Is my flame scallop dead?

[greebs]

I got my first package from this website, that included a flame scallop last week. This morning, I noticed that the scallop was showing no orange color sticking out and I had always noticed some part of the orange flesh sticking out. Is this a sign of death?
Question 2. Probably a dumb question, but will a fish float in salt water when dead or does it sink to bottom?
Last question (for now) I've read many posts about cucumbers being toxic to tank when they die. If they burrow in a 2 - 4 inch live sand base, how will you know if you have a dead one?
ps. This is my first post to this website. I've read messages for the last couple weeks and finally got around to having a couple questions that I couldn't find an answer to already.

 

[ckkihei]

No such thing as dumb questions!! Your flame scallop is probably not dead.....it's been my experience that when they die their shell opens up completely and they shed the "hair". My scallops occasionally close up and show no or very little red. I'd give it a few days, but keep an eye on it. If it did in fact die it can foul your tank pretty quickly.
As for fish floating, they may float for a few minutes at the most but then sink to the bottom.
Hope this helps.......and welcome to the board......it's been a tremendous source of info for me. Just remember that you'll get lots of varying and sometimes conflicting opinions.