Ranz

you can also cycle your tank faster by dosing bacteria like microbacter7

mushrooms

i guess it depends what "affordable" means to you.. in general reef keeping is not a cheap hobby. if you get livestocks from the lfs here the price range are pretty standard and not too much deviation. for value deals can check out the pasar malam section you can find all the lfs here in the forum link.

normally - they are bristle worm. but you need to observe and identify properly cos could also be some other nasty types eunice worm or firework.

parasite creature i'm guessing pods wormlike - dunno...

my guess is it is more likely to come from the live rock than the fish. although you cupramine treated the rock before doesn't mean you got all the worms. in any case bristle worm is not a bad thing for the tank.

second to bristle worm. do you have rock or sand in the quarantine tank, or only fishes?

sorry to hear that.. erm of cos there is such thing as clam disease. else clam will live forever in a tank? heh pinched mantle is caused by a kind of protozoa and yes can spread. also depends on whether the clam is healthy or stress. just like fishes and corals. is the new clam recently added doing well or also have same symptoms?

bristle worm doesn't eat clam. they only eat dead stuffs so maybe the clam is dying. small pyramidal snails will eat clam. the pinched mantle and gaping looks quite serious. it will slowly shrink and then the mantle will stop extending. there are some ways to treat it like freshwater dip but the condition is quite bad so will only stress the clam further. you can read up here. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/3/aafeature1 keep us updated.

the clam may be spawning when it is stressed

look like it has pinched mantle and gaping.

hi, toadstool when fully open is about 8-9 inch wide across, and 6 inch height. the base live rock is included in the trade looking to trade for other soft coral, lps or rbta. interested please pm me.