The beginning of the end? Raykeepers nightmare.

[DB junkie]

It doesn't sound like something that needed meds to fix.i have panicked many times over the years and have thought all kinds of crazy things.prazi is real hard on rays all meds are.if they don't eat i would say this to anybody and everybody on this forum " don't medicate your rays to try and kick start appetite"
Make sure the water is pristine ,but you have already killed off your filter so things might even get crazier for you.

Best advice i can think of is stay off forums.i used to read up crazy stuff on here when a ray was breathing funny or stoped eating. Than act out of disperation and think my rays were all going to die !
Wait it out. Keep water pristine rays are so freaking tough man they will pull through just stop medicating.try the clean water treatment.

Medicating damaged or stressed rays usually end up with the same result death.most threads you read on here are no more than a guy like me or you over reacting and freaking everybody out! Parasites won't make your rays all of the sudden stop eating in a few days,if they did your tank would have to be heavily infested which I'n that case i still think the rays would eat.

To me this sounds no more than water troubles

Forhead dents don't need fixed huh? Have you ever read the label on Prazi? It can be used as a preventative. Back in the day some of the very informative guys have used it in 16X the recommended dosage without harm...... Now maybe it's just me but I would tend to think if it was that potent of a med then it would have killed them at that dosage.

Please tell me why I have "killed of my filter"? Cause I washed the socks and rinsed the bio balls (in tank water)? THEN added a 5 gallon bucket full of good bio from my big tank? A clean filter and a couple days of a wide open drip would tend to lead me to believe the water is in check.

As far as your stay off the forums advice....... I'm not a rookie at keeping rays. I probobly learned more from the time long before you became a member here then I ever could have after you appeared. Why? Cause all of the knowledgable people threw tthier hands up in the air and disappeared becasue of people just like you.

I guess I was unaware that bad water can install forehead dents in a week. Many of my rays have been with my for years. Several years. I know them very well, and it is easy for me to tell when they are sick and when they are just being finicky. IF clean water was the remedy they would be doing much better by now.

I asked once and I will ask politely again. Please refrain from sharing your opinion in this thread...... I refrained from telling you how full of crap the whole salt bath bit was now I'd like for you to do the same courtesy and leave me alone at this time. Thanks.

 

[bcfd144]

We all feel the same way when something wrong is going on in our tanks. I myself dont want any of my fish to have any problems and get very upset when something out of the blue happens and I cant figure out why. I am no expert, and I also do not know what your rays went thru before you got them, but like most fish (rays included) moving them from place to place causes alot of stress. Who knows how many times and in what time period your rays were moved and moved..
There for their immune systems brake down. This is one reason alot of fish get ich. (I know, rays dont get ich, but Im talking in general)
Also adding in new tank mates causes stress on the mates that were already in the tank. Change is not always a good thing for any of your stock.

Thinking a parasite was the problem would be alot of the peoples first thought when going thru what you are. With adding in new items, stock and rays in such a short time, there is no telling were the problem came from.
I would do your water changes. Make sure all reading are were they need to be. If something is off, fix it slow (unless nitrates) and see what happens.
Keep us informed.

 

[Eclipse390]

I am so sorry to see this happening to your tank. Although I've never kept Rays - I do know how it feels to watch a fish that you've spent so much time & effort on die right in front of you for an unknown reason. I hope things take a turn for the best

 

[calgaryflames]

Well put more prazi I'n than,i don't care what the bottle says buddie.
Does it say on the bottle that prazi fixes dents I'n rays heads.i never knew that prazi fixed that.
And sure prazi is safe for healthy rays,your rays sound like they are weak and on their way out.just keep on adding to the stress,they are your rays. Sorry this is happening prazi is a parasite medication.your rays don't have parasites and if they did it would take a lot longer than a few days to do this!

I am just passing on good advice that was passed on to me

And sorry i thought you cleaned out your hole filter i misunderstood you their.

 

[framcosco]

Please don't give me the "shoulda quarantined" bit.

I know. Believe me IF I could take it back I woulda set up even more tanks to have ample space to quarantine but I didn't. Damage is done and beating a dead horse isn't gonna help save anything.

I know rays need QT but when someone tells me they have been QT'd for 3 months it makes it easy for me to justify not doing it.

Maybe some of you can learn from my mistakes. I spent a few days deciding if I would make a thread so others can learn from my mistakes or if I'd just disappear. I worked too hard for too many years to just disappear so here we go.... This thread will be my walk of shame.

My involvement in this hobby will likely live or die over the next few weeks. Just like all my babies. I always said I'd have rays the rest of my life but I never thought something like this could happen after so many years of success.

I am NOT trying to be an ******** here but this is tearing me up. BAD. Haven't slept worth a crap since I got home from my vacation 10 days ago. All I do is go to work and watch my rays die. I've never felt more helpless and pathetic then I do right now. IF I didn't think this thread would impact just 1 person in the hobby in regards to the importance of QT I sure as hell wouldn't be shining the spotlight of stupidy on myself.

I suspect whatever is going on is likely directly related to the new rays but why the hell would one act completely unaffected?

In regards to the light based females breathing...... It isn't always that fast, I think she's just pooped from trying to get away from the other rays. She is still semi active but even refuses cut crawlers.

I dearly appreciate those who have chosen to try to help, you are the reason I made this thread. I feel so overwhelmed right now I can't think straight OR rationally. It honestly hurts so much I have to fight the urge to drive right by my house on the way home from work cause it makes me sick to walk in the door see them in the condition they're in and know that I have no clue how to fix it.

Thank you for making this thread. Many will learn from your experience here. I know how it is to feel helpless.... the desire and willingness to make the situation better but not knowing what to do. My heart goes out to you. Best of luck.

 

[calgaryflames]

The problem is not the rays but the keeper

Seriously sit back stop spazzing at everybody and look at the situation again.
Keep it simple that's all i have been trying to say.

Good luck and hopefully you calm down

 

[PeteLockwood]

I don't recall the details of your system - whether it's all plumbed together now or whether you can isolate parts of it but is it worth collecting all the sick rays into one system and the others separate? I'm with you on the Prazi, I've used it with sick rays with no adverse affect.

You know I got some very unhealthy rays a while ago, I treated with Prazi and then absolutely ridiculous water changes - we're talking emptying the tank 'til they had 1/4" of water above them and then refilling with aged water from a healthy tank every day for weeks. My aim was that whatever was upsetting their system couldn't have a chance to take any more of a hold.

One of the rays quit eating after 3 weeks of eating every 3 hours day & night. She refused everything I offered for a solid week and her dent began to show again, I know just how you feel but kept up the regime and eventually she went for good ol' black worms then moved up to red worms a couple days later and back to regular food a few days later. If you can separate the sick ones it'll be easier to change more water and you can get some black worms going if you aren't already.

 

[Just Toby]

I think it is likely that the discus brought in something but also worth looking for other angles too.

Didn't T1 have something like this a while back? He seemed to cure it.

I assume you have double checked the water with new test kits just to be sure....out of interest what was the nitrate reading when you first saw the problem and What is it now? I am sure it is not this but important to rule out.

Large water changes are obvious but necessary.


Personally I like the added help that a uv MAY provide as it could help in instances like this, possibly unlikely but cannot hurt..
Good luck buddy.

Let's keep the fighting down though even when emotions are high, we are all here working together and nobody wants rays to die.

 

[DB junkie]

The problem is not the rays but the keeper

Seriously sit back stop spazzing at everybody and look at the situation again.
Keep it simple that's all i have been trying to say.

Good luck and hopefully you calm down

Listen, I told you I didn't want your advice. I asked you politely a couple times to stay out of this thread. Your input is NOT welcome as it's nothing but BS speculation. You know absolutly nothing about my rays yet you sit there and tell me what's wrong with them. Quit sending me PMs. Your over the line of harassment.

 

[DB junkie]

I think it is likely that the discus brought in something but also worth looking for other angles too.

Didn't T1 have something like this a while back? He seemed to cure it.

I assume you have double checked the water with new test kits just to be sure....out of interest what was the nitrate reading when you first saw the problem and What is it now? I am sure it is not this but important to rule out.

Large water changes are obvious but necessary.


Personally I like the added help that a uv MAY provide as it could help in instances like this, possibly unlikely but cannot hurt..
Good luck buddy.

Let's keep the fighting down though even when emotions are high, we are all here working together and nobody wants rays to die.

Nitrates under 20. I averaged 100 gallons of water a day through this system via drip. There was 6 rays in this tank at the most but back down to 5 after just a day. 2 rays @10" 1 @9" 2@7". Tank is 6x3x1.5. Sump is 4x2x2. There's about 25 gallons of bioballs/pot scrubbies in there for bio.

I believe T1's remedy was Tremazol. I have tracked some down here in the states but only 200 ML.

I haven't been doing the huge waterchanges because of the Prazi, but the system was flushed after filter cleaning for a day (drip wide open) and will be flushed again tonight as it's day 3 of Prazi.

Will likely be adding UV. And recomendations in regard to decent UVs would be appreciated.

Hopefully the mods will clean this thread up so I don't have to request that it be deleted.