Loving my Estrella! Any more out there?

KeefO

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Jan 26, 2014
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Royersford, pa
So, since everyday somebody else on here is having pups and bringing new beautiful hybrids into the hobby, I was just looking at my little man thinking how cool the pups would look if he knocked up a equally beautiful ray of another breed. Has anyone done this or have pics they can post? I know I have some time till he matures, but it will give me time to dream up the right woman for him!

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FishDog

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Jan 2, 2008
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He is a handsome little fella. Be careful feeding him so much, I know they are big eaters but I can share a few stories with you about rays suddenly dieing within 24-36 hours of being over fed.
 

FishDog

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If they get full enough to where they sit on their belly with their feet extended then I would worry. I have witnessed two occasions where a ray ate this much and died. When removed from tank they leaked blood from their bottom which tells me a possible internal rupture of some kind.

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KeefO

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 26, 2014
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Royersford, pa
If they get full enough to where they sit on their belly with their feet extended then I would worry. I have witnessed two occasions where a ray ate this much and died. When removed from tank they leaked blood from their bottom which tells me a possible internal rupture of some kind.

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Ohh my God, that sounds absolutely horrible! I think that would ruin me as a ray owner! He never sits still, unlike the rest of my rays who aren't as aggressive of eaters. He does look a little bit on the chunky side though. I will be sure to monitor his food intake, maybe feed them less food so he can't gorge himself. On another note though, have you ever seen one of these reach maturity in captivity? I can't find any in past posts or on goggle. I'm curious to see what their size gets up to in an aquarium.
 

corn fed

Jack Dempsey
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Jan 24, 2014
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According to the species profile sticky estrella rays are P. Castexi and reach 30"+ with females being larger. No first hand experience just found out in the sticky. ;)

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KeefO

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 26, 2014
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Royersford, pa
According to the species profile sticky estrella rays are P. Castexi and reach 30"+ with females being larger. No first hand experience just found out in the sticky. ;)

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I saw that as well and I went digging a little deeper into past posts and searched all over google. One thing I saw that was the same in both places was that there are a couple variants of P. Castexi that stay medium sized, between 20-25". I just have yet to see an actual "Estrella" mature in a captive environment, I think it's just crazy how little info there is out there on all the different varieties or rays. The wholesaler I go through only seems to bring in variants of Castexi (Tiger, Flower, Otorongo, and on occasion Estrella) and Motoro's and Rectics. I was just surprised to find out that they are not a very commonly kept species, I would assume their size at maturity has a lot to do with it. The way he goes through them I thought they were more commonly kept, but that's not the case.
 

FishDog

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Size has always scared people from these rays. I know of two that got to 30" and two that got to 24". After that no one else has them past 10". No telling what happens to them. As you can see on here no one can share castexi pics because they do not keep them. Counting you maybe 4 members total have a castexi variant. I could share a ton of pics but would feel a little like a show off :)

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KeefO

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 26, 2014
201
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Royersford, pa
Size has always scared people from these rays. I know of two that got to 30" and two that got to 24". After that no one else has them past 10". No telling what happens to them. As you can see on here no one can share castexi pics because they do not keep them. Counting you maybe 4 members total have a castexi variant. I could share a ton of pics but would feel a little like a show off :)

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To be honest, I have been using a lot of your old posts as a place to get info and see pics, because like you said, no one else has them. I really love the body shape and fat tail that they have. A lot more unique than my Motoro's and marble-motoro, not to mention way more active! One interesting thing I have noticed about him, is that if his feet size in any indication to his eventual disc size, he is gonna get HUGE! They are so big, they look out of place. I guess time will tell though.

I would love to see any pics that you have though, keeping that many rays to maturity, I think gives you the right to show off a little, if nothing else!
 
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