Clam Predators?

[zerreissen]

Hey guys. I bought a crocea clam last Wednesday, July 2nd. I left to go to the lake Thursday and was gone all day Friday. I came home late Friday night to find my clam gone, as in an empty shell, picked clean.

My mom was looking after the tank and said she had seen the clam Friday morning and said he looked fine, but was gone later Friday evening.

What would eat a clam like that? I have one large, very aggressive hermit crab, which I should have banished to the sump long ago (he is now), but other than that I have a flame angel, two perculas, a fire shrimp, a skunk cleaner, a peppermint, and a pistol shrimp, and a number of smaller hermits and snails.



Here's the green terror in his turbo shell
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c393/zerreissen/DSC_6984-2.jpg

[Jonthefishguy]

I have never seen a hermit bother a clam unless it was dead or dying. You mentioned that you have snails. What kind? It is possible that if you nassarius snails or welks, they could have been the predator as both are known to eat clams. If your clam was on its way out, chances are your snails ate it up and cleaned it out. They can do that VERY fast.

[rz1a]

i would consider what john said as well. what comes to mind when something eats a clam that fast would be either whelks or flatworms

[aquasport24]

What about the flame angel? It might started , and everything else finish it off.

[LoneStar]

I think its a possibility the flame angel could have picked at it till the clam died. Then your clean up crew just did their job....

[zerreissen]

Yes, I do have a number of nassarius snails, as well as 1 turbo, several margaritas, and a couple of ceriths.
No flatworms here.

Would it do me good to move the clam off of the sand bed and higher up in the tank?

[aquasport24]

No, it would not help if it was higher. You should remove the flame angel if you decide to have clam in the future. Some people would have some luck with them being reef safe, but alot of people don't. I know flame angel are so cool looking too.

[zerreissen]

I think its a possibility the flame angel could have picked at it till the clam died. Then your clean up crew just did their job....

Didn't think of that... it certainly is a possibility. I know I've heard of them not being so reef safe, but he hasn't touched any of my corals, so I didn't think anything of it.

[Jonthefishguy]

It doesnt matter where you put the clam. The nassarius snails will smell the clam and follow it. Thats just something they will sometimes do.

[Mr_Cool]

I had a flame angel in with a teardrop maxima for about 6 months with no problems at all. I guess it's hit or miss with the dwarf angels, though. If you never saw the flame picking at the mantle, I doubt it was him.

[CoryDude]

I've personally had a common live rock crab pull a 4" crocea clean from it's shell during the broad daylight. My wife witnessed the incident and still talks about how "disgusting" it was. Have you looked around your tank at night to see if anything unwanted hitchhiked it's way into your tank. Just a thought.

[zerreissen]

I still think it was that darn hermit crab. He's done some extensive damage in the past, I really should have gotten rid of him long ago, but for some reason I didn't.

I actually picked up another crocea on Saturday, before I posted this thread up, because I figured it had been the hermit crab and I had since gotten rid of him. So far nothing has bothered the clam, the flame angel hasn't even touched him, I've been closely watching.

[ErikH]

Hate to say it, but I would say it was the angel over the hermit. As stated above, it probably cleaned up the mess that the angel made. Hermits are scavengers not assassins. :ph34r:

[Bill S]

Yeah, I'm now "clamless". Imperator the likely problem. SOB.