"WORM JUICE" !
i tried many things over the years and unfortunately lost a few rays at great expense in the early days before internet was popular and there was no such thing as a captive bred stingray.
since then, ray keeping has come along way and i dont think the old issue of "rays not eating" is even an issue anymore. i know it certainly wouldnt concern me if i was buying a wild ray again (provided it wasnt on the verge of death ofc).
ive never had a ray (wild or captive) that wouldnt take chopped worms (once i worked out that it was an acceptable and reasonable food to feed them).
getting them on other foods after that just takes patience. if you go to fast then you risk the ray not eating and the possibility of death as a result. so you have to keep an eye on them, but you should be keeping an eye on them anyhow as even if they are eating something else as its the only way we know something is wrong.
the method i have successfully used many many times is my "worm juice" method. i think ive perfected it over time but its ultimately quite simple and i know many, many people now use this method with rays and its the only method i tell people when asked.
get a small container (around the size of a jam jar) put enough water in to cover an earthworm/nightcrawler and then chop it up using scissors. you feel bad for the worm at first but its probably a quicker death than if you just droped a worm straight in the tank.
let the worm bits settle and pour off the worm flavoured water and discard the worm pieces. i call this worm flavoured water "worm juice".
i then put the intended food (usually pellets in my case) in this "worm juice" and let it sit for about 4 minutes.
after 4 minutes i pour off the "worm juice" leaving the "worm juice" soaked pellets and then ad the soaked pellets to the ray tank.
the pups almost always lap them up straight away but occasionally you may get one that takes a few days to start eating them. if this is the case persevere and give it a few days at least.
once you are sure they are all eating ( and be patient and make sure they ARE all eating ) you can start to add a little more water to the initial mix. keep the new concentration for about a week and make sure everyone is eating, if everyone is eating well then you can add a little more water again and again until you have a concentration that has no "worm juice" at all.
at this point you can just add the intended food straight to the tank.
the key point is : patience. if you add too much water and go too fast they wont eat or you will get one that gets left behind and then you will have to fatten it up and start again.
other than that you just have to keep an eye on the rays and make sure they are all eating.
remember : if anything goes wrong (ie you dont notice that ones not eating until its a bit skinnier than the others) make sure they are nice and fat before you start the process again.
good look
Yargnits
