Brittle star and abalone health??

[yanni]

Hey all,

I recently got a bristle star and abalone for my 20g 2.5 month old reef tank, and am just wondering how do I ensure I know they’re healthy. The abalone has been mostly nocturnal, only really moving at lights out, and the star has moments of activity, but mostly lives in the shadows under rocks patrolling a “lair” he seems to like. I want to make sure I look after them as best as I can, is there any ways to ensure their health, or indicators to show when they’re getting stressed/starved/sick?

added photos of the lil guys, i absolutely love unique inverts so want to ensure I can keep them happy n healthy

 

[SlugSnorter]

They both are mostly nocturnal. The abalone is a voracious eater and needs lots of algae.

 

[yanni]

They both are mostly nocturnal. The abalone is a voracious eater and needs lots of algae.

That’s absolutely perfect, I’ve got a lot for him to munch on. Thanks mate. Just wanna make sure they’re both well fed

 

[blaxsun]

As @SlugSnorter pointed out, they're primarily nocturnal. The brittle star is basically a scavenger and will spend all its time in a rock crevice if possible (with just the tip of an arm hanging out every now and then).

I've got 4 brittle starfish and one very large (roughly a year old) abalone,

 

[yanni]

As @SlugSnorter pointed out, they're primarily nocturnal. The brittle star is basically a scavenger and will spend all its time in a rock crevice if possible (with just the tip of an arm hanging out every now and then).

I've got 4 brittle starfish and one very large (roughly a year old) abalone,

Yeah the brittle star so far hangs out in one crevice, and has an arm or two sweeping the sand around it. It rotates around the crevice, but doesn’t stray too far from it. I was hoping to see more action, maybe it crawling across the sand or over the rockwork, but I guess in the natural it hides exactly like it does now.

A question for a fellow abalone owner, mine seems soooo slow, he moved quick when I first added him, but now he’s on the main rockwork he’s slowed down considerably. Is this normal? The rockwork he has occupied though is now SPOTLESS, like its completely cleaned (minus the green coralline forming on it). Either slow, or he’s incredibly thorough

 

[SlugSnorter]

Yeah the brittle star so far hangs out in one crevice, and has an arm or two sweeping the sand around it. It rotates around the crevice, but doesn’t stray too far from it. I was hoping to see more action, maybe it crawling across the sand or over the rockwork, but I guess in the natural it hides exactly like it does now.

A question for a fellow abalone owner, mine seems soooo slow, he moved quick when I first added him, but now he’s on the main rockwork he’s slowed down considerably. Is this normal? The rockwork he has occupied though is now SPOTLESS, like its completely cleaned (minus the green coralline forming on it). Either slow, or he’s incredibly thorough

they don't move fast unless stressed. if algae is running low place a nori clip on the rocks

 

[blaxsun]

Yeah the brittle star so far hangs out in one crevice, and has an arm or two sweeping the sand around it. It rotates around the crevice, but doesn’t stray too far from it. I was hoping to see more action, maybe it crawling across the sand or over the rockwork, but I guess in the natural it hides exactly like it does now.

A question for a fellow abalone owner, mine seems soooo slow, he moved quick when I first added him, but now he’s on the main rockwork he’s slowed down considerably. Is this normal? The rockwork he has occupied though is now SPOTLESS, like its completely cleaned (minus the green coralline forming on it). Either slow, or he’s incredibly thorough

The only action you'll see is if you remove the rock he's hiding under to watch him scurry back into the nearest crevice...

Abalone are incredibly thorough, so if he's found a "tasty" spot he's probably taking his sweet time. I think if there's lots of food they aren't in any hurry to really burn excess calories. Abalone can literally suck a golf ball through 100' of garden hose, so if they've found a happy spot good luck convincing them to move.

 

[yanni]

The only action you'll see is if you remove the rock he's hiding under to watch him scurry back into the nearest crevice...

Abalone are incredibly thorough, so if he's found a "tasty" spot he's probably taking his sweet time. I think if there's lots of food they aren't in any hurry to really burn excess calories. Abalone can literally suck a golf ball through 100' of garden hose, so if they've found a happy spot good luck convincing them to move.

Ahh okay that makes sense. He's cleaned the rock he's on almost completely clean now, and has hardly moved. I'm assuming he's just loving the algae on it, and mowing it right down to the roots. Thank you mate, appreciate it. Abalones are awesome to watch, glad to finally own one