Help With Scallops?????

[revhtree]

I am sure that this has been discussed 1000 times, but i am new to this and cant seem to find what i am looking for. So if you can help, I would be very thankful. Here it goes:
I got 100pds of live rock the other day in my 2 week 75 gallon tank. Attached to the roch was 2 scallops about 2 1/2 inches long. Many people have said that they are hard to keep alive, and feed. Here is the delimma: I dont know what to feed them or how. I am afraid that they will die and I surely dont want that. They are active I guess. At night or when the light is off that open up. I have had them for about 3 days now. All help will be gladly welcomed. Thanks All. :?

 

[quarryshark]

Well you can try phytoplankton and feed them directly . They are filter feeder, and if you have nothing in the water for them to eat, they starve. I tried like heck to keep a flame scallop with no luck.

 

[revhtree]

What would be in the water for them to eat?

How do you directly feed them?

I am what you would call..............Fish STUPID!

Bare with me.

 

[steve-s]

Their survivabilty is not usually long lived as a rule but you might try this article....

Flame scallops by Rob Toonen

Cheers
Steve

 

[revhtree]

Thanks for the great article. That sums up all I need to know.

 

[XXFirefighter]

Looks like if you feed them the right stuff you can have them for a few years.. 2-3... I think I'll try my much food in my tank when it's ready !

 

[afilter]

Wow, glad I stumbled on this thread in my search, some great info. in that article.

I just added a very healthy looking flame scallop to my tank yesterday. I currently feed green lifeline, mysis, daphnia, and cyclop-eeze supplemented with some marine flake and pellets.

I will be heading back to the LFS to pick up some phytoplankton for target feeding. Will 2-3 times a week be enough phytoplankton?

Hopefully, I can will have some luck with it as it is a beautiful animal.

 

[scuba_steve]

cyclopeez would be the best choice for target feeding imo

 

[JG]

Their natural life spans are short ( 2- 3 years). So if you can keep one alive that long you've done great. I suspect that the ones that are for sale at the LFS are already fairly old for scallops.

 

[Brad]

I have a scallop that I first saw the day that the LR arrived in the tank. (LR.com) He swam around for a day or two, then settled on a spot on the rock and has not moved in nearly 1 year.

During that time, he has grown from about 3mm to about 20mm in size. I feed DTs nearly every day. I don't target feed, just pour 1 sml capful into the tank (40gal). I don't even stop the circulation pump, so a lot of the DTs probably ends up in the sump.

 

[afilter]

Do you think phytoplankton is necessary or will the cyclopeeze be better?

Mine did swim around a bit yesterday, but seems to have settled in a crevice and has not moved since. It is partially open and the tenacles are out. It looks great for the time being.

 

[Brad]

I've always used DT's phytoplankton. Have not tried Cyclopeze, so I have no opinion on it.

 

[scuba_steve]

both wouldnt hurt just dont over do it

 

[afilter]

Thanks, I will get some DTs and target feed a small amount every other day in addition to what I feed daily for the general population.

 

[afilter]

I was out of town for a day and when I arrived home I did a PWC.

After completing it I noticed the scallop had moved and was working its way under the LR, but was still looking very good with all the tenicles extended. I pulled it back out more into the open before it worked into an area where I could not get it. I feed the fish and added some phyto plankton. Now the scallop has moved to the corner and is more open than I have ever seen one (1"+). It is open so far that I can actually see down in it.

Can I assume this is a good sign?