# STingRay is not eatting



## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

i just received a new ray (marble motoro) 3 weeks ago. it is sharing a 220gal tank with 2 other rays. the new ray does not eat at all.. i tried feeding it shrimps, nightcrawlers, blood worms, meal worms.. it ate some Blood worms but not alot. it have been in my tank for about 3 weeks now.. it is not a aggressive eater like my other two rays. it likes to swim through the water (gliding).. it looks so thin..

nitrite-0
anmonia-0
PH- 7.0
temp 82

pleas advice..


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

try to hold the other to off to the side so the new guy can eat

also maybe try heating up the food a bit so it think it is live food

oh call the person whom you bought the ray from and ask what he was feeding him


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

theres plenty of food. the ray just wont eat it.. it will taste it or just swim right over it.. :sad:

i need some help.. any experts?


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

Separate the new Ray from the two others with a divider. A piece of eggcrate will do fine. I'd also try feeding live blackworms. They can be purchased from most high end fish stores or ordered online from Aquatic Foods.

What are the other two Rays and how big are they?


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

all three rays are teh same size.. the other two are fine.. eating and swiming like always... i tried to purchase some black worms but they are all gone or dont carry them..

came home from work and notice the tip of the tail is white.. fungus?


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

Medicate with some Binox to help stave off the fungus. You still didn't say what other types of Rays they are. Are they Motoros? Leos? Definately separate that new guy ASAP (if you don't, he's not going to get any food because of the others...especially if you feed them their favorite treat...blackworms) and get some blackworms. If the store you go to doesn't have them, find them somewhere else or order them online. They are the best thing to get a Ray eating. I invested literally about $200 in blackworms to get an emaciated male Leo back on track. They really work, no matter how expensive they are. Once you get the Ray feeding on the blackworms and the tail problems under control, then you can try offering other stuff like shrimp. When you give the blackworms, offer as much as that guy can eat and more. Don't worry about them making the water dirty...if they are alive, they won't pollute, so feel free to leave a pile in the tank for him to graze at his leisure.


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

sorry, the other two rays are motoro's..

the marble motoro is starting to curl up..

i just order some black worms i hope this works.. please advice.


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

Sounds bad man! Like mentioned before, seperate them. From the blurry pics it does look like one of the ray are biting each others tail. I had a similar event. My frt liked to bite my motoro's tail and he managed to bite of little by little and it looked like that.

But as for the not eating rays, seperation and not a lot of movement is the key. Also turn off all lighting. Keep it dark so they feel safe. Drop .5-1 oz of black worm and leave it overnight until they start eating.

How big are the rays? I know of some rays who wouldnt eat anything but live fish.

Are your subrate not to their liking too? Take all those into consideration.


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## etb (Nov 6, 2003)

If you cant find any worms try some live ghost shrimp untill you can find some. But do like the others say and seperate him from the others.


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

i came home from work and this is how i found my marble... i called the person who sold this ray to me and he said tat it was eatting fine when he sent it to me..but when i received it it was very thin and i can actually see threw his disc.. this ray has not eatten ever since it arrived..3 weeks already!! maybe 1 or 2 frozen bloodworms feed using a turkey thingy.. but besides tat zippO.!!

im pissed


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

12 hours b4!!


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

thansk for eveyones help.. but the ray died..

what can be teh cause?


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## etb (Nov 6, 2003)

Is it dead or alive you didnt say man it looks bad you may have waited to long. I never put a new one with other rays hope you the best.


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

Can be from numerous things. Being that its wild, the ray could have had a parasite that the dealer didnt know about. The stress from shipping, bad aclimation, sometimes rays die from outta no where, i've even seen one ray that died and the owner cut it up and found a fish hook!

I've spoke to arospace on pfish and he says sometimes he had times were his ray died from unknown causes. I firmly believe my leo that died died unexpectly. No curling what so ever. Ate on and off but it died. She looked fine, didnt even seem like she died until i looked closer and found out she want breathing.

Im sorry from the lost but it doesnt seem like its due to bad aclimation. You have rays currently and have had them in the past so it makes you experienced. sh*t happens...... espically with rays.


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

Judging from those white sections on the disk, I'd have to say that it was being bullied by the other Rays. Believe me, it can happen. I lost a Chain Gang Motoro to my dominant male Motoro and they were only put together for a matter of a half an hour because I was moving and had them in a holding tank.


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

Whats weird is that you can see a "perfect" white circle on the second pic of the ray was taken 12hr before it died.

I've spoke to oinky and he did say his parrot cichlids were picking at him too. That can also explain the white spots


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## arowspace (Jul 16, 2003)

o snap its eric said:


> I've spoke to arospace on pfish and he says sometimes he had times were his ray died from unknown causes.


Hi Eric,

I have never had any rays die for unknown reasons.

I think that you may have me confused with someone else. You and I have never actually spoken and we have only exchanged PM's once... regarding my advice to you on the relative hardiness and sensitivity of flower rays when you were contemplating a purchase last October.









Oinky,

for future reference... don't wait 3 weeks before addressing a problem with a new stingray. The best strategy to ensure success with a new ray, particularly if you have other established stingrays or aggressive feeders currently in your main tank is to initially house it in a separate tank. If that is not possible, then you should consider putting up a divider to isolate the new ray until it becomes well adjusted.

For an initial food definitely provide blackworms. Just leave a large quantity of worms in the tank and let the ray forage at its leisure. The blackworms will stay alive indefinitely until eaten. But this feeding method only works if there are no other fish competing for the worms. Isolating the new ray ensures that it will feed sufficiently. Once the new ray is eating aggressively and and able to compete for food effectively, then you may consider placing it with your established fish.

I hope this bit of advice will be helpful to you with your next stingray. Good Luck.


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

thanks guys.. i really appreciate the help.

i really thought it was a stress issue and i was giving it time to adapt. that is usally the case when somethign newly just arrive..

the first two rays that i got they ate in hours after receiving them.. but this one refuses to eat.. i was giving it time to adapt to its new environment.. but when i notice fungus and abnormal features then that rang a bell tat this ray is defected.

i no that it couldnt be the water parameter b/c my other fishes are fine and i take good care of the water.

i dont think i will be getting a new ray unless i sell this two tat i have now. until then i will be out of the market for ray's..

thanks again to everyone..


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

Oh but you have arospace. When my Leo died, we discussed about it. Not sure if it was through PM or on the board but i remebered you saying some stingrays you had die due to unknown rasons. Not too much info r research or done extensively on these guys therefore leaving osme question left unanswered. Does that ring a bell? Is not then i guess i may have been dreaming or talking about someone else. My mistake then.


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## arowspace (Jul 16, 2003)

o snap its eric said:


> Oh but you have arospace. When my Leo died, we discussed about it. Not sure if it was through PM or on the board but i remebered you saying some stingrays you had die due to unknown rasons. Not too much info r research or done extensively on these guys therefore leaving osme question left unanswered. Does that ring a bell? Is not then i guess i may have been dreaming or talking about someone else. My mistake then.


Oh but I have NOT, Eric. I'm sorry, but you are mistaken. I have never told you either in PM or via the boards that I have lost some of my rays due to unknown reasons. If I ever had a ray die mysterious, I would remember such an event. Don't you think? I know that I may not be as young as you, but I have not succumbed to senility just yet.

As I stated, the one and only PM that I ever sent you was in response to your inquiry regarding the purchase of flower rays. I keep all my PMs at P-Fish, so there is no mistake. As for your posts on P-Fish which chronicled the demise and death of your Leopoldi, here they are to refresh your memory. As you can see, I did not reply to either post.

On Dec. 1, 2003 you posted: Predatoryfish.net Topic: Ray Sick?, help 911

Then on Dec. 3, 2003 you posted: Predatoryfish.net Topic: Dead Ray, im f'in mad

So "does that ring a bell?" Or perhaps, you were in fact "dreaming"?

BTW, I don't buy into the garbage that some people state about stingrays just dying out of nowhere for no apparent reason. In my experience, that is not true. It is an excuse and a way for failed ray-keepers to lie to themselves and not own up to the fact that they made a mistake somewhere and killed their ray.

Now, newly imported rays can die from the stress/trauma caused by capture, transport, poor acclimation procedures or bad water quality. So if you bought a new wild-caught ray and it doesn't eat, gets sick and dies, then yes, the ray may have suffered irreparable harm somehow prior to its arrival into your tank. However, once a ray is properly acclimated, active and eating well in your tank for weeks or months, then none of the above reasons apply. At that point, you can be sure that any change in behavior, shifting of spots, loss of appetite or death, is completely due to some stress factor within the control of the aquarist. 90% of the time the cause is a water parameter or water quality issue and the other 10% of the time the cause is related to stress/injuries caused by a tankmate.


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

I agree 100% with Ed there. I've lost a few Stingrays in the past and looking back now, they probably could have been prevented. I can't think of one instance where they just up and died for no apparent reason. I'm still a newb when compared to people like Jon and Ed, but in the two years that I've been involved with Stingrays, I've learned a lot about successfully keeping them, especially with my experience with a certain male Leopoldi (who is now the overweight boss of his tank and tops Rays older and more mature than he is...wink, wink). That fish went through hell and then came back strong with a little TLC (and about $200 worth of blackworms to boot).

Eric, I remember you saying that you could never get that Ray eating like a complete champ. That more than likely had something to do with the sudden death.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

arowspace said:


> BTW, I don't buy into the garbage that some people state about stingrays just dying out of nowhere for no apparent reason. In my experience, that is not true. It is an excuse and a way for failed ray-keepers to lie to themselves and not own up to the fact that they made a mistake somewhere and killed their ray.


hahahaha, god damn straight :nod:


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## RARE AFISHINADO (Apr 15, 2003)

that ray oinky had died of some sort of bacterial infection...........

i have seen many waste away like that and all once the tail starts to melt its over

next time run a course of nitrofurazone b4 it gets bad


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

Hey jon,
remember when i asked u what are rays' favorite FOods.. and u told me blood worms or black worms.. well i went to go get some live blood worms and it still didnt work.. jon was the first person i went to.. after not receiving any info from the person i bought the ray from.. i the ray died on me.. when i finally received some info on the ray.. it was in the last hours of survival..

i beleive i was sold a F*ucKEd up ray and it was on the vurge of Dying.. and it died while it was in my hands..

i guess theres nothing else there for me to do..


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

OiNkY said:


> Hey jon,
> remember when i asked u what are rays' favorite FOods.. and u told me blood worms or black worms.. well i went to go get some live blood worms and it still didnt work.. jon was the first person i went to.. after not receiving any info from the person i bought the ray from.. i the ray died on me.. when i finally received some info on the ray.. it was in the last hours of survival..
> 
> i beleive i was sold a F*ucKEd up ray and it was on the vurge of Dying.. and it died while it was in my hands..
> ...


If the Ray didn't die within the first few days, then I'd say it wasn't "defective" in the sense that you got shafted by whoever you bought it from. Also, by having other healthy Rays in your possession, you should have known what to do in the beginning. By not separating that new Ray from the other more aggressive feeders and not getting live BLACKWORMS, I'd say that it was mostly user error on that one. That Ray certainly looked like it was getting picked on and that you had plenty of warning to change things for the better. I don't want to come off as mean, but I hate seeing people blame the seller in an attempt to nurse their hurt pride and failed efforts...or lack thereof.

I once bought a Ray so skinny that he probably wouldn't have made it another day or so, put him through the stress of transportation in a car for six hours of non-stop traffic, and then got him home to a tank with other healthy, fat Rays. He was separated out and fed live blackworms non-stop for the course of about a month only to turn into one of the most gorgeous Rays you can find. Saying that your Ray was skinny when you got it means nothing. A Ray can be emaciated like mine was and come back strong with the proper care. Oh yeah, Jon helped me out greatly with his advice about that one, BTW. Dont' forget that a Ray that hasn't been fed for a couple days will also look rather skinny. As far as I know, most sellers don't feed for a couple days before shipping to prevent excess ammonia/waste in the bag. That could have very well been why yours was skinny.

I'd say that you lost your Ray because you made no attempt at relieving the stress of that thing getting picked on by other firsh and/or the other Rays.


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)




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## RARE AFISHINADO (Apr 15, 2003)

i dont know who sold u your ray but u cant blame them directly as the disease could of not been apparent when the sent u the ray...........

that ray was destined to die i have lost many the same way it was a definate bacterial infection..........

only way to save that ray would of been a swift course of nitrofurazone and melafix and salt and prey









i have seen many many many rays die from many many many different things i know what im talking about

ps draco,

ur post was very informative and ordinarily i would agree with u 100 percent but this case is a lil different i recognize the signs 100 percent.


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

it looks like it is sick cuase the bottom of the ray is not white or pink and its disk is curled up

but in dont know much about rays though

sorry for the lost man


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

My bad then =)


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