Electricity Producing Clams!!!????!!!!!

[civileng68]

I went to my fish store yesterday and while there they got a shipment in of these incredible clams. They had this flashing that shot out of their mouths every few seconds.
I asked about them and even the employees knew little but they said it is actual electricity that they produce and it shoots out of their opening. It's not like a bright bolt or anything but it looks sort of like a quick light flash. You could even see it with the lights off.
He put his finger there and didnt feel anything so I doubt (personallY) that's it's truly electricity unless it's just that weak but very cool!
Anyone know anything about these guys? They have dark red tentacles coming out as well.

 

[bigb]

They were not clams but flame scallops. Need mature tanks.

 

[civileng68]

that is simply amazing.
How does it make electricity.
Just amazing.

 

[bang guy]

They are actually File Clams. They are nearly impossible to sustain in the clean water we keep our fish & corals in. It typically takes 6 - 9 months for them to starve to death, a year if you dose phytoplankton heavily.

 

[civileng68]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
They are actually File Clams. They are nearly impossible to sustain in the clean water we keep our fish & corals in. It typically takes 6 - 9 months for them to starve to death, a year if you dose phytoplankton heavily.

You know , this is my big beef with many fish stores. They refuse to tell you this stuff because they want you to buy it.
They'd sell those things to someone who doesn't know how impossible they are to keep, and then the person would simply be wasting their money, and the poor thing starves to death.

 

[ophiura]

It is not electricity. Electric Flame scallops/file clams, like many other animals, are bioluminescent and "flash" like lightening...but it is not electricity...its biochemistry

No harm in them at all. Often this sort of behavior is a predator diversion tactic which just kind of startles them...at least that is true in brittlestars. If true in these animals, it means they are a bit stressed out at the time which would stand to reason.

 

[bigb]

If everyone did research into what they were buying before they bought, then the LFS would have to stop stocking impossible to keep items. Too much impulse buying and the LFS will keep stocking these things.

 

[angelsrock]

Originally Posted by ophiura
It is not electricity. Electric Flame scallops/file clams, like many other animals, are bioluminescent and "flash" like lightening...but it is not electricity...its biochemistry

No harm in them at all. Often this sort of behavior is a predator diversion tactic which just kind of startles them...at least that is true in brittlestars. If true in these animals, it means they are a bit stressed out at the time which would stand to reason.
are these clams impossible to keep alive

 

[dr. evil]

i agree Big B after my bad experience with the cc starfish the lfs lied about i now read alot about possible inhabitants. its just a shame the practices some stores have i saw a woman ask a lfs employee " can i keep this fish in a 12 gal. tank " lfs person says sure you can its fine i look over and she was asking about a blue regal tang so when the worker went to get a bag to put it in i told the woman that fish requires at least 90 gal. tank and if she put it in her little tank it would stress out and die. so she didnt buy it she told the lady she changed her mind. and they tell the poster above that its real electricity shooting out of the flame scallop man what a bunch of hacks. p.s. i hope my reply doesent kill this thread im thinking of changing my name to Dr. Evil the thread killer.

 

[civileng68]

Originally Posted by Dr. Evil
i agree Big B after my bad experience with the cc starfish the lfs lied about i now read alot about possible inhabitants. its just a shame the practices some stores have i saw a woman ask a lfs employee " can i keep this fish in a 12 gal. tank " lfs person says sure you can its fine i look over and she was asking about a blue regal tang so when the worker went to get a bag to put it in i told the woman that fish requires at least 90 gal. tank and if she put it in her little tank it would stress out and die. so she didnt buy it she told the lady she changed her mind. and they tell the poster above that its real electricity shooting out of the flame scallop man what a bunch of hacks. p.s. i hope my reply doesent kill this thread im thinking of changing my name to Dr. Evil the thread killer.

No, please dont close this. In fact, it may be forums like these that force lfs to be more honest with their patrons. I speak as a newbie in the hobby who has learned much from these forums and then compares it to what I was told in the lfs and I am disgusted.
I think it's good for people that are new hobbyists to know that they cannot fully rely on some lfs stores and that comparing information on a forum before going in is the best thing.

 

[dr. evil]

oh no i wont close it i cant but your right. i as well have learned a whole lot of stuff on here. but i've also learned you cant trust the fish store im sure they are not all bad but i havent had much luck with mine.

 

[civileng68]

Well I think it would be unfair to just blindly assume most lfs stores are liars! as you see above some are on these boards and honest.
One thing I've done with mine to prove they really are not up on their morale levels is I find a fish that I KNOW is not compatable with those in my tank or tank size and I will simply impore about that fish and see their response.
While I was not told that the fish was bad for my environment, they were willing to make the sale without even asking about my tank size or what's in it. It tells me that #1 they dont care about me as a patron of theirs and they dont have any heart for the fish in their store.
I still buy there as I have no other options without driving across the city. However, I go in already knowing what I need to know and dont ask them any questions.

 

[jmick]

I think it really boils down to ignorance. A lot of the LFS have employees that are not adequately trained and don’t know very much if anything the animals they sell. The problem is that a lot of these types of jobs have a high turnover and I doubt many stores want to invest the money into their employees. IMO, not knowing and giving advice is just as bad as lying. How refreshing it would be if you heard “I don’t know, let me check my book.”
I’m lucky, I have many stores in my area to choose from and I have a great store down the road. They charge a little more but the owner is always there and he really knows what he’s doing. Also, I do not buy on impluse and I know exactly what I am going to buy before I get to the store.

 

[bigb]

Originally Posted by civileng68
I asked about them and even the employees knew little but they said it is actual electricity that they produce and it shoots out of their opening. It's not like a bright bolt or anything but it looks sort of like a quick light flash. You could even see it with the lights off.
He put his finger there and didnt feel anything so I doubt (personallY) that's it's truly electricity unless it's just that weak but very cool!
File this under some don't know. You should go ask him if rabitfish really have poison in their fins.

 

[dr. evil]

well let me back track a little i didnt mean to infer that all fish store people are dishonest and and apologize to any fish store workers if it came across that way. and i will add that it is also the resposibility of the hobbiest to research a species before buying it you cant just go buying fish all willy nilly man.

 

[jdragunas]

also, flame scallops are known to cause major destruction in your tank, dancing all over the place and ruining all of your "landscaping".

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by angelsrock
are these clams impossible to keep alive
It's possible, just not likely.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by civileng68
You know , this is my big beef with many fish stores. They refuse to tell you this stuff because they want you to buy it.
They'd sell those things to someone who doesn't know how impossible they are to keep, and then the person would simply be wasting their money, and the poor thing starves to death.
Well, on the other hand, they are cheap, they're not endangered, and they look pretty good right up until a few days before they croak. They have no brain so there's no suffering involved.
As long as you know its time is limited I don't see a problem with keeping them. I agree that the stores should tell you that. Or at least tell you they're short lived and "stirring up the bottom once a week" isn't going to keep them fed.
The real unfortunate part is that they do NOT like light. That makes them a really bad fit for a reef tank and they should be tucked far back into a cave if you choose to keep one. If there are no caves for it to crawl into then it will spend daylight hours jetting around the bottom of the tank looking for shade. All that expended energy uses up it's food stores all that much faster.

 

[turningtim]

I have to admit I bought one of these last week and yes it was an impulse buy simply b/c its so cool. Anyway I was told that I had to feed phyto and that it needed a shady place to hide. However I was not told that they are short lived. It has found a nice shady place to dwell and I can still see him. I guess my question is what can I do to sustain him for as long as possible. I also agree with Bang their not that expensive and he looks great. So what can I do to extend the time he's in there?
Lesson learned to do research!

Any advise?

 

[fishieness]

please read this article by rob toonan. I saw some electric flame scollops at my LFS a while ago, thought about gettign one jsut because they were so cheap, and so freakin cool, yet i had heard they were hard to keep. i found this article during a study hall at school the next day. Also orph gave it to me that night too too when i posted here to see what others though.
It is very educational, and will probably scare anyone out there away from these creatures.
{Edit for a link violation}