight. Maybe something's out of balance. It's a little reassuring that you've seen this before. I will keep you updated.

How's the b/w doing, ez?

[ezcompany]

after brushing all my clams last night, i have not inspected them yet as the lights are still off in the morning when i go to work. hopefully i have some good news when i go back home tonight.

keep us updated on your rainbow, and check those scutes for pyramids!!!

[ezcompany]

brush #2: only found one pyramid this time. hopefully this is just a small scale attack. question, can pyramids hide inside the clam under the bysal opening? can they also suck blood off the bottom of the clam or only the mantle?

[JR719]

Have not been checking this forum in a few days. Sorry to hear you "got the snails". Good luck with the scrubbing and picking, hope you get rid of them.

JR

[SuperNerd]

There are two types of "pyramid" snails, correct? Ones that go for clams and ones that go for snails?

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8806480#post8806480 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ezcompany
brush #2: only found one pyramid this time. hopefully this is just a small scale attack. question, can pyramids hide inside the clam under the bysal opening? can they also suck blood off the bottom of the clam or only the mantle?

they can suck the blood from any fleshy part of the clam. you will find them along the byssal opening also. they can get into the clam but that usually takes some time. if the clam has been under attack for some time its byssal gland will start to turn gray and the clam will start to pull it in leaving an opening for the snails.

keep brushing even if you dont see any because the egg sacks are clear and there may be some tiny ones you cant see yet.

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8806564#post8806564 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SuperNerd
There are two types of "pyramid" snails, correct? Ones that go for clams and ones that go for snails?

there are over 1000 species of pyrams. AFIK there is no conclusive proof either way that the species' we deal with will or wont.

[ezcompany]

Would it then be better, to provide a rock so they can securely cover their byssal opening? Would you know if the pyramids are proficient in burrowing through substrate?

[Sal Amato]

Just tagging along, how do you know those snails werent just munching on microscopic algae on your clam shells. Seems like you are jumping the gun and stressing your clams out.

[ezcompany]

Thats what I initially assumed them to be, baby cerith snails, until I actually found two of them on the mantle of the clam itself. Trust me, if you have rare clams nothing is jumping the gun.

[Unarce]

It's a narrow path we tread:(

[ezcompany]

Karl, any luck with your rainbow

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8809770#post8809770 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ezcompany
Would it then be better, to provide a rock so they can securely cover their byssal opening? Would you know if the pyramids are proficient in burrowing through substrate?

for now i would place them in a dish of sand so you can throw it away every week or so. i would rather be able to easily access the byssal opening for cleaning.

[Unarce]

<by ezcompany
Karl, any luck with your rainbow

Looks the same to me. No improvement, no decline. I'm going to continue to leave it alone for a few days.