Flame Scallop question

[lovethemfish]

I have a reef tank that has been set up for about about 4 months now. About a month ago a put a flame scallop into my tank. He put himself into a nice tight spot between a rock and the glass. I would like to move the rock because of alot of excess diatom and diatrus build up. I am afraid that if I move the rock the he will have to move and that will make him unhappy. So should I move the rock, or leave it. This leads me to my second question, how do I know if my scallop is happy or not. Any info or opinions will be helpfull. Thanks.

 

[blackjacktang]

He will just move again if you move the rock. It wont bother him or anything.
You will know if he is upset if his tenticals are drooppy and he will not look normal.

 

[texasmetal]

They're really difficult to keep long-term. If it's doing well for now I wouldn't tempt fate. Just my opinion. Good luck.

 

[alexknight]

I agree with TexasMetal I had one for three months and I moved a rock he was on 3 days later he kicked it you may have better luck then me.

 

[oceanlover]

I have had my flame scallop for almost a year now. My LFS says that is way longer than is normal. My scallop lodged itself into the corner that accumulates all the debris, left over food, etc. I also use liquid foods in addition to the other flakes and mysis shrimp. I think the fact its where the excess food goes (until the cleaner crew show up) is why it is healthy and has lived so long. As long as it opens each day and has its little tendrils out, they are happy. When they are unhappy, they close up.
My cleaner shrimp cleans the scallop every day too. I don't know that scallops like to be cleaned but this is one obsessive shrimp. He cleans EVERYTHING everyday. The cleaner shrimp is so obsessive he cleans the arrow crab too. I thought he'd be a goner the first time I saw it but the arrow crab just continues eatting while the cleaner shrimp cleans him. This has been going on for almost a year now.

 

[texasmetal]

Yup. Some things absolutely do fair better in less than perfect water conditions. That's the problem with a lot of these more difficult to keep creatures. We're striving to keep them in a very clean tank with perfect water quality, when in fact they live in high-nutrient locations in the ocean.

 

[coral keeper]

You have to feed flame scallops phytoplankton to keep them long-term. The phytoplankton I recommend is called Isochrysis galbana. This species is commonly used in bivalve culture (clams, oysters, etc).