All species can hybridize, but the most common hybrids are red and white with pink. Food Abalone eat marine algae in the wild and on some farms. The adults feed on loose pieces drifting with the surge or current. Large brown algae such as giant kelp, bull kelp, feather boa kelp and elk kelp are preferred, although most others may be eaten at various times. For cultured abalone, many farms now use high quality manufactured food, which is healthy, efficient and produces very high quality meat.
Wild abalone tend to stay in one location waiting for food to drift by.
However, they will move daily, seasonally or when food becomes scarce for a long period. The color banding on many abalone shells is due to changes in the types of algae eaten. Juvenile abalone graze on rock encrusting coralline algae and on diatoms and bacterial films. As they grow they increasingly rely on drift algae. Although some abalone farms have successfully fed manufactured food for nearly 25 years, a high quality low cost manufactured food has been a recent development.