Gah, bought a Maxima with pinched mantle

dartier · 09/11/2017, 07:39 PM

I should have known better when I was in the local chain LFS to not take a chance on their livestock. There was a metallic blue maxima (about 4-5" across) that was on sale. He was laying his side, so I could not quite see if his mantle was fully extended. Long story short, he appears to have a pinched mantle extending half way along his mantle on both sides. I have been waiting patiently to see if he would open up fully since Saturday. Today the mantle did not look any better, if anything worse, so I decided to try a FW dip. Nothing to lose at this point as he is a goner if it does not correct soon.

I have never done a FW dip, and frankly the concept of putting a saltwater creature in FW makes me feel a bit unsettled. I matched the temperature and PH of the FW before doing the dip. I left him in for 15 minutes. I turned my lights off right after, so will have to wait until tomorrow to see how he fared.

I just ordered some Lugol's online and will have that on hand for future (an iodine dip is supposed to be less stressful on the clam).

Fingers crossed.

Dennis

PoriferaBob · 09/12/2017, 06:06 AM

I'm sorry to hear of your situation. I too am experiencing this same problem. My brand new beautiful Maxima started to show signs of PM two days after introduce into my system.

I attempted a FW Dip and haven't yet noticed much improvement but it seems to have slowed the spread.

I was having a bit of trouble trying to match the ph of my RO water to my tank. Can you possibly explain step by step how you adjust your ph to match?

Also, what are the steps and directions for using Lugols for PM? I have never heard of this as a solution for PM and would love to know more.

Thank you and good luck to you.

dartier · 09/12/2017, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoriferaBob

I'm sorry to hear of your situation. I too am experiencing this same problem. My brand new beautiful Maxima started to show signs of PM two days after introduce into my system.

I attempted a FW Dip and haven't yet noticed much improvement but it seems to have slowed the spread.

I was having a bit of trouble trying to match the ph of my RO water to my tank. Can you possibly explain step by step how you adjust your ph to match?

Also, what are the steps and directions for using Lugols for PM? I have never heard of this as a solution for PM and would love to know more.

Thank you and good luck to you.

The mantle on my Maxima is much better today. It is not fully extended (so still pinched by most definitions), but a lot better than it was yesterday. Yesterday 50% of it was severely pursed.

To prepare the dip I did the following.

Floated a large (plastic) measuring bowl in the tank filled with RODI water with the handle hooked over the side of the tank. Because it is almost to the same level as the tank water, it just barely floated, while keeping the RODI and tank water separate.,
Moved my PH probe and 1 of my temperature sensors into the dip bowl.
Added 1 pipette of saturated kalkwasser (about 1 ML). Then I waited for the PH to stop climbing. I got lucky and it settled in close to the tank PH.
Then I removed a cup of RODI water and heated it in the microwave. Added it back to the dip bowl and repeated with a smaller amount.
Once the RODI was to temperature, I re-confirmed that the PH was good (it was with 0.02 units) and added my clam.
I left him in for 15 minutes, swishing him around a few times in my hand to get the RODI to into his shell.
Removed him after 15 minutes, returned him to the tank and turned off the lights for the day.

I plan on feeding him some phyto tonight to help in his recovery. I expect that subsequent dips may be required in the coming days/weeks, but I want to give him a chance to turn the corner if possible on his own. I expect that the time he spent in the LFS tank under mediocre lights was probably pretty stressful on him.

For the iodine dip, I will need to lookup the recommendations myself. You use tank water, and add a few drops of Lugol's to it. I will need to find the amount of water, the number of drops and the recommended dip time.

Dennis

PoriferaBob · 09/12/2017, 09:23 PM

Thank you very much for that awesome very detailed reply! I know this may seem like a simple procedure but no one ever covers it. Thank you very much! I'm glad to hear things are looking up for your new clam. Mine is looking a little better today as well (knock on wood). Please keep me posted with the Lugols information if you don't mind.

09/11/2017, 07:39 PM	#1
dartier Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Brampton, ON, Canada Posts: 958	Gah, bought a Maxima with pinched mantle I should have known better when I was in the local chain LFS to not take a chance on their livestock. There was a metallic blue maxima (about 4-5" across) that was on sale. He was laying his side, so I could not quite see if his mantle was fully extended. Long story short, he appears to have a pinched mantle extending half way along his mantle on both sides. I have been waiting patiently to see if he would open up fully since Saturday. Today the mantle did not look any better, if anything worse, so I decided to try a FW dip. Nothing to lose at this point as he is a goner if it does not correct soon. I have never done a FW dip, and frankly the concept of putting a saltwater creature in FW makes me feel a bit unsettled. I matched the temperature and PH of the FW before doing the dip. I left him in for 15 minutes. I turned my lights off right after, so will have to wait until tomorrow to see how he fared. I just ordered some Lugol's online and will have that on hand for future (an iodine dip is supposed to be less stressful on the clam). Fingers crossed. Dennis __________________ 560G Miracles tank in process making a DIY DyMiCo style filter (for 560G) Current Tank Info: 560G Miracles tank in progress, 80Frag Temporary

09/12/2017, 06:06 AM	#2
PoriferaBob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Kansas Posts: 335	I'm sorry to hear of your situation. I too am experiencing this same problem. My brand new beautiful Maxima started to show signs of PM two days after introduce into my system. I attempted a FW Dip and haven't yet noticed much improvement but it seems to have slowed the spread. I was having a bit of trouble trying to match the ph of my RO water to my tank. Can you possibly explain step by step how you adjust your ph to match? Also, what are the steps and directions for using Lugols for PM? I have never heard of this as a solution for PM and would love to know more. Thank you and good luck to you.

09/12/2017, 09:23 PM	#4
PoriferaBob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Kansas Posts: 335	Thank you very much for that awesome very detailed reply! I know this may seem like a simple procedure but no one ever covers it. Thank you very much! I'm glad to hear things are looking up for your new clam. Mine is looking a little better today as well (knock on wood). Please keep me posted with the Lugols information if you don't mind.