moving clam?

[cavipower1]

well even after placing pieces of plexiglass all around the bottom of my bare bottom 20l my clam still managed to moved to like the one spot that didnt have a piece of plexiglass and attach itself there lol, just my luck haha. anyways im gonna be buying some sand to throw in there and would like to get it loose stick it in the sand with a piece of plexiglass under it so if it does stick to that i can move it around. wats the best if any way to get the clam to free itself? i dont wanna force it since im sure it will kill it if i rip the foot off or something of the sort, any help is appreciated thanks!

[JimD]

umm, Why not just leave it alone?

[cavipower1]

just cuz its in a spot that doesnt get alot of light plus it moved toward the back of the tank and because i have a bigger tank that is a couple months old that i was gonna move everything into, i guess ill just wait lol and see if it lets go if not im gonna have a one clam only tank for a while

[lhoy]

Whenever getting clams, it is good to set them on an old clam shell or something to let them attach the byssal threads to it and then you can move them at leisure. If he doesn't liek the spot, he will move and if you move and tear the byssal threads it is a goner.

Lee

[BIGBIRD123]

You can take a cold bottle of water and poke a hole in the lid to make it squirt. Squirt the water at the clam's foot and it will let go.

HTH
Steve

[MadMike]

thats good to know, cus i got a clam too.

[Richard]

Is it attached to a rock or the glass?

I always removed them using a razor blade to cut the byssal threads. It's easy if it's attached to glass, just keep the blade angled toward the glass. More tricky if he's on a rock. Basically, it's ok to cut the byssal threads but you don't want to damage the byssal gland.

[Fish4life]

I've heard that big clams could potentially crack the tank if it closes abruptly.

kurt

[erikharrison]

I've seen one shoot about a gallon of water onto the floor when it closed. :)

[cavipower1]

hes attached to the glass, and ill try the water bottle method first if he dont let go ive been reading about using a razor blade to cut the byssal threads

[JimD]

If its on the glass, try wedging a credit card between the foot and the glass then scraping it away from the glass.

[cavipower1]

thatll work too haha

[joelb]

i have a clam that is easily a foot big and heavy and it attached itself to the rock it was on and i decided to move the rock higher in the tank and the next morning the clam was face down in the sand and a large "meat" looking thing (his foot or whatever its called) was still attached to the origional rock. the clam is doing just fine and it has been at least 6 months. i also had to move another clamfrom a rock but this one was ATTACHED big time, i ripped it off and tore the bottum and the clam is also doing just fine. so, i know it wont die from being removed....good luck

[hobogato]

....this one was ATTACHED big time, i ripped it off and tore the bottum and the clam is also doing just fine.....

i would say you got very lucky there. a have read many times that the threads can be cut with a razor blade, but that pulling them could injur the clam internally and leave it open for infection. also, if a clam is severely stressed, it releases a scent that nassarius snails and hermits cant resist. i have read of people losing clams to predation by these opportunistic feeders after stressing the clam. dont forget to burp it if you take it all of the way out of the water - trapped air can cause a clam to slowly suffocate over time.

[dapettit]

Burp ti? Never heard that one before. . .

[hobogato]

yeah, once you put it back in the water, turn it every which way you can (cue music bad clint eastwood movie) while it is submerged to make sure all air bubbles work their way out.

[dapettit]

Good information and thanks.

[tony]

i would say you got very lucky there. a have read many times that the threads can be cut with a razor blade, but that pulling them could injur the clam internally and leave it open for infection. also, if a clam is severely stressed, it releases a scent that nassarius snails and hermits cant resist. i have read of people losing clams to predation by these opportunistic feeders after stressing the clam. dont forget to burp it if you take it all of the way out of the water - trapped air can cause a clam to slowly suffocate over time.


when i lost mine my snails and hermits were circling like buzzards before it bit the dust. id say they were the final straw.

[mattymalcolm]

i am not sure this is correct but i read somewhere that when you remove them out of the water its best to do it upside down.