Electric Flame Scallop

Quick facts

Identity

Also known as

Red Electric Flame Scallop; Electric Disco Clam

Environment

Saltwater

Native to

Indo-Pacific

Habitat

Crevices and protected spots among live rock and coral rubble on reefs, where it wedges itself in place using byssal threads

Sourcing

Wild-caught

Conservation

Not Evaluated

Care

Care level

Expert Only

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

1 – 4 in (2.5 – 10 cm)

Lifespan

1 – 2 yrs

Min tank

30 gal (114 L)

Growth rate

Slow

Placement

Bottom

Water

Temperature

76 – 78 °F (24 – 26 °C)

pH

8.1 – 8.4

dKH

8 – 12 dKH

Salinity

1.023 – 1.026 SG

Flow

Moderate

Behavior & compatibility

Social

Group

Aggression to own kind

Low

Active

Night

Reef safe

Yes

Invert safe

Yes

Shrimp safe

Yes

Clean-up role

Filter feeding

Population boom risk

Low

Feeding & breeding

Diet

Planktivore

Foods

Phytoplankton, Zooplankton

Breeding type

Broadcast spawner

Breeding difficulty

Not bred in captivity

Sexing

Sexes cannot be distinguished externally

Target feeding

Required

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Care guide

Overview

Flashes a rapid, lightning-like shimmer along its red mantle edge as light-reflecting tissue catches ambient light, then wedges itself deep into a rock crevice using byssal threads and rarely relocates. This obligate filter feeder needs an established reef system, regular phytoplankton dosing, and a copper-free system to survive long term.

Care

This scallop needs a mature, well-established reef system rather than a newly cycled tank, since it depends on a steady natural supply of suspended microorganisms in addition to dosed foods. It settles into a crevice among live rock or rubble and wedges itself in place with byssal threads, so rockwork should include sheltered pockets rather than flat open surfaces. Water parameters must stay stable, with low nitrates and consistent calcium and alkalinity, and copper-based medications must never be used anywhere in the system. Moderate flow across its position helps deliver food to the extended mantle and tentacles.

Feeding

As an obligate filter feeder it cannot survive on light alone and must be fed phytoplankton several times a week, with additional zooplankton or other fine particulate foods supplementing the diet. Target feeding with a turkey baster or pipette aimed just upstream of the animal greatly improves feeding success compared to broadcast dosing. Many specimens starve slowly in tanks that lack sufficient standing populations of pods and phytoplankton, so regular direct feeding is considered essential rather than optional.

Tank mates

It does well alongside peaceful fish and invertebrates that ignore it, but is vulnerable to butterflyfish, wrasses, and other nippers that may pick at its exposed mantle and tentacles. Multiple individuals can be kept together as long as feeding is sufficient for the whole group. Avoid housing with aggressive crabs or predatory snails that might attack it while it is anchored in place.

Breeding

Captive reproduction is not documented in home aquariums, and this species is essentially never bred in the trade. Wild individuals are broadcast spawners that release eggs and sperm into the water column for external fertilization. All specimens available to hobbyists are wild-collected.

Health

Slow decline from inadequate feeding is the most common problem, often showing as a shrunken or retracted mantle and reduced flashing activity over time. Sudden shell clapping and swimming behavior usually indicates stress or a perceived predator threat nearby. Any exposure to copper treatments elsewhere in a shared system is fatal, so quarantine and medication protocols must avoid it entirely.

Sources

1. SCALLOP - ELECTRIC FLAME Lima sp. - Aquatics Unlimited
2. Electric Flame Scallop: Saltwater Aquarium Invertebrates
3. Electric Flame Scallop, Lima sp. – The Reef Experience
4. Electric Flame Scallop – Expert Only Reef Invertebrate – Reefamorous