Corn?

[Zoodiver]

Some shed grinding plates to give you an idea.

 

[Gshock]

About how long do they take to shed a plate? I've never noticed something like that before in my tanks throughout the years.

 

[Zoodiver]

Those are big ones - they're from cownose. Shedding plates depends on diet and how often then wear they down.

 

[spotfin]

Is this with marine species only? I've never seen any either.

 

[aquaman45]

Most interesting!
You would have thought judging by the number of aquarists that keep their rays on glass bottom this would not have gone unnoticed and would be a common occurrence....i've never seen it and i have kept Potamotrygon sp for more than 30 years.

 

[Zoodiver]

FW do the same thing, they are just MUCH smaller. I posted cownose b/c it's easier to get a picture of them due to size.

 

[Energy]

I'm surprised this hasn't been brought up before. I am guessing that the grinding disc therefore keeps growing a certain amount to compensate for abrasion while they sift through the sand and gravel in search of food. Is that true?

My Rays are constantly mouthing the sand and spitting it back out. I imagine that it would wear out the grinding discs quickly if they were not in a constant state of growth to an extent.

If that is the case then I wonder how rays kept in BB systems eating softer foods compensate?

Would they shed there discs more frequently?

 

[Zoodiver]

Less frequent if they aren't being worn out. Which is one of the reasons I don't like bare bottom set ups. I'm a big supporter of supplying rays with the most natural environments possible.

 

[Energy]

Less frequent if they aren't being worn out. Which is one of the reasons I don't like bare bottom set ups. I'm a big supporter of supplying rays with the most natural environments possible.

But if they aren't being worn out and are constantly growing(if that is true) wouldn't they need to shed them more often to make room in their mouths?

 

[Zoodiver]

You would think that, but it's actually the opposite. They don't shed them until they are worn down or physically knocked out by bitting too hard on a hard surface.