Clam Spawned then Died

[CaptainK]

So nothing new has been added or done to my tank. Came home the other day to my maxima clam spawning. Cool right? Then I researched if there was anything you needed to do if this happens. In a small system it's not a good thing, so i placed the clam in a bucket of tank water so that it could finish spawning. I added a bubbler so that oxygen levels wouldn't drop from the die off of the gametes. Yesterday I did a 25% water change. This morning I find my clam pretty much dead. I'm not sure if the clam was on the way out before the spawning or if the spawning caused it to die. I have had really good success with clams so this was surprising. Water tests check out fine and my temperature only fluctuates between 78 and 80 everyday. I do have 2 other small maximas in the tank and they are fine. I'll check for internal parasites later.

http://youtu.be/H13Og0mLAKY

Edited July 29, 2015 by mFrame (Mike)
embedded video

[mFrame]

Really sorry to hear about your loss, it was a beautiful clam.

I would have left it in the tank and just stepped up filtration. I've found that most spawns become a great food source for the other tank inhabitants. Unless it's something really large or toxic (cucumbers, sea apples, etc), I generally let the tank and clean up crew handle any messes.

[FarmerTy]

Well that's a bummer! Sorry for the loss!

[victoly]

That's the way I wanna go out too.

[LarryD]

That's the way I wanna go out too.

You want to go out in a blaze of gamete glory?

[CaptainK]

So I was inspecting the clam for parasites and found a worm on the bottom near the foot. It's head is somewhat clear/white and the body is black and segmented. It was in a tube made of crushed coral. Here's a couple pics.

Here's a link of what I think it is. Under section "Worms With Two Tentacles" http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rs/

Doesn't seem like the culprit but who knows.

[CaptainK]

Another link. http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsegroupspecies.php?GroupID=235

If not a parasite, I'm guessing removing it from tank and water change while it was weakened could have been the cause.

[mFrame]

The timing seems pretty coincidental. I'm not saying the worm's not a parasite, but I think that the tank move and water changes are the likely culprit.

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

Bummer. I've never heard of a clam dying after spawning, but it's not the craziest thing to ever happen. Maybe if it was weak or too young, it couldn't handle the strain and loss of energy. Hopefully that's all it was and not a parasite that could infect your other clams.