Just Bought a Flame Scalop! Quick Q

[alex4286]

I just got a flame scalop from a fishstore not too far from me. Ive always wanted one of these & finally found a place near bye that carried them. It was only $10! and i believe its a medium size? about 3 inches all around. Everyone online said they are imposible to keep.. but i want to try. This thing is my new favorite in the tank and since ive set him in the tank hes moved about 5 times covering from orig. on a rock to the sand.. to the GLASS thats right.. like a tounge sticks to the glass and he just stays on it! (craazy!) then in moved to a corner under a tunnel. i think its really cool watching them move too as they hop around.
Anyways.. Anyone here own them? or eletric flame scalops? i hear they do best in a small group so i might go back and buy 2 more or so in the next few weeks. And about how long do they live? how long have any of u guys had them for? what do they eat/like best? do u spot feed or let them find and get food from feeding the fish?

 

[smartorl]

I have had an electric flame scallop for about eight months. I spot feed it with bbs about once a week, otherwise they aren't very demanding. Mine moves a fair bit, they move to a food source, so they exhaust the food one place, they move to another.
This one has been very hardy but I have had them in the past and had them not make it for no apparent reason. Good luck!

 

[ameno]

I had one for about a year and a half. Did real well, but when I got an engineer goby it keep trying to bary it and finally died. I've heard there very hard to keep, but mine did well for a long time, I did spot feed it, can't remember what I feed though, it's been a while.

 

[jessica47421]

i have had them but dont have luck with them i spot mine every other day and still after a few months they die but they are very pretty. best of luck

 

[farslayer]

I think the issue with scallops, if I'm recalling the threads correctly, is that they have a life span of only around 3 years. So when they are collected, they are likely already near the end of their life. What would be REALLY cool would be to find a way to breed these suckers in captivity so that we could enjoy them from day one.
BTW, I've never tried one and am only rehashing what I've read on this site in previous posts and what I've read on other sites.

 

[renogaw]

i've heard, as with other bivalve filter feeders, that sometimes spot feeding them will actually be their downfall. something about them getting clogged up.

 

[petjunkie]

Most scallops end up in the back of the tank where you can't see them and then die, most tanks can't reproduce anywhere near the amount of food they get in the wild but since they slowly starve to death people assume something else killed them and not starvation. BBS are way too large to be an effective food item, the largest food found to in their stomachs is half that size, they need phytoplankton and lots of it as they only eat certain sizes. They do only live about 3 years in the wild but expect no more then 3-10 months, that seems to be the max for these guys.

 

[tangwhispr]

Originally Posted by Alex4286
Everyone online said they are imposible to keep.. but i want to try.

WHY????? why would buy something knowing its not going to make it. Did you get your water from the same guy jack bought his bean sprout seeds? Somehow you are going be successful where no one else is...man this ticks me off. Be ashamed, very ashamed.

 

[sk8shorty01]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
WHY????? why would buy something knowing its not going to make it. Did you get your water from the same guy jack bought his bean sprout seeds? Somehow you are going be successful where no one else is...man this ticks me off. Be ashamed, very ashamed.

Because in order to advance fish keeping in general someone somewhere has to attempt to keep something that has not yet been successful and figure out what will work. That is how the hobby becomes more and more involved every year. Do you think that everyone has been able to just magically pick fish out of the ocean and put them in a tank and they all work? No, its all a learning process. Mandarin's are a good example. Not that long ago, nobody could figure out how to keep one healthy in a tank, but now they are getting to be kept because people understand what they need. I actually have a fish keeping book from the 80's and it says that nothing is really known about the mandarin's (including their diet) and now look, you can get a whole book full of information on them.

 

[chevs10]

i have 2 and dont even pay attention to them. i dont spot feed them or anything and they have been alive for 7 months now. ounce in a while i will look and they will be there in the same spot they have been in for 5 months.

 

[tangwhispr]

Originally Posted by sk8shorty01
Because in order to advance fish keeping in general someone somewhere has to attempt to keep something that has not yet been successful and figure out what will work. That is how the hobby becomes more and more involved every year. Do you think that everyone has been able to just magically pick fish out of the ocean and put them in a tank and they all work? No, its all a learning process. Mandarin's are a good example. Not that long ago, nobody could figure out how to keep one healthy in a tank, but now they are getting to be kept because people understand what they need. I actually have a fish keeping book from the 80's and it says that nothing is really known about the mandarin's (including their diet) and now look, you can get a whole book full of information on them.

But at whose expense, you're killing a living thing so that you can have it in your home. What makes you or any person that doesn't have extensive knowledge of, fish, coral, etc the person to do that. Professionals do the testing under perfect conditions, and controlled environments. Borneman, Calfo, Pro, Pubilc Aquariums, etc. are the ones that need to do it, not some noob or guy who has been keeping fish for a few years.

 

[alex4286]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
WHY????? why would buy something knowing its not going to make it. Did you get your water from the same guy jack bought his bean sprout seeds? Somehow you are going be successful where no one else is...man this ticks me off. Be ashamed, very ashamed.
well its already in the fishstore its not like there gunna put them back in the ocean!.... i think they're fascinating & just don't last long.. but really they just don't LIVE very long. The guy at the place told me all he knew about them too, mostly same as I already knew.
Thanks for everyones input though!! Very helpful.
But has anyone ever bread them?
Anyone own a group of 3+? I wonder if you got a few they could breed in a tank with the right conditions (and of course the right amount of calcium levels).

 

[alex4286]

Originally Posted by petjunkie
Most scallops end up in the back of the tank where you can't see them and then die, most tanks can't reproduce anywhere near the amount of food they get in the wild but since they slowly starve to death people assume something else killed them and not starvation. BBS are way too large to be an effective food item, the largest food found to in their stomachs is half that size, they need phytoplankton and lots of it as they only eat certain sizes. They do only live about 3 years in the wild but expect no more then 3-10 months, that seems to be the max for these guys.
i already have corals and such that i spot feed phytoplankton and i absolutely will do the same for this guy. twice a day with 2ml filled syringe enough do u think? any other opinions?

 

[tangwhispr]

Originally Posted by Alex4286
well its already in the fishstore its not like there gunna put them back in the ocean!....
But you are knowingly perpetuating the problem....Next time before you do something like this ask "what would tangwhispr do?" I don't mean to come off as a jerk to any of you, but you all have this great resource here and lots of people that tell you to do the right things and many people just ignore the advice and do what they want. Listening to myself or any of the seasoned vets here help you and everyone else save a lot of money and careless mistakes.

 

[reefernana]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
But you are knowingly perpetuating the problem....Next time before you do something like this ask "what would tangwhispr do?" I don't mean to come off as a jerk to any of you, but you all have this great resource here and lots of people that tell you to do the right things and many people just ignore the advice and do what they want. Listening to myself or any of the seasoned vets here help you and everyone else save a lot of money and careless mistakes.
You obviously do mean to come off like a jerk since you obviously have to tell everyone you don't mean to. Most of your replies to people have been nothing but rude. Do you really think anyone is going to take your advice by basically telling them that they're stupid? If you feel so strongly about everyone doing only what you would do, maybe you should get the SWF site to let you have your own section so you can list your own rules. That way only those who care to listen to you can go there.

 

[tangwhispr]

Originally Posted by reefernana
You obviously do mean to come off like a jerk since you obviously have to tell everyone you don't mean to. Most of your replies to people have been nothing but rude. Do you really think anyone is going to take your advice by basically telling them that they're stupid? If you feel so strongly about everyone doing only what you would do, maybe you should get the SWF site to let you have your own section so you can list your own rules. That way only those who care to listen to you can go there.

Really I could care less what you think, take my advice or not. My tanks will flourish and i will continue to make lots of money off frags that my corals produce. I don't have ich, I don't have nudi's, I don't have red bugs, etc. My reef is well balanced and needs little maint, I accomplished that by listning to people....you should try it....maybe we should compare tanks or prop systems.

 

[brandonslc]

They don't live too long in tanks. 6 months would be considered a long life. they are filter feeder and to meet their dietary requirements in a tank is very difficult unless you have a very large tank and are OCD about keeping it suplemented with small microorganisms for them to feed on. Enjoy him/her, their very cool, but not well suited for aquariums.

 

[reefernana]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
Really I could care less what you think, take my advice or not. My tanks will flourish and i will continue to make lots of money off frags that my corals produce. I don't have ich, I don't have nudi's, I don't have red bugs, etc. My reef is well balanced and needs little maint, I accomplished that by listning to people....you should try it....maybe we should compare tanks or prop systems.
The difference between you and I doesn't have a thing to do with our tanks. The difference is in your first sentence. You could care less. And it shows, constantly. But, just so you know, my tank is just fine, thanks. I had my first saltwater tank most likely before you were born almost thirty years ago. And I learned on trial and error since back then there weren't computer forums to join. When someone comes on here and wants advice, why can't you just give it to them in a positive way? Why do you have to be so nasty about it? That is the biggest difference between you and I.

 

[snaredrum]

Originally Posted by reefernana
The difference between you and I doesn't have a thing to do with our tanks. The difference is in your first sentence. You could care less. And it shows, constantly. But, just so you know, my tank is just fine, thanks. I had my first saltwater tank most likely before you were born almost thirty years ago. And I learned on trial and error since back then there weren't computer forums to join. When someone comes on here and wants advice, why can't you just give it to them in a positive way? Why do you have to be so nasty about it? That is the biggest difference between you and I.
Good answer.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
Really I could care less what you think, take my advice or not. My tanks will flourish and i will continue to make lots of money off frags that my corals produce. I don't have ich, I don't have nudi's, I don't have red bugs, etc. My reef is well balanced and needs little maint, I accomplished that by listning to people....you should try it....maybe we should compare tanks or prop systems.
Everything you have in your tank was, at one time in this hobby, considered impossible........and if the folks who learned how to care for these animals listened to people like you, the self-appointed tank police; we would still be discussing goldfish.As for listening to you; I've never seen a post by you that was at all helpful; just pure, self-righteous condemnation.