Electric Flame Scallop

I have recently acquired one of my favorite specimens to view.  That would be as the topic indicates an electric flame scallop.  I love how the way that it looks in my tank, it adds a huge splash of color.  I was wondering though.  I have heard a few different things about the electric wave that passes over the lip membrane.  Is it electricity or not? 

Some people have told me that it is, and other say that it isn't, but no one has been able to support the argument either way. 

It doesn't appear to shock food, it is a filter feeder, so I tend to favor the side that says it is not true electricity.

Any information on the subject would be appreciated

I've read somewhere that there is really no electricity, that it is one of the membranes/apendages moving rapidly over what ever is underneath, causing it to look like electricity.  Maybe someone on here can point you in the direction of a link to this info.

If they only live 6-10 months, I'm glad that I got it for under $10.00

The articles I read I guess refered to the life span in the wild.

This brings up another question.

When it dies (which I can not it will)  is it going to pollute my tank?  (Other the normal dead animal in the tank messing stuff up sort of way.)

 

Scallops, like other bivalves typically do not get enough food in our relatively clean aquariums. Feed it lots of phytoplankton and other suspended invert foods like Black Powder, Marine Snow or "Adams Fish Food" pulverized, and it will do much better, longer. Target feeding is somewhat useful but we typically cannot target feed them 10 times per day.

If I am correct, and most of the time I am , the luminescence is a biochemical electrostatic reaction that does involve electricity just like our body's nervous system is a biochemical eletrostatic process. It's just really, really, low values of electricity.