Is my CLeaner shrimp cleaning or eating clam?

[shoelevy]

i caught my cleaner shrimp doing this to my clam

the clam is shut tight because of the cleaner shrimp

please watch the video, vote and advice on what to do

thanks

[shoelevy]

here's the video

please select save file as and view if clicking on the link doesn't bring you to the video

100_2375.MOV

[salivateforme]

When my cleaner was still alive (aka. not in my boxer's digestive tracts), it used to do this to my tubeworms. Maybe it's just picking food.

But I don't know about clams, though.? Do clam mantles have nourishment on them? I don't think the cleaner is intentionally harming the clam, but the clam might be irritated enough not to open up.

[hotlemond]

my skunk do that to the clam too. In fact I was happy it did its job. dun worry, its good for the inhibitants cos it may be picking off parasites from them.

dun be surprise it will check on your coral too. Best if it can give regular "grooming" service to the tangs

[shoelevy]

my skunk do that to the clam too. In fact I was happy it did its job. dun worry, its good for the inhibitants cos it may be picking off parasites from them.

dun be surprise it will check on your coral too. Best if it can give regular "grooming" service to the tangs

hey bro...it seems to be nibbling on the mantle lor

are you sure its cleaning it?

i'm very afraid it'll kill the clam cos it seems to pull very hard on the clam

[XPeriment 626]

i have two clams dead and cleaned out by shrimps! i dunno if the clams died and then got picked off by the shrimps/stray crabs, or got murdered!! worse, i have a sally light foot that i caught eating the mantle of a live clam! sianzzz

[kamiru]

I had 4 clams b4. When they are about to die, the cleaner is the first one to know first. Then the shrimps will start nibbling on the dying clam.

[shoelevy]

I had 4 clams b4. When they are about to die, the cleaner is the first one to know first. Then the shrimps will start nibbling on the dying clam.

my clam seems to be so healthy

responds to shadows passing overhead, responds to touch

why would it suddenly die?

[shoelevy]

well i directed my question to henry and this is what he said

"20 to 30 ppm NO3 will never kill a clam. They actually need NO3 to grow.

In clam farms, NO3 is deliberately introduced to feed them.

That's also the reason for some to have lots of clams, oysters etc in the hope that they could remove NO3.

The down side is, clams are ex and you never know when a virus attack it. Yours may be a case of virus attack.

Symptom - one day open nice and big as usual . .. then for no apparent reason, started shrivelling and clamp up leading to death."

my first clam died exactly in the way he said...i guess the virus is spreading so the cleaner go and nibble on the clam

[XPeriment 626]

haiz maybe that's what happened to mine too

[shoelevy]

xperiment 626, i stumbled across this at clamdirect.com

i think you should read it

http://www.clamsdirect.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1216

[XPeriment 626]

aiyah. looks like might have to start a nano for my one remaining clam

[loster]

i have that experienced before. when i saw my cleaner shrimps "cleaning my clam" i thought it was ok. didn't bother it. after a few days, i noticed that my clam won't open anymore. and when i took a closer look, than i realized that my clam is already dead but not that long. just enough time for me to remove it.

so, i guess the cleaner shrimp is the first one to know about my dying clam. that's why they started to nibbling it.

that's also confirmed what henry (ML) claimed

[shoelevy]

i have that experienced before. when i saw my cleaner shrimps "cleaning my clam" i thought it was ok. didn't bother it. after a few days, i noticed that my clam won't open anymore. and when i took a closer look, than i realized that my clam is already dead but not that long. just enough time for me to remove it.

so, i guess the cleaner shrimp is the first one to know about my dying clam. that's why they started to nibbling it.

that's also confirmed what henry (ML) claimed

actually, just a question

how can u tell its the clam gonna die so cleaner eat it and not the other way around where its the cleaner that kills the clam?

[loster]

this is just base on my personal exprience and conclusion. not a theory.

what i notice is that my clam opened up very big and out of sudden, it stopped opening up. i didn't bother about it because i thought it was ok since it opened up big few days back. i also notice that my cleaner shrimp started to do the "cleaning" and my clam did closed up but not fully. i didn't bother because i thought the shrimp is doing it job. and i guessed my clam closed up because it was bother by my strimp.

it did bothered me after 1 week because my shrimp still doing it "cleaning job" and my clam hardly any respond. so, when i took it up and take a closer look, i realized that my clam is dead (i guess it just died since it not rot yet)

anyway, this is just my conclusion at that time is that actually my clam is dying and the shrimp was trying to eat up what is there. i didn't blame my cleaner shrimp at that time because my shrimp don't usually bother the clam when it opened up big. only when the clam started to close but not fully, the shrimp started to do it cleaning job on the clam.

so, this is just base on my own experience. i may be wrong in my conclusion

[shoelevy]

this is just base on my personal exprience and conclusion. not a theory.

what i notice is that my clam opened up very big and out of sudden, it stopped opening up. i didn't bother about it because i thought it was ok since it opened up big few days back. i also notice that my cleaner shrimp started to do the "cleaning" and my clam did closed up but not fully. i didn't bother because i thought the shrimp is doing it job. and i guessed my clam closed up because it was bother by my strimp.

it did bothered me after 1 week because my shrimp still doing it "cleaning job" and my clam hardly any respond. so, when i took it up and take a closer look, i realized that my clam is dead (i guess it just died since it not rot yet)

anyway, this is just my conclusion at that time is that actually my clam is dying and the shrimp was trying to eat up what is there. i didn't blame my cleaner shrimp at that time because my shrimp don't usually bother the clam when it opened up big. only when the clam started to close but not fully, the shrimp started to do it cleaning job on the clam.

so, this is just base on my own experience. i may be wrong in my conclusion

oh

thanks for your contribution of your observations

i pmed henry on this and he said the same things as you

this is what he said

"That's precisely why the shrimp pick on the clam.

The clam already dying, emiting an odour that attracting the shrimp's scavenging instinct.

The clam may look normal to us, its just that the infection have not reach the phase of observable decline. The shrimp sense it earlier.

Next time, when you see the shrimp constant picking on the clam, lift up the calm and sniff at it. That will give u the clue. "

hope this helps

[hotlemond]

I suppose the skunk may not only go to a clam for a reason. though they wouldnt think twice about eating the dying clam, they would also vey well go check out a clam when its not dying, for parasites to prey upon.

Shoelevy was right to get the reefers to physically check on the clam when that happens, and to add on, especially if its not opening its mantle fully for a while.

We should also check for pest snails on mantle and shell, and if te flesh on the side is intact and not broken.