Exactly, the wild diet composition isn't being guessed at with all the research being down in South America now. A lot of the info is availible to anyone with a computer and internet. More was poured out at the Symposium. There are several other email lists etc that allow open communication with those directly working with the animals in natural setttings which allow us a window into what we should be doing when it comes to providing husbandry for these amazing animals.
Best Builder Food for rays
- Thread starter jdbrock
- Start date
great thread!
do people just chop up the tilapia into small pieces?
i got a small 5-6" ray and i want him to put on size! do i just shred up the tilapia into like tiny pieces and put it into the tank? he's currently on market shrimp and black worms.
do people just chop up the tilapia into small pieces?
i got a small 5-6" ray and i want him to put on size! do i just shred up the tilapia into like tiny pieces and put it into the tank? he's currently on market shrimp and black worms.
I got a meat cleaver and cutting board from walmart, i just chop the tilapia up into about 1/2" cubes for my smaller rays and for the big girls about 1" cubes.
i feed my rays earth worms and saled shrimp with some feeder fish here and there on occassion i will throw in some squid and my females have been groing 1 inch a month hope that helps you out man but i would say the best diet is to get it as natural as possible 
Zoodiver;4879477; said:
You are right you can get fresh water prawns and the other things you mentioned but how many people feed them and how many just go and buy the normal sea foods to feed to the rays I would day everyone who feeds such foods buy the salt water types
As for pellets can rays be fed them from birth grow to adult size and breed with in 2.5 years and live healthy for 6 years + just being fed on pellets the answer is YES
For me fishkeeping should be made as simple as possible
If you can provide the stuff rays can thrive on in a pellet form without going throw the hassle of having to buy a big amount of different food then spend time having to wash earth worms cut up this and that sea food when I can get the same results by just throwing in a few handfuls of pellets I know which I would rather do
By people saying pellets are not good enough for rays you are blowing the whole dry fish food Market like don't feed your guppies flake food or don't feed and other fish tetra prima
Other tropical fish have been fed on dry foods for years I don't see the difference and why rays can't be
If you can provide the stuff rays can thrive on in a pellet form without going throw the hassle of having to buy a big amount of different food then spend time having to wash earth worms cut up this and that sea food when I can get the same results by just throwing in a few handfuls of pellets I know which I would rather do
By people saying pellets are not good enough for rays you are blowing the whole dry fish food Market like don't feed your guppies flake food or don't feed and other fish tetra prima
Other tropical fish have been fed on dry foods for years I don't see the difference and why rays can't be
Good thread, as a relativley new new raykeeper I would love to get my ray s on pellets as a staple. Its actually my goal for the simple fact it will keep my water cleaner and it would be easier than my current regime of washing worms and shrimp and chopping them up
T1KARMANN;4882102; said:
Pellets / manufactured foods aren't bad as part of the diet. Heck, I use them alot. I think the point DW and I are going after is variety is healthier than one type of food. Why provide the bare minimum when we can do better?
The bare minimum? lol
C'mon Matt, do you really think that female stingrays would produce healthy pups in captivity if pellets only provided the bare minimum of nutrients?
You previously stated;
I just finished looking at the specs of that food, and I honestly don't see anything that hasn't already been accomplished (and then some) with some of the more premium pellets on the market? Other than perhaps it being more palatable to a fish due to the gel texture when mixed, what else should I be wowed by?
http://www.mazuri.com/PDF/5C8X.pdf
Quite frankly there are pellets on the market that exceed that nutrient profile by a country mile. Mazuri uses only 1 main source of amino acids (fish meal) and 1 source of aquatic plant matter (spirulina algae meal) and that's supposed to be impressive?
Compared to a food that uses Antarctic krill meal, herring meal, squid meal, along with algae meal (that consists of seaweed, kelp, and several micro-algae) AND spirulina, and micronutrient (vitamin/mineral) levels that exceed the Mazuri formula that you speak so highly of?
And yet you feel that a company such as Purina Mills makes a great Shark/Ray gel diet that is very well matched to nutritional needs of 99% of the elasmobranch species kept today?
And how exactly does that work? By limiting their source of amino acids to 1 form of fish meal (most likely a generic fish meal, seeing as they don't list the species source?) and 1 source of aquatic plant matter? (spirulina meal) and the rest of their formula consisting of commercially made vitamins, trace minerals, antioxidents, and color enhancing agents? This is what you consider an ideal diet for a stingray?
They state: Contains Carotenoids for antioxident potential and pigmenting properties - yet what do I see but none other than Carophyll Pink in the ingredient list, a cheap man made petro chemical based color enhancing agent used by the salmon industry to supply artificial color to the flesh of a fish. By the order of ingredient listing, it also appears to contain a significant amount of ethoxyquin, another man made chemical used as a preservative, and not something that most consumers want to see large amounts of, in any commercial food.
While I realize that Purina has been around a long time, they aren't exactly known for being on the cutting edge of fish nutrition, and a quick scan of their other commercial aquaculture foods should make that fairly obvious. There's a reason why a 50lb bag of Purina fish food can be purchased for under $25.00
Talk about bare minimums ........
C'mon Matt, do you really think that female stingrays would produce healthy pups in captivity if pellets only provided the bare minimum of nutrients?
You previously stated;
I just finished looking at the specs of that food, and I honestly don't see anything that hasn't already been accomplished (and then some) with some of the more premium pellets on the market? Other than perhaps it being more palatable to a fish due to the gel texture when mixed, what else should I be wowed by?
http://www.mazuri.com/PDF/5C8X.pdf
Quite frankly there are pellets on the market that exceed that nutrient profile by a country mile. Mazuri uses only 1 main source of amino acids (fish meal) and 1 source of aquatic plant matter (spirulina algae meal) and that's supposed to be impressive?
Compared to a food that uses Antarctic krill meal, herring meal, squid meal, along with algae meal (that consists of seaweed, kelp, and several micro-algae) AND spirulina, and micronutrient (vitamin/mineral) levels that exceed the Mazuri formula that you speak so highly of?
And yet you feel that a company such as Purina Mills makes a great Shark/Ray gel diet that is very well matched to nutritional needs of 99% of the elasmobranch species kept today?
And how exactly does that work? By limiting their source of amino acids to 1 form of fish meal (most likely a generic fish meal, seeing as they don't list the species source?) and 1 source of aquatic plant matter? (spirulina meal) and the rest of their formula consisting of commercially made vitamins, trace minerals, antioxidents, and color enhancing agents? This is what you consider an ideal diet for a stingray?
They state: Contains Carotenoids for antioxident potential and pigmenting properties - yet what do I see but none other than Carophyll Pink in the ingredient list, a cheap man made petro chemical based color enhancing agent used by the salmon industry to supply artificial color to the flesh of a fish. By the order of ingredient listing, it also appears to contain a significant amount of ethoxyquin, another man made chemical used as a preservative, and not something that most consumers want to see large amounts of, in any commercial food.
While I realize that Purina has been around a long time, they aren't exactly known for being on the cutting edge of fish nutrition, and a quick scan of their other commercial aquaculture foods should make that fairly obvious. There's a reason why a 50lb bag of Purina fish food can be purchased for under $25.00
Talk about bare minimums ........
