Breeding questions

[jim barry]

So i am reading alot lately about people lucky enough to have their rays breeding and it is prompting a couple of questions.

1. It seems alot of people are having pups around now, more so than earlier in the year. Is there a certain time of the year that rays are more likely to breed? I know there is in the wild but wonder if the same can be said when they are kept in a tank.

2. For those of you that are breeding. How many times to allow the female to breed before giving her a rest? How long do you allow her to rest for and how do you do this? Place her in another tank or put up a divider?

 

[bonesb66]

Hi Jim,

Not a lot of experience to pass onto you but one thing i was told that the females are never moved - they are left in their home forever and allowed to always be happy and therefore ready to breed.

The male is moved, i think a divider is harder in the larger breeding facilities so they just physically move him.

Not sure if that's everyone but it's certainly what i was told.

 

[T1KARMANN]

I never had the need to rest my females

I found the females would let the males breed with them 2-3 times

After the 3 x breeding the females are normally much bigger than the males and are by far the bosses of the tank by them

By the time the females have.bred 3 times they are 3-3.5 years old and getting massive in size

this size makes them aggressive it's sort of turns the tables

I think that's why males are so keen to breed with the females when the females are smaller as they know it will be harder once the females grow

I have sold large male Leo before but I sold my large female Leo last week and nothing could have got me ready for the size of her once out of the tank

Scary I have no idea how I'm going to move my big female p14




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[jim barry]

Thanks for the feed back guys. This is interesting.
Are we saying there is only so many litters a female can have then before she will not allow a male to breed with her again?? I doubt if i will be in a position to be able to physically move a male to another tank so would i have to sell up the breeding stock and start again?
Any one else wish to share their experiences?
I see you are leaving the hobby T1. That is a shame for you, sorry to hear you have to give it up.

 

[T1KARMANN]

Thanks for the feed back guys. This is interesting.
Are we saying there is only so many litters a female can have then before she will not allow a male to breed with her again?? I doubt if i will be in a position to be able to physically move a male to another tank so would i have to sell up the breeding stock and start again?
Any one else wish to share their experiences?
I see you are leaving the hobby T1. That is a shame for you, sorry to hear you have to give it up.

Not saying they won't carry on breeding but it gets harder for a male to deal with a big female

You may not need to split them up as each male is different

The best mix is still 2 females to one male this splits up the aggression but the male may only breed with one of the females like I said each male is different


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[jim barry]

Thanks T1. I heard the same thing regards one male two females and he may only ever breed with one of the females. I also heard that putting more females with one male increases the chances of the male breeding with more than one of the females.

 

[verbal]

I found the females would let the males breed with them 2-3 times

I don't have direct experience, but this seems to match what the speaker on Rays at the Konvention said. He said that often the time it was easiest for the male to breed with the female was right after they had given birth. He said it was typical that they would breed roughly 3 times in a row, but then need a break.

It may be the rays are seasonal breeders, or it may be a reflection of when people are doing more to condition their rays and/or moving them for breeding.

 

[Zoodiver]

In the wild, most Potamotrygon speices will breed seasonally. We've found that changes in water temp and abundance of food are two key factors that trigger the breeding. Because we keep rays in controlled environments, it's getting rather easy to simulate those changes and encourage breeding.

 

[T1KARMANN]

In the wild, most Potamotrygon speices will breed seasonally. We've found that changes in water temp and abundance of food are two key factors that trigger the breeding. Because we keep rays in controlled environments, it's getting rather easy to simulate those changes and encourage breeding.

This is why I keep my temp high all the time you stand more chance of breeding

Once the female is due to give birth I lower the temp this tricks the female into thinking its rainy season

Rainy season = higher water levels = more food about for the pups to get hold of

I have said this many times in the past but people will respect it more now it's come from you


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