ID please ???

[Crystabel]

Hi all!

well I had seen this shell on my rock when I placed it in the tank - but I did not think it was alive ! but it is !!! It open and closes !

anyone know what it is ? the picture is not that clear - it is a white mussel of some kind....

anything I need to know on this guy ? does it need feeding or something?

thanks in advance !!!

Isabelle

 

[Kano]

I'd agree with some type of muscle/scallop/etc. Mostly I see them dead in the liverock bins but if it made it to your tank alive, I'd just give it flow and keep it where it is. Any tiny particles of mysis/fish food etc should be enough for it to survive. I could be wrong but I've kept a muscle alive without trying (I thought it was dead but tried to take him out but he was attached and opening/closing). They're fun to watch even if they don't do anything amazing.

 

[Crystabel]

Thanks for rhe reply! But my tank is cycling - so i am not feeding anything yet... There are plenty of pods... But i will get some fish food... Anyways it has been 8 days and there is no ammonia yet... Might help!
Thanks again!

 

[phil519]

more than likely it is a filter feeder. Fish food/mysis are typically far too large for filter feeders. Honestly as a hitcher you should probably just enjoy it while it's there. Feeding hitcher's like mussels, clams, barnacles etc just pollute the water. What i mean is that you would have to target feed it, otherwise the food may just rot in the tank before it gets anywhere close to the clam/scallop/mussel to eat.

If you insist on attempting to keep it alive, you could try any number of foods that are typically used to keep gorgonians and non-photosynthetic corals alive. Zooplankton sized foods do well such as rotifers or similar. Rod's probably makes a suitable coral food but I can't remember the specific brand off the top of my head.