Disappeared Abalone? 11/28/11
Hi -
<Hello Gail>
  After doing research - a fair amount thanks to you! - I purchased an abalone for my CUC in my reef aquarium.  It came mail order (a same-day delivery, from a very reputable UK source) and was in fine shape when it arrived.  I did a very long, slow acclimation process, floating the bag for an hour (with no lights on), then drip-acclimatising over 3 hours.  When it came time to place it in the aquarium, I found it extremely difficult to remove from the bag it was in.  I did so as gently and carefully as I could and then held it against the glass at the top.  It grabbed on instantly, and strongly, and then raced down the side of the aquarium, across the substrate, and under a rock.  I was amazed at the speed with which it moved.
(While it was going down the side, I had a fascinating view of its underside, and how it moved).
   This was nearly 3 days ago.  Since then, I have not seen him, and I don't see any evidence of lots of algae being eaten.  We've been fighting an infestation of green filamentous algae for a couple of months now - not entirely sure what it is, as a sea hare wouldn't touch it.  There are clean patches in various places, but I also have other snails and hermits, so it's hard to know who's eating what.  Our parameters are all good (0 phosphates, nitrates, etc.).  There's plenty of rockwork the abalone could be hiding in - is there any way I can tell if it's alive and well?  I bought some "sea veggies" and a clip, thinking to specially feed it in case it, like the sea hare, doesn't like the stuff that's growing - but it would be good to know where it is so I could place the clip near it.
<It will find the food, not to worry.>
I should add that I've stayed up after "lights out" and looked for it (with a torch) but haven't seen anything.
  One of your articles mentions that it is an "awesome grazer" once it's established.  How long does it take to get established?
<Abalones are nocturnal and will find refuge in holes or crevices in rocks and coral during the day and come out at night to feed.  Providing ample hiding places such as you describe should suit the Abalone just fine.  As long as there are no aggressive snail-eating crabs, invertebrates, or fish present, the Abalone should eventually come out to feed in the evening. 
Give it a few more days, observe.>
Thanks in advance for any thoughts,
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
Gail HL
<<Am chiming in to ask if this animal is tropical or cool/cold water... Too many mis-sold in the trade are incompatible in warm water systems. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/abselfaqs.htm
and the linked Haliotid files above. Bob Fenner>>

Question about Abalone... beh., sel.  11/26/08 Hi there, <Hello Luis!> I really appreciate your site. It is a great source of information. <Ah, good. Glad you find it useful> I have a question about my abalone. I bought it just over two weeks ago from my LFS. I had done some research and I was positive that it was a tropical abalone. The LFS confirmed this, but of course, they're trying to sell it to me so I took their confirmation with a grain of salt. <Always a good idea... to be a bit speculative, tentative...> After acclimating it to my tank I set it in the rock and he attached himself nicely. The lights turned off and the next day I noticed it was gone from the spot, which was expected. It took me several days to find it but I was finally able to spot him on the underside of a plate-shaped rock near the bottom of the tank. I was happy to see that it was still attached to the rock, with it's 'eyes' and antennae fully deployed. It was also encouraging to see it react as expected to stimulus from my flashlight by retracting whenever I'd shine the light on him. So far so good. My question is, he has not moved from that spot since he got there. I have checked on my tank at several intervals over a period of several nights (when they're supposed to be active) and he's always at the same spot, looking very much alive (fully extended eyes/antennae) and reacting to light stimulus each time. Is it normal for it to just sit there for so long? a few days I would understand, but it's been well over two weeks now and I'm beginning to worry. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Luis. <Mmm, well, both tropical to cooler water species of Haliotids "don't do much" moving about really... that yours is situated, reacting to the light as you state, is very good news. A common misunderstanding is that these Archeogastropods "do" cruise about, somehow munching on a wide variety of small algae, of a wide mix of Thallophytes, even BGA... This is not the case. Most are macrophagous herbivores, consuming larger thalli of Red and Brown algae, a good deal of which "happens by" that they "trap" and "grind" to feed on, w/o moving much at all... I would look to other species of animals for such actual "active" algal control... and more to the point, review what can/should be done to avoid noisome algal proliferation period. Otherwise, keep checking on your Ab... it's likely fine as/where it is. Cheers, Bob Fenner>
Re: Question about Abalone 12/2/08 Many thanks for the reply Bob. I am happy to report that my abalone has finally moved...yeay! I took a look at the tank last night (or should I say very, very, very early in the morning, in complete darkness...) and imagine my excitement when I saw my ab vigorously traveling down the back pane of the tank! upon closer inspection, that back pane is now squeaky clean (it had a hard-to-reach thin algae film before). So I feel much better now knowing that he is indeed the tropical ab type and very much the voracious algae consumer I had hoped for. <Yay!> Anyways, thanks for your advice and keep up the excellent work! Best Regards, Luis. <Thank you Luis... am endeavouring to do so my friend. BobF>

Re: Clean up crew Why an abalone? They are very expensive. I purchased one and have been reading up on them, but I was just wondering why you suggested this animal. <they are AMAZING and incomparable herbivores once established>

Abalone  - 01/09/2006 Hi Bob, been reading up on your Abalone articles. you know a fair bit, may I ask you a few questions. <Sure> I live in South Australia. <Brrrrr! But beautiful. Have been to Tasy> I have the opportunity to sell abs from an on land farmer. <Mmm, there is a parallel of sorts here with some fine folks that raise the Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis... hard to make a market (currently, and into the near-seeable future) for such cool-coldwater organisms in the ornamental trade> I was thinking that the aquarium industry would be a good one to get stuck into. Live abs 10 cm up to 70cm. <Is a wonderful field, area...> It seems many have problems in keeping them alive. Water temp seems to be a problem and the worms that abs carry can be a negative apart from other things I have read <Yes... mainly the former... cool water Haliotids don't adapt well to tropical settings, and the vast majority (more than 99 percent) of systems, market are tropical... Couple this with the distance to travel to and through marine livestock wholesale markets, their present resistance to coldwater stocking...> What are your thoughts on this, is this idea worth pursuing or will it not be accepted by the retailers. Has it been tried yet. <Has been tried off and on... I would pursue other markets, or more warm-water organisms if you could... Is there a possibility of culturing tropical Haliotids perhaps? Maybe some other mollusks, groups of organisms at this facility? Bob Fenner> Kind regards Gary Scholz

Large Abalone Dear Mister Fenner <Hello> My name is Steve Zemp and I'm involved in a small company in Switzerland (Europe), that produces Fishing Lures out of Abalone Shells, since 1945. <Neat! I have had friends, acquaintances over the years who fashioned Haliotid shells into jewelry, hair-clips...> We are interested to buy large, empty - uncleaned Haliotis rufescens Shells or other Abalone Shells for our Lure production. The problem is, that we need to get large Abalone Shells that are 5 inches or more in size. The Shell outside should be red or orange/brown colored, like for example: <Oh yes... I used to sell these to friends Marty Beals and Dennis Mok at Tideline (they are still in business in Los Angeles, have you contacted them?)> -HALIOTIS - RUFESCENS (Red abalone) -HALIOTIS - GIGANTEA (Japanese Abalone) -HALIOTIS - KAMTSCHATKANA (Pinto abalone) -HALIOTIS - CORRUGATA (Pink abalone) -HALIOTIS - ASSIMILIS (Threaded abalone) -HALIOTIS - WALLALENSIS (Flat abalone) The smaller Shells are not suitable for our Fishing Lures, because they get to thin, after sanding and polishing them. If you could help us to buy one or more of these large Haliotidae Shells, we would be pleased to get an offer from you. Thank you very much for your efforts and looking forward to your answer. Best regards from Switzerland Steve Zemp Company: Interfish - Pfaeffikon (SZ) AG Street: Kantonsstrasse 42 Zip: CH-8807 City: Freienbach State: Switzerland (Europe) Airport: Zurich Fax 0041 55 410 36 76 E-mail steffen.zemp@csam.com <Do contact Tideline, 640 S. Isis, Inglewood, CA 90301, 310-641-9106, fax 310-649-1131 they carry these shells, cleaned... and can ship them to you. Otherwise, I will post your request on our root web: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ to help you locate other sources. Bob Fenner>
Re: large Abalone Dear Robert Does your friends from "Tideline" also have a E-mail address? Please let me know. <Unfortunately not that I know of. Please do fax or make a call to them during PST on the west coast of the U.S., and ask for Marty, Dennis or Robin and mention my name> Thank you very much for your efforts. Best regards Steve Zemp INTERFISH PFAEFFIKON (SZ) AG <Bob Fenner>
Re: large Abalone Dear Robert Thank you very much for your answer. I will contact "Marty Beals and Dennis Mok Tideline, 640 S. Isis", Inglewood, CA 90301, 310-641-9106, Fax 310-649-1131, by Fax and ask them, if they could help us to get the Shells, that we are looking for. Thank you very much for all your efforts and have a nice day. Best regards from Switzerland to you Steve Zemp INTERFISH PFAEFFIKON (SZ) AG <You are welcome my friend. I will keep my eyes open... There are "stashes" of these shells here and there that I occasionally run into. Bob Fenner>

Abalone (to eat) in Singapore I saw your page about ABALONE on the internet and thought that you might be interested to visit our URL at: http://www.singnet.com.sg/~palomino/ or: http://web.singnet.com.sg/~palomino/ which is about ABALONE too. I hope you like our site. You may want to list us with a link on your links page. If so, the details are: Palomino Delectables -- GOURMET ABALONE delivered to your doorstep!! Palomino Delectables delivers worldwide by air-courier, gourmet ABALONE in consumer-friendly quantities, already cooked and hermetically packed. Gourmet abalone, abalone shells, abalone RECIPES and full-color photographs available at: http://www.singnet.com.sg/~palomino/ If you decide to link us, please let me have the URL of the exact page on which our link appears. Would appreciate your comments about our site. Best regards Palo Mino Palomino Delectables Singapore <Hmm, very nice... will add your link to the Abalone article bibliography. Bob Fenner in transit in Indonesia on the way back to Singapore for the Aquarama trade show there this weekend>