Is this a flame scallop?

[Dj Medic]

l'm not an expert at this reef thing so it may not be a flame scallop but it really looks like one to me. I have no idea where this thing came from, how long it's been there, or how it's been surviving this long. I'm guessing it was small and just has been growing in that spot for a while, I heard that they were incredibly difficult to keep alive so l've never tried to get one even though I've really wanted one. I've also read that they need immaculate water quality and my water has been dirty since the creation of this tank, nitrates around 25 and it has been higher than that before up to 50 and I have no idea what the phosphates are but I'm assuming they're high too. Hopefully the reef flux that I put in here doesn't kill it. I thought it was a huge aiptasia when I first saw the tentacles peaking out.

 

[DaJMasta]

It is, I don't think the kind you usually see for sale (they have more orange tentacles), but it's definitely a scallop.

They are not insanely hard to care for, but they are obligate filter feeders, so if you're not feeding particulate foods, phyto, copepods, or similar, they will eventually waste away (some fish like copperbands will also eat them.) When I say feeding, I don't mean once or twice a week - they are nonphotosynthetic organisms, so that's all they get for nutrition.

Water quality requirement I'd say is similar to LPS corals, not super demanding but not fans of high nitrates and needs normal calcification minerals to survive and grow.

 

[Dj Medic]

It is, I don't think the kind you usually see for sale (they have more orange tentacles), but it's definitely a scallop.

They are not insanely hard to care for, but they are obligate filter feeders, so if you're not feeding particulate foods, phyto, copepods, or similar, they will eventually waste away (some fish like copperbands will also eat them.) When I say feeding, I don't mean once or twice a week - they are nonphotosynthetic organisms, so that's all they get for nutrition.

Water quality requirement I'd say is similar to LPS corals, not super demanding but not fans of high nitrates and needs normal calcification minerals to survive and grow.

Well there is one of those plank auto feeders directly above it with some of that reef jerky so I'm assuming he's getting most of it from that. But I do add phyto and coral snow alternating every other day as well. Oh and there's tons of pods so it might be getting some of that as well. I wish it was in a better spot where I could actually see it though without having to move the rock.

 

[DaJMasta]

They can, and likely will, move themselves at some point. Scallops can swim (and it looks hilarious), so if they are feeling it, they will let go and swim off a bit, usually overnight. If you come back and it's missing (or you hear scratching sounds from the tank at night), it may have just moved.

I don't think it's a super reliable indicator of health, but the sort of pleats of the internal part of it should look like they fill the opening, are evenly spaced, and have sort of a full look - as yours does. When they start to starve those pleats can look somewhat retracted or pulled to either half of the shell so that there is more space open in the center.