Thorny Oyster

[Lonnie]

I recently lost both of my oysters after having them for over 6 months. The first one started to pull away from the edge of the shell like it was shrinking. Within 2 days it died. The second remained in good shape for a few weeks & I thought it would be ok. Then it did the same thing.

I left the shells in the tank after taking the remains out of them. I noticed that there was a brown rust like film around the edge of the shell. Now I noticed clear branch like growths along the inside edges. It is not tubular like common aptasia, but very small 1/32" or thinner, nearly transparent & segmented like a tree branch. Any ideas what this is & if it had something to do with their dying. My water parameters have not changed, so I figure it was something that killed them.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Lonnie

[lakehorse61]

i just ordered one & probably shouldnt have. i can not find any documentation on their care.

were yours like clams as far as their requirements? lighting & feeding or more like a flame scallop?

sorry i cant help with your issue. i have had clams have similar deaths when my system was too new when i added them.

but mine are great now so i hope the oyster will be. do they put their foot down or romp around the tank?

[boomsticks]

Oysters are very difficult to care for such as the flame scallop. I have just got lucky with mine (scallop) they are filter feeders (phytoplankton, bacteria, etc).

[johnnybravo234]

I had one for about a year and it died pretty much the same way lonnies did. I think theyd do best in a very large system and heavy feedings of phyto or cyclopeeze. Remember, they dont have the zoozanthelae that giant clams have and rely completely on the water column for their food.

[lakehorse61]

i am tying to decide which tank to put the oyster in. maybe the pond would be best or the reef. the pond is the largest system but has only decorative lighting which sounds ok since they arent like clams.

i bought a scallop too but i think i will put it in the SH tank. i had one in the SH tank before.

[Lonnie]

Mine were stationary, 1 was 3" dia & the other 4" & were connected together. They were very nice, but I have no idea what happened to them. I thought it was some type of disease/parasite, the way they suddenly got sick. I was feeding them phyto as well & they were very unique additions to my tank.

Thanks for the replies.
Lonnie

[Ryanqk]

I only have the shells of some very nice specimens can anyone post a pic of theres?

[Slickdonkey]

Here's a good article on scallops, oysters, etc:

http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2002/toonen.htm

I wanted to get an electric flame scallop, but apparently even if you know how to take care of them and are dedicated to the task, they just don't have a very long lifespan.