Abalone: Pros and Cons, general care and hardyness?

[SlugSnorter]

Tropical Abalone owners, how do your abalones look, eat and behave? I was thinking of getting one, but am wondering about the pros and cons of their ownership

 

[blaxsun]

They look alien! Mine spend most of the day in and out of the rocks and only really venture out at night. They're like turbo snails on steroids (they can cover a lot of ground and obstacles present no challenge whatsoever). They abhor high nitrate levels, but other than that they're fairly easy to care for. As long as your tank is established and there's plenty of algae (etc.) no nibble on - they'll be content.

Here's "Oscar" with 4 Halloween hermit pals joining "Homer" (the other abalone) in my tank. I highly recommend drip acclimating your abalone for 35-45 minutes prior to introduction. And you'll note Oscar is in a strainer: when these guys decide to stick to something, they're not coming off for hours. So I can just slip the strainer in the tank and wait for him to crawl out if need be.

 

[Rtaylor]

I love my abalone Oscar Meyer (my fiancé calls it bologne). They eat a ton of algae and are fairly large, but they don’t knock things over moving around. The only negative is that it eats so much I have to feed it nori as there isn’t enough algae in my 150 to keep him happy. Also, they are only active at night unless they are really hungry. Oscar reminded me to put the nori on the clip the other day by making an appearance mid day.

 

[Rtaylor]

They look alien! Mine spend most of the day in and out of the rocks and only really venture out at night. They're like turbo snails on steroids (they can cover a lot of ground and obstacles present no challenge whatsoever). They abhor high nitrate levels, but other than that they're fairly easy to care for. As long as your tank is established and there's plenty of algae (etc.) no nibble on - they'll be content.

Here's "Oscar" with 4 Halloween hermit pals joining "Homer" (the other abalone) in my tank. I highly recommend drip acclimating your abalone for 35-45 minutes prior to introduction. And you'll note Oscar is in a strainer: when these guys decide to stick to something, they're not coming off for hours. So I can just slip the strainer in the tank and wait for him to crawl out if need be.

Mine is named Oscar too…..same bologna reference?

 

[blaxsun]

Mine is named Oscar too…..same bologna reference?

Most likely (the wife named him today). I know that Homer was a Simpsons/baloney song reference.

 

[Breadbox]

Big appetite and moves quickly, mine only comes out in the evening and sleeps during the day and night. They won't knock over anything so utility wise they are all ups and no downs.

The downside is that they are ugly as sin, especially when viewing their underside.

 

[Daniel]

I just got 2 of these for my system too - wasn't sure "how many per gallon" but figured to give it a shot. Nocturnal creatures and ugly as a black blemish in the tank, but they're definitely doing some work... my ulva outbreak in display seems a bit more under control. Next step is to see if the abalone will make a dent on the bryopsis!

 

[Asagi]

Anyone know a good source? Would like a few

 

[pikadab]

Anyone know a good source? Would like a few

me too

 

[moustachio]

I just got 2 of these for my system too - wasn't sure "how many per gallon" but figured to give it a shot. Nocturnal creatures and ugly as a black blemish in the tank, but they're definitely doing some work... my ulva outbreak in display seems a bit more under control. Next step is to see if the abalone will make a dent on the bryopsis!

Where or how about where your able to get them? I've been searching for a while now with no luck

 

[beesnreefs]

Where or how about where your able to get them? I've been searching for a while now with no luck

Same. Been looking for a month now and no luck

 

[moustachio]

Same. Been looking for a month now and no luck

I'm not sure if it's a seasonal thing for harvesting in the tropics and just me looking during the wrong time

 

[SlugSnorter]

Where or how about where your able to get them? I've been searching for a while now with no luck

Same. Been looking for a month now and no luck

Reef Cleaners, they got stock every handful months

 

[beesnreefs]

Reef Cleaners, they got stock every handful months

Thanks!

 

[MrStoffel]

I just got 2 of these for my system too - wasn't sure "how many per gallon" but figured to give it a shot. Nocturnal creatures and ugly as a black blemish in the tank, but they're definitely doing some work... my ulva outbreak in display seems a bit more under control. Next step is to see if the abalone will make a dent on the bryopsis!

Hi Daniel,
could you comment on the effectives of the Abalone snail.
Did it solve your ulva and/or bryopsis problems? Looking at getting one myself.

 

[Daniel]

The Ulva is all gone! Bryopsis still there and doesn't seem to be getting under control outside of manual removal. Still haven't found a good way to control that nuisance algae yet.

 

[formallydehyde]

The Ulva is all gone! Bryopsis still there and doesn't seem to be getting under control outside of manual removal. Still haven't found a good way to control that nuisance algae yet.

Elysia crispata/clarki sea slugs ("lettuce sea slugs") eat a lot of it, and actually prefer bryopsis to anything else. But they don't do well in high flow, and need all pumps and overflows protected so they don't get sucked in. If they get stuck in an area of constant high flow sometimes they just hunker down for days until they die. So they might have a hard time in a typical reef tank unless you baby them a bit. Also a good idea to have other macro algae in the bryopsidales family around like "shaving brush" plants if they run out of bryopsis so they have something to eat.

Strawberry conchs also eat it, or at least mine do. I've watched them stick their weird foot to the glass and climb up to eat entire bryopsis colonies off it. They don't seem to prefer or avoid bryopsis more than any other type of algae. They actually scale rocks quite well too, once they're acclimated to a tank. Plus they're adorable.

 

[One Reefing Boi]

The Ulva is all gone! Bryopsis still there and doesn't seem to be getting under control outside of manual removal. Still haven't found a good way to control that nuisance algae yet.

I have a Halloween urchin that obliterated Bryopsis in my tank.

 

[dcmoore214]

Most people may not be willing to try, but I got my abalones from the local Chinese food market.