Ray won't eat

[MHcblues119]

Hey guys, so a few weeks ago I finally made the push back into Rays. I picked up a hybrid and then a couple weeks later I picked up a marble from UnstoppableJayD

Marble ate like a pig for the first week I had her. Was eating shrimp, silversides and massivore. About a week and a half ago I realized she wasn't quiet as aggressive at feeding time. And for about a week now she hasn't really eaten anything. Seen her take a pellet or 2. Sometimes she'll roll over shrimp or silversides but won't eat. My male hybrid eats like an animal till he looks like he's gonna pop as do all my other fish. Iv tried feeding basically everything except earth worms which im gonna try tonight. I'm not crazy worried yet because she's fat as can be so im sure she can go some time without eating but I wanted to start keeping track of he and getting suggestions from so more vet Ray keepers.
She's a long time captive wild caught. And a proven breeder.

Thanks in advanced for any insight.

I'll post my exact tank levels tonight
The picture of her with Tig is about a week old. The other picture is from last night
George

 

[MHcblues119]

By the way. Id like to point out that she is in a 7x2x2 atm. Looking for the right tank to upgrade to. The ultimate plan is to have the pair in another tank within 6 months. Looking for a atleast a 6x4.

Was also told my a few people that females will slow down eating when they first get pregnant for a few days then start eating a rediculous amount. Could that be the case?

 

[davenmandy]

She would probably have some more dmg on her if she were pregnant, maybe not though.

Post water parameters plz, post everything but specifically looking at PH and temperature here, so post what those regularly should be and what they are now please.

 

[MHcblues119]

Temp is held at a solid 80.6 all the time give or take maybe .1 or .2.

Ph never moves from 7.6 which is what it comes out of my tap but I will check again when I get home from work tonight

 

[davenmandy]

Ya check that PH for sure, when adding fish with big bio loads like rays sometimes the system struggles to keep up and you experience PH crashes. The way I always viewed it was the system was "surprised" and needs some time to adjust to the new bioload, not that it can't handle it, as there is only enough beneficial bio bacteria that is needed, not that your system can't handle it total. Could be way off here, and usually a PH bio crash would be evident next day or 2 days later, but stranger things have definitely happened. Do you run a drip system? Post some more specifics of your setup/filtration, I am sure some of the ray vets will definitely want them to help run a diagnostic

 

[MHcblues119]

It's a 125g sump. I run a filter sock at each end of the sump. The right side runs through. Filter sock, than thru a fluidize bed filter section with 7 gallons of k1. Then into the middle of sump where the pump is. The left side also runs through a filter sock then down a diy wet/dry with scrubbies. Than into anothe submerged section that I currently have packed with additional scrubbies but will be purchasing pond matrix at some point.

I don't have a current picture of the sump running on my phone but this will give you the general idea

It's running a mag25 also

 

[davenmandy]

System looks good, you have enough bio media to handle the bioload by the sounds of it, so if it is a crash it will likely be temporary though you may have to buffer it with baking soda or crushed coral just to get it back up there in time. However from what you are posting it doesn't seem like a crash, and I guess your other fish aren't acting weird so my money is on something else. Let us know if you run a drip, if so check your filter housings for clogged filters and too much TDS, if not what your WC schedule is and what your nitrates get around to. I personally don't think its water quality as your system seems good and only the one ray is affected, but again stranger things have happened. Keep an eye out for bullies, new home, new adversaries, new stress and different rays react differently to stress.

 

[vamptrev]

high nitrates

 

[MHcblues119]

Alright so as you can see 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, around 40ppm nitrate. Gonna do a waterchange now. And my ph looks a little high at like 8.0? Never tested that high before. Which could be the route of my problem? Temp is at 80.8

My waterchange schedule is 50-75% every 4-5 days sometimes more often. I use prime. Today's the 5th day since iv done a waterchange and the nitrates are usually 30-40.

My male definitely tries to mate her. Will bite at her disk. But not very often

 

[millerkid519]

High nitrates was my first thought as well. do nightly water changes of 30% for a week see if that makes a difference. adding a ray will add alot of amonia to your system which means you bb will take a few weeks to catch up regardless of how much bio media you have.
My suggestion is to set up a drip makes life easier