The beginning of the end? Raykeepers nightmare.

DB junkie

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Jan 27, 2007
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I have something nasty going on with my rays. Went on vacation for a week and come home to a tank that doesn't want to eat.

My juvie tank had Discus added to it about a month ago. 2 Discus looked crappy when I got them but was told they were just stressed from tankmates (reason the guy was selling) 2 of the 6 Discus died while I was gone. 2 rays were added to the tank also while I was gone. Was told they had been in possesion of the guy I got them from for 3 months. The 2 newbies showed up in mid 60 degree water. The smaller passed within 24 hours. The other didn't eat for several days then about day 3 it began eating. Roughly about the same time the other rays in the tank quit eating.

I get home and move the Pearl as he had been trying to breed with the now not eating lady Marbles. I treated with some Prazi. Pearl went in the 750 and he seems still to this day unaffected.

3 days go by the rays worsen. I tore the entire wet/dry apart and cleaned then supplemented bio from my 750. Rays seemed to stop declining but not improving. My prized CB lil male passes. a few days later my prized female begins eating worms again but the light base lady hasn't eaten in probobly a week. This whole time the new addition has been eating as if she's unaffected. I fear I may be running out of time witht he light base one.

I've seen this crap before as I believe it took "Zero". Symptoms- no appetite, labored breathing, listlessness, and discoloration. Forehead dents. I've never had any luck with Prazi, Parasite clear or anything of that nature.

Now I have 3 females in my 750 that aren't eating.

Here's a vid of the juvie tank.

:cry:

[YT]AhOua23hSew[/YT]
 

bcfd144

Jack Dempsey
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Jul 24, 2010
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^^that would be my guess^^
 

jsodwi

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Should have quarantined. I learned my lesson. Unless it's someone I trust with fish, they need to be isolated and treated. I bought a big piece of driftwood from a lfs and I thought I was going to lose the whole tank. The wood was in their tank and must have had a nasty bacteria. Cost me hundreds in meds and a whole lot of stress.
 

johno27

Piranha
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Feb 21, 2006
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She appears to be breathing real heavy that sucks man... Short of taking some samples and putting them under a microscope all anyone can really do is guess. Assuming there are no parasites since you treated with prazi (which there still could be) could there have been a spike while you where away that could have damaged or "burned" the rays gills? Was there any ammonia present when you returned? Where all the dead fish removed in a timely manner while you where away?

Sorry if some of my questions seem silly I know you know your stuff but sometimes an outside observer can think of things that you may not have

Best of luck man I hope they turn around for you soon even if you can't figure this out
 

vamptrev

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Apr 23, 2007
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i wonder if instead of getting ick like fish do, rays get some type of bacterial speracle infection that we cant see... just a quick thought

i see the rays swimming up the sides of the glass like something is irritating them... my first guess would be water params

very hard to diagnose these kind of problems, it rely sucks a big one
 

calgaryflames

Plecostomus
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Nov 10, 2009
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Why did you treat them with prazi ?

aimlessly medicating rays that for some unknown reason won't eat, will not kick start their appetite
 

DB junkie

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Why did you treat them with prazi ?

aimlessly medicating rays that for some unknown reason won't eat, will not kick start their appetite
Seriously? Read the goddam bottle of Prazi and stay out of my thread if you have nothing to contribute.
 

calgaryflames

Plecostomus
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Nov 10, 2009
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It doesn't sound like something that needed meds to fix.i have panicked many times over the years and have thought all kinds of crazy things.prazi is real hard on rays all meds are.if they don't eat i would say this to anybody and everybody on this forum " don't medicate your rays to try and kick start appetite"
Make sure the water is pristine ,but you have already killed off your filter so things might even get crazier for you.

Best advice i can think of is stay off forums.i used to read up crazy stuff on here when a ray was breathing funny or stoped eating. Than act out of disperation and think my rays were all going to die !
Wait it out. Keep water pristine rays are so freaking tough man they will pull through just stop medicating.try the clean water treatment.

Medicating damaged or stressed rays usually end up with the same result death.most threads you read on here are no more than a guy like me or you over reacting and freaking everybody out! Parasites won't make your rays all of the sudden stop eating in a few days,if they did your tank would have to be heavily infested which I'n that case i still think the rays would eat.

To me this sounds no more than water troubles
 

DB junkie

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Please don't give me the "shoulda quarantined" bit.

I know. Believe me IF I could take it back I woulda set up even more tanks to have ample space to quarantine but I didn't. Damage is done and beating a dead horse isn't gonna help save anything.

I know rays need QT but when someone tells me they have been QT'd for 3 months it makes it easy for me to justify not doing it.

Maybe some of you can learn from my mistakes. I spent a few days deciding if I would make a thread so others can learn from my mistakes or if I'd just disappear. I worked too hard for too many years to just disappear so here we go.... This thread will be my walk of shame.

My involvement in this hobby will likely live or die over the next few weeks. Just like all my babies. I always said I'd have rays the rest of my life but I never thought something like this could happen after so many years of success.

I am NOT trying to be an ******** here but this is tearing me up. BAD. Haven't slept worth a crap since I got home from my vacation 10 days ago. All I do is go to work and watch my rays die. I've never felt more helpless and pathetic then I do right now. IF I didn't think this thread would impact just 1 person in the hobby in regards to the importance of QT I sure as hell wouldn't be shining the spotlight of stupidy on myself.

I suspect whatever is going on is likely directly related to the new rays but why the hell would one act completely unaffected?

In regards to the light based females breathing...... It isn't always that fast, I think she's just pooped from trying to get away from the other rays. She is still semi active but even refuses cut crawlers.

I dearly appreciate those who have chosen to try to help, you are the reason I made this thread. I feel so overwhelmed right now I can't think straight OR rationally. It honestly hurts so much I have to fight the urge to drive right by my house on the way home from work cause it makes me sick to walk in the door see them in the condition they're in and know that I have no clue how to fix it.
 
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