Retics! Does anybody still keep these???

biggfish

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jan 28, 2008
553
37
61
MO
Does anyone keep retics?? I know they're a challenge but surely someone has mastered this fish! Please post your pics here. I'd love to see some fish thriving.




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T1KARMANN

Giant Snakehead
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2005
10,105
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London UK
This is a strange one

They was the first rays I ever kept even before the Internet so not much advice on tap
I had 3 in a 72x18 for 2-3 years granted that wasn't a idea tank size but I never had any issues with any of them

I think it's the luck of the draw with them and most are imported in a very bad state
If you get them healthy and they are feeding I didn't find them any harder to take care of than any other Ray


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Keister

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2012
807
8
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Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
I had a pair that I kept alive and thriving for over a year before I sold them. I had them feeding on massivore, shrimp, tilapia, and earth worms. I agree with t1 once they are stable and eating they really aren't any harder to keep then any other ray. I think the issue that most people have with retics is they won't eat or don't want to eat anything other than black worms and this is why they get such a bad reputation. They do have a tendency to die easily because they are almost always super thin when they come in and with shipping and being moved around paired with their young age this makes them not want to eat thus why they die so easily. Again once they are stable and eating well they are just like any other ray in my opinion. The darker one was my male and the lighter was my female.ImageUploadedByMonsterAquariaNetwork1418322948.035915.jpgImageUploadedByMonsterAquariaNetwork1418323018.774362.jpg


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T1KARMANN

Giant Snakehead
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2005
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London UK
Also what you need to take into account is when we see them for sale they are tiny no more than a few weeks only that combined with them being starved before shipping doesn't help matters


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biggfish

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jan 28, 2008
553
37
61
MO
As we have bred and even hybridized all the other variants, I'm surprised we have not mastered this one. Where are the droves of breeders for retics as there are for hystrix, motoros, and leopoldi?? If they were captive bred, we would not have to consider the trauma of all the long term shipping.


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Keister

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2012
807
8
18
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
Keister, those are pretty good looking retics. What happened to the disk of the darker one?


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It was beat up in the tank it was in at the store. It was bitten by a large 12-14" lima shovel nose specifically. The reason we don't specifically care to master retics is because a they aren't valuable as they are available everywhere, and b they turn a boring old brown color when they get older. There are a few folks around breeding retics but they are few and far between. Some retic hybrids came up not but a few weeks ago in the media lounge that someone bred. There is a pic of the male and he is a pretty boring dark brown color but he did make some pretty cool pups I'll give him that! It will be really interesting to see what they turn out like!


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DIDYSIS

Mantilla Stingray
MFK Member
Feb 9, 2012
5,542
307
1,946
West Jordan Utah
A guy here local has a female who is about 14 inches. I lost the pictures. She has the most amazing belly pattern. I have thought about asking to borrow her and have one of my males breed her but I don't know if I want to bother. As said they are 75-125.00 in stores. And they don't really seem to bring anything amazing to the table other than the belly pattern.

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