Safest way to move a clam

[Reefdad]

My clam has attached itself to the bottom of my tank. I want to move it over to make space for something else. How do I move without tearing it's foot?

 

[reefermadness]

wait till it releases it?

 

[Elite]

I think you can use a very sharp blade and cut the foot as close to the bottom of the tank as you can. That should be ok.

[quote author=reefermadness link=topic=6851.msg88575#msg88575 date=1237084354]
wait till it releases it?
[/quote]
and when would that be??

 

[adolfo425]

+1 to phong's suggestion clean cut is best never tear.


Adolfo

 

[A_Lee]

Is the foot attached beneath the sand?
I've heard of some folks just wiggling their smaller clams loose, but this seems to me like it would put a lot of stress on the byssal organ.
Definitely don't want to damage the byssal organ so; I've been taught to try to tip the clam to one side a little bit, and make a nice really clean (surgical clean! ) cut to severe the byssal strands as far away from the byssal organ/clam body.

 

[Reefdad]

Ok so I moved it. I gently removed it trying not to damage its foot. I looked at the bottom of the clam before I put it in my tank last week curious of what the foot looked like and there was nothing there. After removing it today I looked again to see if there was any obvious damage. What should the foot look like. Right now it looks like several long lengths of stringy slim. What should a healthy foot look like and a torn foot?