Cutting rays stingers

[Latrelle]

Ya you know what your doing with rays. But this is about all of learning as we go. Not needed


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[DIDYSIS]

I mostly feed the same as that and it works very well for me. Even though on the days off I find myself throwing in a couple handfuls of cheap pellets.

As far as feeding they do eat a large amount every other day consisting of tilapia fillet shrimp or NLS pellets so I don't think they are starving .

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[spotfin]

Seems like a lot of extra work that could cause added stress to your rays, or you getting tagged. I wouldn't clip their barbs. Let nature take its course.

 

[jsodwi]

I don't think I will let nature take its course. I have some big exotic fish that a couple are almost irreplaceable I cut the barbs on Sunday. All rays are fine, eating well and no signs of them being traumatized. As far as feeding twice a day, that's not an option for me. I just don't have the time nor do I think it's necessary as most of the fish are at ther full grown state and shouldn't need that much food. The hardest part of this process was netting the rays out of the tank. And they were only out their environment for about a minute or less

 

[T1KARMANN]

It's very stressful as you will need to cut it every few months when a new sting grows

If I don't feed everyday I lose tank mates and the rays fight bad

If I even go near the tank after not feeding at a set time my rays go mad with mid water fights


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[monsterkeeper87]

I have never had a problem either and my giraffe cat deserves a sting sometimes! But my ray would rather retreat, my previously female was exactly the same. I feed once a day most of the time and twice a day once a week.

It's your choice dude but I can see it ending with a dead ray or you getting stung yourself if you have to fish them out every other month


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[UnstoppableJayD]

John,

I agree you are adding a layer of stress but your tank is big well cared for and i know the tankmates you are worried about... I belive most zoos that have touch pools with rays cut there stingers and no one has an issue with that so... clip away and sleep better

 

[davenmandy]

Personally I feel bad only feeding my rays once a day. I actually really feel guilty about this, they pounce on food and devour whatever I put there. Rays have a high metabolism and the warm water doesnt help. I don't think I could go every other day, I may even go back to twice a day.

As for main topic, to do this every 3-4 months is not going to be pleasant. I think personally you should address the issue in a different way, at the source of the problem. Idk what that is (overcrowding, underfeeding, poor water - not saying you have that just giving examples of what could be the cause) but there are obviously many ray keepers here, and although fish get stung I don't think it's common enough to warrant removing the barbs everytime. Just my two cents though.

 

[Charney]

Personally I feel bad only feeding my rays once a day. I actually really feel guilty about this, they pounce on food and devour whatever I put there. Rays have a high metabolism and the warm water doesnt help. I don't think I could go every other day, I may even go back to twice a day.

Lol and this is why the majority of dogs and cats in the US are over weight. Just because they seem hungry or act hungry doesn't mean they have to eat.

I agree that taking them out of the tank is stressful. Rays are pretty tame and intelligent fish, so why not try training them? If you spent some time with it you could probably train to take food/treats from you at the surface of the tank. Once used to coming up there and used to being somewhat handled for the food I bet you could snip the barb quickly still in the tank and just retrieve it. I wonder if the curved cat nail clipper (or if too small dog nail clippers) would work better and quicker. They would trap the stinger as they cut vs the wire trimmer which may push the stinger away

 

[vamptrev]

Lol and this is why the majority of dogs and cats in the US are over weight. Just because they seem hungry or act hungry doesn't mean they have to eat.

I agree that taking them out of the tank is stressful. Rays are pretty tame and intelligent fish, so why not try training them? If you spent some time with it you could probably train to take food/treats from you at the surface of the tank. Once used to coming up there and used to being somewhat handled for the food I bet you could snip the barb quickly still in the tank and just retrieve it. I wonder if the curved cat nail clipper (or if too small dog nail clippers) would work better and quicker. They would trap the stinger as they cut vs the wire trimmer which may push the stinger away

I feed all my rays twice per day every day and none of them are over weight. I did have one turn into a vacuum cleaner before and had to put her on a diet. Rays have very high metabolism and in my opinion need to be fed twice per day

You would never be able to clip a stinger without capturing the ray.

Ive never seen a pair of dog nail clippers that would be big enough to snip a 4" ray barb


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