Her hips don’t lie

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So it has been a long hard day here. After all the good progress, she can hardly catch the ghost shrimps. I noticed them escaping her after she would cup them in her disc. I think she spent so much energy hunting them that it depleted her energy. She will no longer take worms live or dead. Only live ghost shrimp.

So I have to basically cripple the shrimp so it doesn’t die or she won’t take it. Then I put the shrimp under her disc with tongs. Then she wrestles with it for a few mins trying to eat it. Chews it, spits it, kills it, then won’t touch it.

I am just bracing myself for what seems to be inevitable. I have also just found out there is slim to no chance there will be a refund or replacement at this time.

Dont give up yet brother.
 
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I’m still trying to source out black worms. Fish people don’t have them reptile people don’t have them. Suppliers are all out. ?

If I have to stay home from work and hand feed her these gimpy shrimps all day I am prepared to do so. She wants to eat so I will do what I can to facilitate.
 
I’m still trying to source out black worms. Fish people don’t have them reptile people don’t have them. Suppliers are all out. ?

If I have to stay home from work and hand feed her these gimpy shrimps all day I am prepared to do so. She wants to eat so I will do what I can to facilitate.

Have you looked online? I can get my hands on black worm cultures online at least here in sweden.

I found this right now.
 
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So it has been a long hard day here. After all the good progress, she can hardly catch the ghost shrimps. I noticed them escaping her after she would cup them in her disc. I think she spent so much energy hunting them that it depleted her energy. She will no longer take worms live or dead. Only live ghost shrimp.

So I have to basically cripple the shrimp so it doesn’t die or she won’t take it. Then I put the shrimp under her disc with tongs. Then she wrestles with it for a few mins trying to eat it. Chews it, spits it, kills it, then won’t touch it.

I am just bracing myself for what seems to be inevitable. I have also just found out there is slim to no chance there will be a refund or replacement at this time.

maybe you should just buy more ghost shrimp and dump all in at once.... rather then feeding bit by bit....... if it helps, use a smaller box as her house so the fgs has less space to run
 
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Matthew lives in Canada, as do I. That vendor is based in the USA. We don't have any local vendors that carry live black worms.

BUT ……… I did find someone in Calgary that sells live red worms. http://www.wormsatwork.com/index.html


I know you guys live in canada but the company i linked light be able to ship to canada?
 
I'm pretty sure that Matthew is aware that there is online vendors based in the USA, but I don't think this ray can wait until next week to get nutrition in her. The vendor that I linked to is located in the same city, it could be a potential immediate solution to some live worms.
 
I always got my blackworms from Eastern Aquatics.
 
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Thanks for the links guys. It sounds like unless I want to pay freight charges the soonest Blackworms are coming is mid November.

As much as I want to go all in, I still need to keep my wits about me or I am just going to dump a ton of money into a ray that just may not make it even if I start throwing hundees out the window. Right now she doesn’t give a rip about any types of worms, live or frozen. I don’t know if Blackworms will be much different than the live bloodworms I have already offered her. I am also looking into whiteworm cultures because apparently they are around the same size as black worms.

I can’t dump a whole bunch of any kind of food for any amount of time. When young picky rays have uneaten food for too long sit in there, they are much less likely to eat that type of food the next time it is offered. I have been told this by local breeders, and also have watched it with the rays that I have had including this one. If there are too many ghost shrimp in there they will agitate her and she may not see them as food after a while. And at this point ghost shrimps are the only food she is taking.

I have come to terms that she may not come out of this, and am extremely happy with the other two I have. They are really good eaters and are beautiful. They even swim in tandem up and down the glass together. I suspect what I am seeing with this ray could be from early trauma/ acute stress that has caused it to be very needy and particular. Unfortunately for her that doesn’t support good health and now she is so weak, I think she might actually have a mental handicap of some sort. The way she acts particularly around food makes me think this.

At this point, she can’t catch enough ghost shrimp to sustain her energy levels. So I have perfected the art of feeding her today. I catch the ghost shrimp in a net (much easier than in the water) then grab it by the head with the tweezers and put it in front of her. She pounces, then I let go and the shrimp scoots backward right under her disc. Then she struggles with it for a few seconds and eventually gets it into her mouth and swallows it. I have also observed she has a much harder time with female gs especially if they are berried. She almost never swallows a berried female. But almost always swallows the males and unberried females.

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