Limpet? And what else?

[Hunna]

During the tank breakdown I did, I tried to save as many lives as I could. Including these 3. I’m assuming the one is a decent sized limpet, but what are the other 2? Bivalves of some sort, but any guess as to which? All 3 are alive, the limpet has moved quite a bit from where I originally placed it. The other 2 have attached to the rock work and close when disturbed.

 

[siege]

Unsure, myself, but I do know that bivalves - especially filter feeders like scallops, clams, and mussels - tend not to thrive long in ultra-clean or low-nutrient reef systems, because they rely heavily on suspended particulate matter, phytoplankton, and microfauna in the water column to feed. In sterile or heavily skimmed tanks with high filtration and minimal dissolved organics, their food supply is often insufficient unless intentionally supplemented.

A lot of folks who successfully keep these and other filter feeders either usually skip a skimmer entirely, or tend either to turn it off for a few hours after dosing phyto, etc., or only run it at night. If you've got a fuge, periodically hitting it with a turkey baster to blow the crud off the macro or rocks and allowing it to circulate in the tank also would help ensure they have plenty to eat.

 

[Hunna]

Unsure, myself, but I do know that bivalves - especially filter feeders like scallops, clams, and mussels - tend not to thrive long in ultra-clean or low-nutrient reef systems, because they rely heavily on suspended particulate matter, phytoplankton, and microfauna in the water column to feed. In sterile or heavily skimmed tanks with high filtration and minimal dissolved organics, their food supply is often insufficient unless intentionally supplemented.

A lot of folks who successfully keep these and other filter feeders either usually skip a skimmer entirely, or tend either to turn it off for a few hours after dosing phyto, etc., or only run it at night. If you've got a fuge, periodically hitting it with a turkey baster to blow the crud off the macro or rocks and allowing it to circulate in the tank also would help ensure they have plenty to eat.

It’s just a simple DIY AIO, only filtration is some floss. They have been doing well for over a week so far, so I guess time will tell if they make it or not.

 

[siege]

Electric scallops and Tridacna clams are part of my long-term stocking goals, so I've been trying to bone up on them any time I can.

What I'm doing for my feather duster, and porcelain crab (and, I guess, sponges and corals) is mixing in some "Newborn Fish Micron Shrimp Patties" - which is a 500µm powder - into my phyto every other day or so for one or both feedings (fuge and display during "sunset"). I measure out the phyto, tap the bottle of 'shrimp patties' over it once or thrice, shake/swirl until its mixed in well, and then broadcast feed with the filter pump off for 10 - 15m.

I'm using this stuff because I had it on hand - my wife originally bought it for one of our freshwater tanks without realizing exactly what it was... and there's nothing in the freshwater tanks that really wants/needs it. So far as I've been able to determine, it may not be the most ideal thing for the job - reef roids, reef chili or roti-feast might be slightly better for the purpose, if one was going about it intentionally, instead of just making what you have work like I've been doing - but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything, either. Reef snow will probably be just fine, if your system generates enough of it.

In any case, you'll definitely need more than phyto alone to keep them long term.