3.1 motoro born today!
- Thread starter Zoodiver
- Start date
Maria said:
There isn't parental care at all with these. I've always had great sucess when I pull the pups away and raise them.
In the wild, they venture away minutes after being born. The birthing process attracts alot of predator attention, so it's not wise to stick around the area.
are you hiring? just kidding that would be a drive!!!
congrats, they look wonderful. you should contact jay over at toledo zoo. i belive he has been breeding as well, there could be a trade maybe, incest is just gross you know!!! no offense to anyone!!! ha ha
congrats, they look wonderful. you should contact jay over at toledo zoo. i belive he has been breeding as well, there could be a trade maybe, incest is just gross you know!!! no offense to anyone!!! ha ha
Zoodiver,
A couple more quick questions and then I will leave you alone.....
How old & large is the mother (5" pups are good sized)?
What temperature are they kept at?
What does their diet consist of?
Thanks,
Colin
A couple more quick questions and then I will leave you alone.....
How old & large is the mother (5" pups are good sized)?
What temperature are they kept at?
What does their diet consist of?
Thanks,
Colin
RAYKEYPR - I have worked with Jay Hemdal before. He is also the head of the SSP for Victorian cichlids. He's a great guy. I'm trying to get some of my old rays from Dallas World to bring in genes I have a history with. Kind of a sentamental thing I guess.
Colin- The mother is about 20" or so. Father is about 17" I'm not sure of her age. She is a product of Belle Island (Detroit, MI). They are pretty large for pups. I usually see 3"-4" or so. This is her first litter as well, which I've typically seen only 2 or 3. The most I've ever seen a first time give birth to is 5. The most with a well seasoned mother was 15 pups. I keep them in the low 80 F range. My water comes in at like 60, though. So it dips down after a water change. Usually only to about 75-76 F. I'm running a canister, fluidized sand bed, UV and an inline heater all off of one mag drive pump. It's the ALS10F from Aquatic Eco:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4739/cid/1325
A little undersized, but it does the job for now.
Diet is mostly earthworms and Mazuri Aquatic gel diet (it comes as powder that I mix with hot water to form a cake-like stuff that I cut up). I also do shinners, silver sides and capelin every now and then.
Hope that helps.
Colin- The mother is about 20" or so. Father is about 17" I'm not sure of her age. She is a product of Belle Island (Detroit, MI). They are pretty large for pups. I usually see 3"-4" or so. This is her first litter as well, which I've typically seen only 2 or 3. The most I've ever seen a first time give birth to is 5. The most with a well seasoned mother was 15 pups. I keep them in the low 80 F range. My water comes in at like 60, though. So it dips down after a water change. Usually only to about 75-76 F. I'm running a canister, fluidized sand bed, UV and an inline heater all off of one mag drive pump. It's the ALS10F from Aquatic Eco:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4739/cid/1325
A little undersized, but it does the job for now.
Diet is mostly earthworms and Mazuri Aquatic gel diet (it comes as powder that I mix with hot water to form a cake-like stuff that I cut up). I also do shinners, silver sides and capelin every now and then.
Hope that helps.
Zoodiver,
Yeah, that does help. Four is a large first litter and the pups are big. However, 20" is a good sized female motoro.
I bumped my temperature up to the 84 degree range from the 80 degrees that I have been keeping them at. My female is pregnant right now and I am curious to see if the temperature has any effect on the litter size or the size of the pups. I hope to find out in early March.
I mostly feed shrimp and smelt adding earthworms and crayfish as an occasional treat. I really want to expand thier diet a little.
I may have some more food questions for you at a later time.
Jay is a good guy. I just talked to him about the birth of their leopoldi pup. He was very excited.
Thanks a lot for the help,
Colin
Yeah, that does help. Four is a large first litter and the pups are big. However, 20" is a good sized female motoro.
I bumped my temperature up to the 84 degree range from the 80 degrees that I have been keeping them at. My female is pregnant right now and I am curious to see if the temperature has any effect on the litter size or the size of the pups. I hope to find out in early March.
I mostly feed shrimp and smelt adding earthworms and crayfish as an occasional treat. I really want to expand thier diet a little.
I may have some more food questions for you at a later time.
Jay is a good guy. I just talked to him about the birth of their leopoldi pup. He was very excited.
Thanks a lot for the help,
Colin
Congrats!
Since you've seen so many pups, do you think there was something in particular that triggered breeding? Do you think that rays respond to seasonal cues at all?
Also, how do you like the gel diet? I don't know of anyone in the private sector using it, but if you have breeding groups that eat the stuff, maybe it's worth looking into.
Since you've seen so many pups, do you think there was something in particular that triggered breeding? Do you think that rays respond to seasonal cues at all?
Also, how do you like the gel diet? I don't know of anyone in the private sector using it, but if you have breeding groups that eat the stuff, maybe it's worth looking into.
The post convinced me to try the gel diet. I have had good luck with smelt and shrimp but, I am always looking to diversify.
I ordered 2.2 lbs. today. I'll see how it goes. Sounds like it is a little work to make. However, if it is helping the litter size and the size of the individual pups it is definitely worth trying.
I'll let everyone know how it goes.
Colin
I ordered 2.2 lbs. today. I'll see how it goes. Sounds like it is a little work to make. However, if it is helping the litter size and the size of the individual pups it is definitely worth trying.
I'll let everyone know how it goes.
Colin
Breeding (from what I've seen) can be induced by temp swings. Give them a few days in the mid 70's then kick it up to low 80's. Have a larger group helps as well.
And then the seasonal breeding is always usual, as with any exotic.
The Gel diet is AWESOME. I love the stuff. I feed to to almost anything. I used it for all my reef fish, most of my freshwater fish, some of the inverts have eaten it as well. I had an arapaima I aquired from the Ft Worth (TX) zoo that would eat it. I've used it with all my freshwater river turtles as well as my sea turtles.....well, you get the idea. It's got a great nutritional value and being that it comes in a powder, you can add any thing you want to it (fruits, veggies, meds...)
Matt
And then the seasonal breeding is always usual, as with any exotic.
The Gel diet is AWESOME. I love the stuff. I feed to to almost anything. I used it for all my reef fish, most of my freshwater fish, some of the inverts have eaten it as well. I had an arapaima I aquired from the Ft Worth (TX) zoo that would eat it. I've used it with all my freshwater river turtles as well as my sea turtles.....well, you get the idea. It's got a great nutritional value and being that it comes in a powder, you can add any thing you want to it (fruits, veggies, meds...)
Matt
