Flame Scallops Moving...

[wetpetman]

I received 2 flame scallops with my clean-up crew order. What do they eat? ... and how in the heck do they move around the tank??? I thought that they just sit in one spot and look nice. They even climbed up on my live rock. I'm puzzled.

 

[Anonymous]

they'll die within a few months. personally, i've never known anyone to keep them alive for longer than that. i couldn't tell you if it's a naturally short life span, or we don't know enough to keep them at this point. but, i think if one asks, "is it more likely than not __________?" we'd all agree it's us, not them.

anyway, to answer your question, scallops are little bookers, man, they're all over the place! it's perfectly normal. if you can target feed them something like phytos and diatoms, maybe others have other suggestions, i dunno, but that almost always to seem to be the problem. then again, once i heard, i never tried to keep one, either.

 

[Will C1]

i kept my flame scallop alive for almost 2 years by daily feeding it dt's live phyto plankton. if you put them in a crevice in the shade it should settle down and stay there. try moving him around untill he quits moving. i found mine a home under a rock and that is where he sat for almost the whole time.

 

[Anonymous]

you are, then, by at least 4x, the most successful person i "know" of to keep flamers successfully. thanks for those suggestions...how'd ya always have live? they can be a real pain for some, if ya know what i mean, eh?

 

[Will C1]

once you find them a home they become easy to deal with, mine would open up so i could insert the feeding tube directly into his siphon

 

[Anonymous]

you're kidding! i've never seen a flamer even "find" a home, let alone let someone insert a feeding tube. that's about as direct as a feeding can get, isn't it? lol! but i thought culturing the lives that you mentioned was a pain, you just go through it anyway, or what? (w/out a good space at least.)

 

[Will C1]

dt's live marine phyto plankton should be able to be bought in youre local pet store, also i used some wierd german stuff once a month that clouded my tank, i wish i could remember what it was called, but it shure kept my feathers and clams and scalops happy.

 

[Will C1]

roti-rich is what the stuff was called its hard to find but well worth the effort.

 

[Will C1]

its easy to tell when youre scallop is hungry they have a tounge like inner siphon when mine wanted some food it would stick it out and i would feed it he did end up dieing about a month ago i was sad but happy i kep him that long. i've often wonered if anybody else has noticed that some things do very well i their tanks and some things do not, for example filter feeders like feather dusters and clams and scallops and cucumbers do very well in my tank but i cant keep a stony for more than a year.

 

[naesco]

Who would sell you a flame scallop?
Everyone know they do not survive for any length of time in our tanks and are best left in the ocean?

 

[Will C1]

every store around me has a ton of them and if you do it right they can be kept for quite a while.

 

[Marcosreef]

Seeing that their lifespan is 3 years or so, most being offered already past the 1 year mark, 2 years is hardly quite a while.

Here's a quote from the article I posted in "the other thread"

Given an average lifespan of about 3 years, even with ideal aquarium conditions an animal that is something on the order of 2+ years of age at the time that you purchase it is unlikely to last very long! Thus, if you select the largest flame scallop available at the local retailer, it is almost certainly a mature female, and may already be old enough that its days are numbered no matter what conditions you provide in your aquarium.

 

[Will C1]

so in other words buy a small one and take good care of it and it should last its full life span in youre tank.