How hard to keep alive are flame scallops---anyone having success

[drewdog82]

I just bought a flame scallop for my 55 gallon tank. I have some phytofeast that I figured I could put into a turkey baster with some water to feed and I'm also trying to keep the calcium up in my tank. I was wondering if anyone who has had one has had success or failure and about how high should I aim at keeping the calcium levels in my tank???

 

[ninjamini]

Most consider that they will die in a few months. Enjoy it while you have it and consider it a throw away. Then dont get another.

 

[al mc]

Drew... As Ninj noted they are very hard to keep. You can place them where you would like to have them, but they move to where they want to be..usually out of sight! I have had three...and no more. The best I did was keep one alive for 6 months. I kept good water parameters and target fed it phyto and oyster eggs.......To answer your other question...I shoot for minimum calcium level of 450ish. If you can keep one going....

 

[goober_hunter]

mine died in two days, ill never get one again.. i have had nothing else die..
hope things go well for you though...

 

[teen]

im pretty sure i read somewhere that the lifespan of one one in the wild is 3 years. the size that most lfs sell them at is about the 2 year mark so most die within 8-12 months.
i posted a few months ago that mine was doing great after 8 months. he still looked great and within 2 weeks of posting that thread, he died.

 

[bullitr]

Originally Posted by teen
im pretty sure i read somewhere that the lifespan of one one in the wild is 3 years. the size that most lfs sell them at is about the 2 year mark so most die within 8-12 months.
i posted a few months ago that mine was doing great after 8 months. he still looked great and within 2 weeks of posting that thread, he died.

mine is going for over a year now i lost a couple b4 but i still have electric flame scallops

 

[sprang]

A lot of the things you see at l.f.s are bought at a bulk price from a distributor. This means they have no idea exactally what they are getting except a variety of corals and fishes. Unfortunatly this means they recieve specimens such as a flame scallop, nudibranches, many stars ect. that have no business in a home system., so they sell them to try to....well make some money. as people are learning more I believe it will help in the long run. Read Read Read and ask questions first. don't always trust the l.f.s? Man I'm gonna get reamed for this I know

 

[promisetbg]

One of the employees at the shop has kept one for three years so far...he is the only one I know who has had that kind of success.

 

[shrimpi]

Ive had an electric flame scallop for about 3 months now and he looks healthy. I feed phyto and zoplan and every now and then squirt some mysis/brine mixture his way. Not sure if hes eating the meaty food or not but he seems nice and healthy.. his insides arent all deteriorated like some Ive seen.
Mine moves every few days. Im not sure why, they are just very mobile. Sometimes he will stay in the same place for a few weeks, but rarely.
I tried to get him to stay in a 'display' area when I first got him, but I got tired of fishing him out from behind the rocks every day. Now he is just a little electric flame in the back of the tank, kinda like a hidden treasure.

 

[drewdog82]

Thanks for all the replies. I knew they were hard to keep but figured I would give it a shot. Plus I also figured it would have a better chance at survival in my 55 than the LFS' 5 gal. tank, even if it's not much of a chance. My calcium level is a little low-375, but I just switched from IO salt to Reef crystals, which I figure will help. Also, I am target feeding the scallop phyto-feast. Does anyone have any idea how often to feed it. For now, I am mixing 5 or so drops in a cup of water and then using a turkey baster to get it to it.