Mayday - dead clam and weird infestation...

[Mark Henry]

Okay, everything looked fine last night, everyone ate and was light
sensitive and I went to bed. This morning, one of my t.squamosa is dead
and mostly gutted.

Not wanting to leave the carcas in the tank I pulled it out and placed
it a clean plate to investigate. When I set it down a colony of squirmy
things swam out. These things range from about 1/16" to about 1/8" in
length, they seem to scuttle as well as swim. They are clear to white in
color, have feelers and what as well as what look like legs or
appendages for walking - I would call them centipedes if not for the
fact that they live underwater. I flooded the plate with talk water and
have transfered them and the clam's remains to a specimen jar for
observation.

Can anyone help me ID these things? I'm working on photos now, but
they're so small and it's difficult to get them to show up because
they're also almost completly transparent.

Any help would be most appreciated.

mark h

[Pszemol]

"Mark Henry" > wrote in message ...
> When I set it down a colony of squirmy
> things swam out. These things range from about 1/16" to about 1/8" in
> length, they seem to scuttle as well as swim. They are clear to white in
> color, have feelers and what as well as what look like legs or
> appendages for walking - I would call them centipedes if not for the
> fact that they live underwater.

amphipods ?
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&lr=&q=amphipod
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&lr=&q=amphipods

[kim gross]

Mark Henry wrote:
> Okay, everything looked fine last night, everyone ate and was light
> sensitive and I went to bed. This morning, one of my t.squamosa is dead
> and mostly gutted.
>
> Not wanting to leave the carcas in the tank I pulled it out and placed
> it a clean plate to investigate. When I set it down a colony of squirmy
> things swam out. These things range from about 1/16" to about 1/8" in
> length, they seem to scuttle as well as swim. They are clear to white in
> color, have feelers and what as well as what look like legs or
> appendages for walking - I would call them centipedes if not for the
> fact that they live underwater. I flooded the plate with talk water and
> have transfered them and the clam's remains to a specimen jar for
> observation.
>
> Can anyone help me ID these things? I'm working on photos now, but
> they're so small and it's difficult to get them to show up because
> they're also almost completly transparent.
>
> Any help would be most appreciated.
>
> mark h
It sounds like you found some pods, they are just cleaning up the
remains of the clam. Clams are very frustrating creatures, they will
look fine right up until the are dead, then once they die, just about
everything in your tank will get in on the feeding frenzy. Clam meat is
a very good appetite stimulate.


So what you found in the clam is creatures that are trying to clean up
the remains for you and are good to have in your tank. ON your clam
dieing, what kind of lights do you have, how far away was the clam
setting, do you feed phytoplankton, what are your water parameters, was
the clam growing in the past?

[Mark Henry]

kim gross wrote:

>
> ON your clam dieing, what kind of lights do you have, how far away was the clam
> setting, do you feed phytoplankton, what are your water parameters, was
> the clam growing in the past?

24" from 150w MH and 2x96w actinics.
Feeding DT's Phytoplankton 1x/day
Water parameters are all good
Clam was 30-days new in tank

I also have two other t.crocea that seem to be doing very well.

mark h

[Mark Henry]

Pszemol wrote:
>
> amphipods ?
> http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&lr=&q=amphipod
> http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&lr=&q=amphipods

Yes, those look about right for what I was seeing. Are they
normal/desireable cleanup critters, or do I have a problem?

Thanks,

mark h

[Pszemol]

"Mark Henry" > wrote in message ...
> Pszemol wrote:
>>
>> amphipods ?
>> http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&lr=&q=amphipod
>> http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&lr=&q=amphipods
>
> Yes, those look about right for what I was seeing.
> Are they normal/desireable cleanup critters

Yest, they are very desirable. Put them back to your tank :-)