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Do you add salt your ray tanks?
- Thread starter Gr8KarmaSF
- Start date
why would you want to add salt fresh water rays are not a brakish water fish
i dont see how it can pull a ray from death curl as death curl is a kind of brain damage were the ray losses control of the mussel around its disk
i have never seen a ray recover from the true death curl surly thats why its called death curl as it means the ray is going to die
i dont see how it can pull a ray from death curl as death curl is a kind of brain damage were the ray losses control of the mussel around its disk
i have never seen a ray recover from the true death curl surly thats why its called death curl as it means the ray is going to die
because all water in the wild has some salt content and its good for gill function, stress relief and just in general better for your fish to have some salt in the water
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FishHeadSoup
Guest
interestin point T1K, never knew what death curl really was...
if what you say is true, then how can adding salt cure it???
ohh ya....what causes it to begin with? bad h20?
if what you say is true, then how can adding salt cure it???
ohh ya....what causes it to begin with? bad h20?
FishHeadSoup said:
Without osmoregulation fish will die
Osmoregulation is the control of the concentration of body fluids. If a fish is unable to regulate the effects of osmosis it will die. Clearly, osmoregulation is a vital function affecting all aspects of fish health.
Osmosis, diffusion and fish health
If we look at the structure of the gill or gut under a powerful microscope we would see the tissue that lines these structures, the epithelium, is very thin, usually only one cell thick. Such areas are rich in blood vessels with very thin walls. The combined thickness of epithelium and blood vessels is less than the size of a full stop. The structure and thinness of these areas means that the minute particles whizzing around in the water (and blood) can pass through the epithelium and blood vessels with relative ease; in fact in many cases it is as if there wasn't any barrier at all!
If the gill and gut surfaces were unfolded and laid out flat we would have a massive area, much greater than the combined surface area of the skin and scales. At least half of the exposed surface of a fish is permeable to small particles. It is this permeability that leads us to describe a fish as an open system, constantly exchanging particles between its inside and the surrounding water. Now, perhaps, it is possible to understand why changes in the surrounding water have such an important effect on fish.
Diff and 'Oz'
The permeability of the gills and gut and, to a lesser extent, the skin, which are all in close contact with the water, leads to a further challenge for aquatic animals. Diffusion or osmosis alone would eventually result in the fluid of a fish's body being identical to that of the surrounding water, just as a sugar cube, left in a hot cup of tea, would eventually fully dissolve and be spread evenly throughout the tea (by diffusion). If the fluid within the fish were to be dissolved thoroughly with the water surrounding it we would, I'm afraid, have a dead fish! But the composition of the body fluids is obviously different to the pond water and has to be maintained that way if the fish is to remain alive and healthy. So how does a fish manage to do this? What is it that keeps a fish's body fluids stable and different to the surrounding water?
Constant urination
The body fluids of a freshwater contain more dissolved salts and ions than the surrounding water. As a result of this imbalance there is a constant influx of water into its body and a loss of salts and ions from the blood outwards. A similar effect occurs if you put a dried raisin or apricot into distilled water. There is a net influx of water molecules through the skin of the dried fruit and it swells up to look like a grape again. (Try it!)
The mechanism may seem complex but essentially a fish has to rid its body of excess inflowing water by constantly excreting a weak solution of urine. Fresh-water fish can urinate approximately 30 per cent of their body mass each day. Salts are removed from the urine before it is excreted (fish are not wasters, remember) and they are also actively taken up from the water by way of the gills in order to maintain internal salt levels. This constant active absorption of salts requires energy but is essential to the fish's survival, and anything that affects this vital function will have serious effects on the health or even survival of the fish.
Clearly, any interference to the fish's osmoregulatory systems, either fresh water or marine, would quickly prove fatal! Fresh water fish would rapidly accumulate water (a typical sign seen in dropsy), while marine fish would dehydrate. Clearly, our health considerations must take aboard the importance of osmoregulation which can be affected by instances such as water hardness, ulcer disease and stress.
Osmosis is a special case of diffusion. Water will move from an area where it is more concentrated - i.e. more pure - to an area of less concentration - i.e. containing more dissolved substances, for example more salty.
It is this difference in water 'saltiness' between the fish's blood and the surrounding water that drives the constant osmosis.
What this all means: Higher levels of salts in the water will allow the fish to expend less energy on 'Osmoregulation', thus, lowering stress levels.
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FishHeadSoup
Guest
Marine Salt and Water Softening Salt are 2 completely different things. Marine salt will change your pH and hardness, and could prove detrimental to any freshwater fish. Water Softening only alters the salinity, and is NOT detrimental to freshwater fish, but actually very beneficial. Read the osmoregulation post above.T1KARMANN said:
Really? I thought it was well-known that no one knows what causes death curl, or what it even is.. Atleast that is what most scientists who study Stingrays would say.. Why? Because their is no factual evidence of anything regarding 'death curl'.. Perhaps Death Curl has more to do with Osmoregulation than it does with Brain Damage..?
I don't see how you can make such hastey judgements about such husbandry practices, when you don't know the differences between marine salt and water softening salt? I mean.. How do you know that Death Curl has anything to do with brain damage? Is this just mis-information being repeated, just like majority of the information in the aquarium hobby? The type of information that leads to people becoming discouraged with the hobby and ultimately quitting..
Often times when Rays are first imported, we acclimate them quickly into very hard water. Usually in the first hour or two, sometimes smaller rays will show a bit of curling around the rear of the disc.. Infact, on the last import I had already written off 3 rays as "DOA" because the curled IMMEDIATELY when they hit the water. Well after a night of 84 degrees, salt, and a covered tank with no stress.. They were fine. They ate and grew, and were eventually sold to a good home. I have even had larger, rarer species such as Antenna rays show a bit of curling from import stress.. Only to have them come out of it a day or two later with the same method.. Heat + Salt + No Stress..
Perhaps Death Curl has more to do with osmoregulation than any of us ever could of thought.. I believe the idea of brain damage causing uncontrollable neurological symptoms was just a 'hypothesis' thrown out by a fellow hobbyist on another message board, because I read that same thread.
Sooooo.. Yes it is completely safe to add salt to your stingray aquarium. It has a NUMBER of benefical properties, and it is the best and safest treatment in ANY Scenario for an unhealthy stingray. Both I, and DavidW, leading stingray importers here in the states, would suggest that Salt is a safe 'tonic' for stingray use.
FishHeadSoup said:
the ooposite
it keeps your fish from filling like a balloon and popping
there cells that is......
FishHeadSoup said:
Basically, your fish don't have to work as hard to keep their Osmoregulation in-check, if you have a higher salinity level. = Less Stress.
