Abalones are some of the most fascinating invertebrates in the ocean being specially adapted to live in habitats with very strong wave action so they can hold on to rocks and graze thick and tough algae growth. The only reason that abalones aren’t more widespread in the aquarium hobby is that most of the species are coldwater, however there are some species of tropical Abalones but these are either illegal or not practical to harvest.
Most of the aquaculture of Haliotis abalones are of the larger growing coldwater species because these are consumed as food or for shell crafts but there are a few tropical species cultured in warm water environments such as the beautiful juveniles that just popped up on Unique corals. We are unsure of exactly which species of tropical abalone these are however we have reason to believe these are actually a hybrid and at currently only one inch long these small gastropods still have a lot of growing to do.
