[Live Rock Ricky]

you guys keep them or not?

any pro's and con's are greatly appreciated.

[charlie]

Nope, never have, I hear that they don't live real long in a reef situation. Maybe someone else could add to this.

[Live Rock Ricky]

i read something online a bit earlier stating they usually last about 6-10 months in captivity and can be difficult to feed. Plus they tend to hide under rocks and usually wanted to be moved by the owners causing further damage.

[charlie]

Good point. When I buy something, I usually look for longevity.

[zhenya]

I kept one in the early days of my reefing experience and it lasted about a year. Have no idea how but it deed. Having said that, I strongly advice against purchasing one. I don't believe this creatures should be collected at all and if you buy them you just support the collectors. Let the LFS bite the bullet and keep them...
To keep one of these alive you need so much food in the tank that it would simply pollute your tank. And not the least, I don't believe anyone knows for sure what exactly they eat anyway.

[scubadude]

They require alot of phyto feedings and there are a few reefers that successfully keep them for any length of time. Its quite ashame cuz most LFS's make them very affordable and especially the electric flame scallops can be VERY appealing but most often will die in captive tanks

[Ninong]

Unfortunately it will begin dying as soon as you get it. The flame scallop (Lima scabra) is really not a scallop, they just call it that. It's a free-roaming file clam. It's a filterer that feeds on microscopic phytoplankton and bacterioplankton. Be sure to watch it and remove it quickly if it should die to avoid problems.

It is a shame that these things are collected. I noticed on Drs. Foster & Smith's website that they advise feeding each individual specimen phytoplankton with a pipette. That won't work unless you plan on feeding it 20 or 30 times a day around the clock. They filter feed constantly and are incapable of processing large quantities of food all at once. So whoever wrote that advice doesn't know what he's talking about.