Best Builder Food for rays

[Kolossus]

stingrays tend to refuse pellets
i have never had a ray refuse pellets it may take a week of messing around to get them to eat pellets but they will eat them

Then you are very lucky! Took one of my rays a year before it would take pellets. I use hikari pellets among other foods...The only down side to hikari pellets is that they are extremely rank! They stink up the entire house! So, I generally feed pellets right before bed. I also regularly feed tilapia.

 

[T1KARMANN]

For putting on mass, I actually disagree. I think Hikari sinking carnivore are great, and I do feed them to my rays, but as far putting on size I've had the best success with market prawn, squid and earthworm. I actually recently compared the size of my henlei group to a friends (both groups imported at the same time) and mine were nearly 2/3 the size. He fed some MP and mostly Massivore, I fed mostly MP, squid and some earthworms.
Long term, pellets with some frozen food are the way to go for the health of your ray, and I 100% back the Hikari product
line, but if you're trying to bulk them up, nothing beats MP + Squid + Earthworm IME.

My son has another boy who is the same age as him in his class who is much taller than him that's strange to don't you think

Or are all rays going turn out with the same disk size if that was the case when people ask what tank size for a adult male motoro we we be able to give them a exact tank size even if yours and your pals rays were from the same breeder even the same litter have you never Hurd of a runt in the litter that just takes longer to grow

So you friends tank was the exact same size as yours and his water parameters were the exact same all these things play a part in ray growth

 

[T1KARMANN]

I did use hikari but if i remember correctly someone posted something about one of the ingrediants not being good long term for them. I've now started using NLS extreme as it can work out a little cheaper and the ray and other fish like it more.

I have now started feeding them the jelly food made up from the thread in the stingray forum, took a few attempts for them to eat it but now they're waffling it down

You are still feeding pellets just a cheaper type so I don't see the point in this reply I have also been feeding hikari for 6 years so what would you class as long term

I have now been feeding my ray that I have now for 4 years now on hikari from birth 2 days after birth they were eating crushed sinking carnivore

 

[michalm]

I tried pellets on rays many times, I actually tried hikari massivore specifically, they wouldnt touch them. Maybe they would have gotten on them eventually, I did not starve them till they took them. I would agree, if they would eat pellets its certainly a healthy food for them.

My Motoros loved massivore hikari. Now I sold my Motoro and have Hystrix. They don't want to touch them

I will try to feed them in future... this is very good food for Rays. Motoros looks so nice and they was very active when they eat pellets.

 

[Zoodiver]

Salmon, clam, white shrimp, earthworms....

 

[Gshock]

IME if you're willing to pay, salmon and tuna works even better than worms and shrimp.

 

[J.Lake]

Big old jumbo dew worms, and shrimp is what I use to fatten a thin ray. Worms are very high in fat and will bulk up a thin ray in no time. (I would love to get my rays on pellets, im not patient enough.)

 

[T1KARMANN]

Worms are very adictive once rays take a liking to them it very hard to get them off them

Pellets are so easy to get rays to eat of course if you use pellets like massive your going to have problems at the start as they are a lage pellet that the ray will have to chew it's best starting with sinking carnivore as they are small

Everyone is saying most rays eat worms so what you so I soak the pelota in the chopped worm blood over night then throw them in

Oe if your ray will only eat black worms do the same

For me keeping rays is all about keeping the water clean this is much harder with some of the other foods mentioned above compared with pellets

 

[Gshock]

For me keeping rays is all about keeping the water clean this is much harder with some of the other foods mentioned above compared with pellets

Very true.

 

[DavidW]

Salmon, clam, white shrimp, earthworms....

A mixed diet is always going to be best. Pellets can be a part of that but should not imo be the exclusive diet any more than a kid should eat just candy or just steak, no matter how convenient it may be for the ray keeper.
A ray is evolved to deal with seasons of feast and seasons of famine, so having a permanently fat ray is not necessarily the best thing. Fatty liver problems are a big issue shortening the life of a ray. Everything looks fine, but they just don't live as long.
Fresh food is always going to be better than processed food for vitamin and amino acid content. Live food will also promote more 'natural' behavior.
Hikari is a pretty good product but are also pound for pound one of the most expensive ways to feed a ray.