[mbbuna]

Originally posted by jnarowe
I am in the NW and am having the exact same problem. Water params are excellent but ALL 7 of my clams are retracted and have been for some time. They have been in the tank nearly 2 years.

I do have a couple of cleaner shrimp but have been losing them. I put in a CBB prior to the clam problem, but haven't noticed him picking on the clams. Just before the problem started I added two cleaner wrasses and I haven't noticed them bothering the clams, but I do observe them getting real friendly with some corals.

Other issues that merit discussion are the huge die-off of snails and subsequent dino outbreak. I solved the dino issue over the course of about 2 months, and after they were gone, the clams started looking weak.

One other major thing to note: I have found the remains, or the molt, of a decent sized red crab with black pincers. I don't know if they molt, and the pieces looked more like remains than a molt, but it's definitely worth mentioning.

I also have a longnose hawk, but he seems to behave himself, 10 tangs, maroon pair, sebae clown, one chromis, one foxface. I have not observed anything bothering the clams.

I am getting very tense about this situation as some of these clams are really quite nice specimens. I do have a 40g QT, but it is a real hassle trying to get a clam out of the tank. I did inspect one for snails but no banana.

So, recommendations the same?

i would get a polyfilter and through it in the tank to see if it turns up any heavy metals. the snail die off leads me to think you might have copper or another metal