Hystrix owners input please

6 bar

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 26, 2007
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Antelope Valley
Hi,

I'm looking at buying a 7" disc hystrix. It is probably not the real hystrix, however at the LFS it has been eating frozen blood worms voraciously and is quite thick compared to some of the "hystrix" I've seen.

They change the water once every 2 weeks and feed it once a day.

How are you taking care of your hystrix?

Thanks in advance.
 

Marius

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Water change every two weeks?!? Why not every week. Whatever you decide to keep in your tank and especially in grow out tanks, where the feeding regimen is intense ...water quality should be pristine. Be that rays, catfish or any other fish, make sure you have enough filtration, air source, the best substrate (or bare bottom tank) ...research about the food you are feeding them (some feed pellets, other live, or frozen foods) and monitor the water quality regularly.

That's just your general "to do" list, what are you planning on keeping and how big is the setup itself?!?
 

6 bar

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 26, 2007
560
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Antelope Valley
Thanks Marius. I'd do weekly water changes depending on water tests. I'd be putting it in a 120g (4x2x2) with a 9" silver aro, 3" IT dat, 5" flagtail, a clown loach and 2 yo yo loaches. It has a thin layer of gravel from Petco. For filtration it has 2 large sponge filters and 2 over-the-back filters one of them is built for a 75g and the other looks similar, but is another brand name. I feed once a day and would feed the stingray bloodworms and earth worms.
 

turkeyboy85

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 14, 2007
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it will eventually outgrow your tank, im willing to bet it is a humerosa ray also the gravel unless it is round wouldnt be a good idea, they have very sensitive stomachs and gravel can cut it and cause infections
 

Marius

Fire Eel
MFK Member
120g (4x2x2) with a 9" silver aro, 3" IT dat, 5" flagtail, a clown loach and 2 yo yo loaches.
Not bad, the aro will eventually outgrow the setup.


... thin layer of gravel from Petco
Make sure it is fine enough. If you go for substrate, I'd use the smallest, finest sand, like the Target playbox sand ...and not a very thick layer either, the deeper, the more nutrients and detritus can find a place to hide from plain view and might cause problems.

1/2" of sand layer would be ideal.


For filtration it has 2 large sponge filters and 2 over-the-back filters one of them is built for a 75g and the other looks similar, but is another brand name.
It's probably an Aquaclear 70?!? I'd get two AQ 110 (HOB) filters and just jam them with bio-rings. You'd have two biological filters there and you could rinse the sponge filters (mechanical) as much as you want ...every day if that makes you happy.

I'd upgrade the HOB filters to AQ110 because they are very reliable, they are rated for 500 gph and they have enough space for media to be worth the extra 20$. As I said, in those two HOBs just ceramic rings or bio-balls and you're set with the filtration.

Good luck :headbang2
 

FishDog

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jan 2, 2008
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I have some petco gravel in my tank with no issues. Keep a close eye on your water parameters after adding the ray. Sounds like you have good mechanical filtration but the biological part might be an issue since you don't have anywhere to grow a good bacteria bed.
 

stingray94

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 22, 2007
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FishDog;2417901; said:
I have some petco gravel in my tank with no issues. Keep a close eye on your water parameters after adding the ray. Sounds like you have good mechanical filtration but the biological part might be an issue since you don't have anywhere to grow a good bacteria bed.
yeah you should consider adding a canister filter for biological filtration as the HOBS will take care of the mechanical filtration.
 

6 bar

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 26, 2007
560
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61
Antelope Valley
Thank you all for your feedback. I'm glad to hear that my petco gravel could work.

On another note, I'm so sorry but I do not know the difference between mechanical filtration and biological filtration. I always thought that the dirty filters in the HOBs, the gravel and the biowheel all provided a place for the bacteria to grow and that's all I needed. I must do some investigating on the differences. But, I'm very open to any explanations on this matter. But so far, from the above contributions, I see that a canister filter provides biological filtration. But that's all I understand for now. I humbly apologize for my ignorance and am open to your input.

Thanks again.
 

Marius

Fire Eel
MFK Member
6 bar;2418445; said:
Thank you all for your feedback. I'm glad to hear that my petco gravel could work. I'm so sorry but I do not know the difference between mechanical filtration and biological filtration. I always thought that the dirty filters in the HOBs, the gravel and the biowheel all provided a place for the bacteria to grow and that's all I needed. I must do investigating on the differences. But, I'm very open to any explanations on this matter. From what I take from the above contributions, I see that a canister filter provides biological filtration. But that's all I understand for now. I humbly apologize for my ignorance and am open to your input.

Thanks again.

Never apologize and if whenever one dares to laugh at you for asking about something you don't know feel free to call them on their real name ...morons :grinno:

Mechanical ...part of the filtration system removing the larger nutrients and detritus ...plain old English = POO!
http://www.versaquatics.com/mechanicalfiltration.htm
Biological ...have you heard of cycling a tank?!? :) When a tank cycles, certain media in ones filter (ceramic rings, bio balls) develop aerobic bacteria... which deals with the ammonia in ones tank. Read about the NITRATE CYCLE.
http://www.aquariumpros.com/articles/biofiltration.shtml
Chemical filtration ...is the removal of dissolved compounds by foam fractionation or by media that absorbs them, like aquarium activated charcoal.


Your sponge filters would take care of the mechanical ...I suggested 2xAQ110s filled with ceramic rings because they are very friendly on the pocket and they do have a decent return (500 gallons per hour each). Some canisters are definitely better (Eheim, Fluval FX5), but they cost more.

Good thing you're asking around and researching your stuff. You're definitely on the right track.
 

6 bar

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 26, 2007
560
38
61
Antelope Valley
Marius,

Thank you for the words of encouragement and for the resources you provided. I am still forming some opinions about biological filtration. I do understand some things about the nitrogen cycle, but I realize that I still have tons to learn.

So do you have hystrix/humerosa? How do you take care of yours? (Tank set-up, feedings, water changes and so forth)
 
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