1. Food caused the problem possibly. i had some smelt that was let to completely unthaw overnight and re-froze it. i fed it to this tank only. I did not see a problem as it was still cold in the morning.
2. stress..... there were 7 rays in this tank however the flower was the largest and most aggressive of all of them. 4 of the rays were under 7" and 2 were 9-10".
I have never seen anything pick on him, if anything i saw him do the picking. Maybe he was stressed from having to many rays crawling on him.
3. IME flowers do not like temps under 76 and my water was around 76-78 and then warmed to 84 in a couple of days, maybe that caused it
4. parasites?? seems weird to appear this long after captivity, he was quarantined for a couple months with 2 doses of prazi.
5. possibly for a ph drop, but i am dripping pretty heavy for a 210 gallon, however it was WELL stocked.
On a good note, i fed pellets this morning and he looked to have eaten some, and seems to be more active now. i think now that i moved 2 of the rays from this tank he is acting better.