Do Rays need Dither Fish?

[zev]

My rays are healthy and eating like mad. They are active, and crazy when the lights go out but when the lights are on they bury themselves. They literally hide all day, only coming out from the sand when I feed, and this has been the case for 2 to 3 weeks now.

The rays are a humerosa, and a yepezi

My friend took home 2 retics and put them in with his discus and says they move non stop......is the difference that my Rays are the only fish in the tank.....

Should I just put in some cheap dithers? Will this help?

 

[Brent]

i have had a hystrix like this for 3 years
are your lights real bright?
i cut back on the lighting a little and it helped
but my leo's never cared either way

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

you can also try moon lighting...

 

[Wildy]

I had the same problem and would you believe it was a water quality issue my water is soft so the ph was bouncing up and down. A healthy ray wont hide unless startled or scared or stressed..

 

[Darin]

If you want to have some fun, find some very samll baby crayfish, the rays will go nuts !
Keep an eye on your nitrAtes. 40 ppm or less, 20 or less is ideal.
Tfd.

 

[Crash607]

I think thats normal. When I got my first motoro the same thing happened fora about a month so the only time i could feed him was when the lights were off. My water quality was perfect. The man I bought it from told me I had too much substrate in my tank which at the time was about 2 1/2 in. so i took about an inch out and then he got better.

 

[zev]

thanks everyone.....

I am baffeled, my humerosa, used to be out most of the day when she was alone, but since I added my yepezi about 2 weeks ago they have both been hiding. They eat a ton and are of good weight.

My nitrAtes do not exceed 40 ppm and I do weekly 50% waterchanges, sometimes twice a week.

Really I have seen during feedings that they have seriously colored up and I want to see them more.

Oh, and I have a single strip light on top of a 90 gallon tank....I don't think that it is too much

 

[cartersvillealex]

I agree. They really get a kick out of chasing the crawfish around. They do make a mess with little shell bits everywhere, but it is fun to watch and makes them happy.