flame scallop HELP!

[iglowce]

i want to get one... to add the holiday spirit to the tank. can someone help me wt your opinion on its mortality, feeding and lighting needs, and compatibility.

i currently own multiple LPS, some SPS, feather dusters, 2x65w PC, and a mandarin. thats all.

would the mandarin nip on the scallop? i may try out clams instead. would the mandarin be a threat to that too? thanx

[JustDavidP]

Scallops are tough my friend... they require feedings that may affect your water quality. You pretty much have to feed phyto, selcon, other liquid based foods with a turkey baster/pipette or a straw of sorts. It is best to have them in a "mature" tank with free floating, healthy stocks of phytoplankton.

They are, for the most part, non-photosynthetic. They don't require the intense lighting (but they do need some light) as tridacnids.

Also keep in mind that they move...all the time..until they find an area of flow that brings them the food and water currents they like.

They DON'T like high temps...but prefer temps in the mid-to-high 70's.

They do NOT like high nitrate levels (tridacnid farmers actually add nitrate to their grow out systems!)

If you are thinking "tridacnid", at 2X56W, and given the size of your tank, I'd say that a young squamosa or derasa...but they all get big..too big for that tank. Eventually, you'd have to move it.

D

[JustDavidP]

Oh...and your mandarin.. shouldn't bother the clam.

Does your mandarin eat frozen foods? Is it in a 20 gallon? How is it doing?

D

[Reefbaby]

I certainly wouldn't recommend a flame scallop. Their mortality is way too high....

They are one of those reef inhabitants that I believe are better left in the ocean!

[RealChange]

allz i knowz iz have lots of phyto around for feedings. im sure you know from every1 that they are quite hard to keep, but dont let that stand in your way of trying to keep one. good luck.

[Rob]

i would not recommend any scallop, as mentioned above, there are very hard to keep alive, most die within a few weeks of starvation

[Reefbaby]

Here's (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2002/toonen.htm) an article to read about them...

[Seahorsedreams]

I kept one for a year. My secret? I had no idea he was still alive in the tank. He worked his way around the back of the rockwork and I thought he had met his death. Turns out a few months later he is growing and I see these red tentacles visible through a cave. I still couldn't get him out but I took the backing off and threw a mirror back there. He was alive and well until the whole tank crashed. I was flying from Texas to Cali so often that neglect and inexperienced fish sitters killed everything.

[iglowce]

thanx for the comment. btw my mandarin is doing well. i got it live brineshrimp weekly on fri. it loves it

[Seahorsedreams]

Make sure you are enriching those brine. They provide very little nutritional value as is. Not the best food for a mandarin.

[iglowce]

what u mean enrich those brine? what can i do to them?

[Rob]

you need to:
A.) soak them in something like Selcon (http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_additives_american_marine.asp?CartId=)
B.) buy enriched brine shrimp (preferred, as frozen foods dont "soak" as well)

as Renee state, adult Brine shrimp provide almost no nutritional value, they are best used as a treat for your fish

[iglowce]

thanx Rob =]