1.5 days with the new Motoro

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
how red is red? Pups have a natural pink to them, you may be looking for things that are not there. We have all done it when new to rays.

I have heard mixed reviews on tahitian moon being ray and geo safe I keep both in my tank with it without any issues. But I will be using different sand for my new tank just to be safe.

Either way pictures would speak 1,000 words. I would hate to see you switch out the sand if you don't need to you may start the process of the ray getting used to the tank all over by stressing/switching the substrate around.
 
I was just watching her again going up and down the glass and her belly is light pink, but I also noticed that her mouth is pink as well.....so that leads me to believe it is the substrate. She ate really well today eating market shrimp, scallops and earthworms. Tried to get a pic but all I am getting is a reflection of the room lighting off the glass because she hates the lights in the tank being on!
I found some super small gravel today at the LFS that I am taking my fish to which is small enough that she could still bury herself in and it would definitely be smooth on her underside.....just not very nice to look at! Like I said before...all the local pool shops have silica based PFS which some say is OK and others dont....

Not really sure what to do.....
 
Caribsea Peace River and Torpedo Beach are great for rays. I'd guess your LFS can get either in pretty quickly, although they'll be kinda costly too. I guess it's all relative - a happy ray will eat you out of house and home so the one-time expense of substrate will be comparatively minor in the long run.

To remove old substrate without messing up the water, siphon it out with a hose and refill with fresh so it's an extra water change. Slower than netting it out but much cleaner.
 
I use torpedo beach with my rays, but like Pete says its expensive. Best I was able to get was right around $1 per pound. You don't have to have much though, just a thin layer that she can partially bury herself in. This is a picture of torpedo beach in one of my ponds.

attachment.php
 
In terms of weight, I use less than 40lbs (of Peace River) in my 8'x3' tank. Petco just shipped me 60lbs of Peace River free shipping and $16 or so per 20lbs. Dunno if they're still running the free shipping and dunno if they'll ship to Canada.
 
OK,so I got some crappy phone pics of her out of her hiding spot....gives you an idea of what her belly, mouth and pelvic fins look like. I am unsure if the pinkness is something to worry about. She seems to be "flicking" the sand off of her before she takes flight....she is eating...and these pics are the FIRST time she has been out with the lights on. I just dont want to change all the substrate and stress the heck out of her when after a week and a half she seems to be slowly settling in...

I test the water every day....sometimes 2x a day
Ammon-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20 Just before water change...will be at 10 after the change tonight
PH-6.5
Temp-80

All the other fish except the small Dat are being taken out later today to reduce the bioload and ensure that there is no other stresses around for her.

So based on these pics...which are crappy...do I change the substrate or leave it and just watch her closely to see if the redness gets worse.

I would be changing it out to VERY small pea gravel if I changed it

Picture 002.jpg

Picture 004.jpg

Picture 006.jpg

Picture 008.jpg
 
I would leave it as it is. The glass does trick you a little aswell, if you look at her away from the glass it wouldnt be that pink. If that was somehow something that had to do with ammonia burn or anything else, she wouldnt have eaten at all, they shut down. To me everything seems fine, and she is settling in and eating. Leave it, and enjoy it. How often do you change water and how do you do it? Your readings are good..
 
Right now I am changing the water 2x a week @ 25% each change. All pumps are shut down before water changes. Water change is done with a python... once I take the water out I dose the tank with prime, then I start to refill out of the tap with the temp of the new water being the same as tank water. Once the tank gets full enough I turn on my Koralia 400 to circulate everything. When full I dont turn on the cannisters again for 10-15 mins to make sure the Prime has had a chance to grab all that new water.

After today I should be able to bring my water changes down to one a week as I will be getting rid of all my other livestock.
 
I would up the water changes IMO.

I do 50% everyday. Sometimes every other day. But you could get away with maybe just doing larger water changes.

I have 2 9" motoros in a 125 QT tank. So I have more waste.
 
I change 50% every 4 days, plenty for me.. Watch the nitrate readings, thats what you change water for mainly, when they are between 25-50, theres a waterchange that should be done. 50% every day to me seems like alot of stress to the fish and unnessesary work. I have 2x180g with 4 rays in both. 1 is filtered over 2xfx5 and the second over eheim 2080 and 50l background filter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom