Flame Scallop, Yes or no?

[spw4949]

So I was at my LFS today and they had a bunch of flame scallops, how hardy are these guys? I know their filter feeders but do they require supplementation of some kind? How do they normally do? Any special lighting requirements?

 

[jdmcivicek9]

No, they do very poorly in our hobby better left in the ocean...

 

[jkrentz2515]

I have one, and no they don't require any special supplements, they are pretty easy to keep, and they like shady areas so light shouldn't matter. Just make sure you buy the smallest one you can find since they only live for about 2 years, and be prepared for it to hide somewhere in your tank. Mine is about 2 inches and hides under a cliff in my rockwork on the sand, but they will move wherever they want to go.

 

[raen]

Thy need Phytoplankton. The will die without it.

 

[spw4949]

How long have u had yours? My tank has only been up & running for about 4 mos now, would that make a difference?

 

[jkrentz2515]

I have had mine for 3 months. They only live for 3-4 years in the wild so anything more than 2 years in captivity is a success.

 

[QueenOfTheReef]

My husband had one that did well for quite a long time. One thing to keep in mind is that these guys can be pretty mobile. They don't always foot in like a clam and can actually get around quite a bit.

 

[jdieck]

I would not recommend them either, difficult to feed in an aquarium and will eventually starve after 3 to 6 months.

 

[spw4949]

Well, I'm not looking to do that....

 

[eros]

Mine seemed to be doing well then went downhill really fast. Lasted maybe 2 months. Good luck if you decide to get one. They do look cool but I won't try another one.

 

[rogergolf66]

It will not live more then 6 months for so, and that is if it is really happy.

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13393021#post13393021 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
I would not recommend them either, difficult to feed in an aquarium and will eventually starve after 3 to 6 months.

Yup. Their metablism is slow enough that it can take them quite some time to starve to death If you seriously want to keep such filter feeders, you need to get good at culturing the proper phytoplankton species. In this case Isochrysis.

 

[DrBegalke]

I wouldn't recommend them.

 

[spw4949]

OK, I'm taking everyone's advice & passing...thanks everyone for the input.