Lima scabra vs. Lima sp. (Scallop questions.)

[fishguy_8]

O.K. first of all I was just nosing around ffexpress.com and noticed they had both lima sp. (flame scallop) and lima scabra (electric scallop) what is the difference here i searched Lima scabra and came up w/ a bunch of pictures that looked identical to the flame scallop??? ok i was wondering about something i was just learning a little about them and read a huge articly by biogeek which was very informative. there was another guy in the thread as well his name was nathan i do believe. anyway i noticed they were talking about how difficult it is to keep scallops alive due to their finnicky eating behaviors. they are very hard to keep in aquaria for more than a year it seems but i was wondering if the problem is they are trying to keep *nathan was i dont know the parameters of biogeeks studie tanks* the scallops in larger tanks. i believe nathans was in a 120g. could survival rate be increased if it were in a smaller tank like a 5-20g. aquarium? the larger the tank is the more the food will be dispersed and i realize that the scallops are filter feeders so if they were in a situation where food was more condensed wouldnt that raise the probability of survival? obviously you'd have to vary the diet because they do require several foods i think that DT's phytoplankton, zooplankton and the "golden pears" or whatever they are called would all be sufficient food if they were in smaller quarters dont you think? this is all just a hypothesis but i'm just trying to pick your brains. what do you think? or is there another variable im leaving out of the picture.
Jon

[FMarini]

Hi:
I think your hypothesis is well founded, if you can increase the probability of the food running into the feeder, then your animal should get more food, however w/ smaller tanks comes the problem of quick nutrient built up, so your water will pollute quicker, which of course suggests that you ensure proper nutrient export (read frequent water changes, and skimming). I suspect a smaller tank will help get more food to the scallop, but due to the track record of this animal i don't think it will matter either way.

Here is a quote from Rob toonen-"Flame and flashing "scallops" have a very poor survival record in aquaria, and the typical pattern of the animals hiding, and slowly wasting away (over a few to about 6 months) is the norm for these animals. The single most common cause for their demise in aquaria, I would guess, is starvation."
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin...?threadid=6585

unfortunately, you'll have to test this hypothesis w/ a live animal,
my opinion
frank

[fishguy_8]

i dont know if i will test it im just spitting ideas out. i read that quote today i think. is there any foods which have been proven to be a staple for the scallops? or is it kinda still up in the air? increased nutrient exports would deffinitely have to be made but thats a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. i like many others dont skim but that could always be an option and just increased water changes like you mentioned. have you heard of anyone trying this before frank?
thanks for the reply
Jon