Getting a Motoro nxt week, few Quick Questions...

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skylineiz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 28, 2008
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Australia
Yea so as it says,

My GF is getting a Motoro next week.
But yea im doing all the tank preparation.

So basically at the moment it has been filtering for about 2 months at least, I put the Oscars in there to build up some good bacteria for about 3 weeks. Also had a bunch of feeders in there before hand (for the Oscars).

I tried searching had other questions which mostly coverd and answerd, but had these remaining....

  • So any last minute things i should know about to do before i put the ray in next week. (it will be alone in the tank for now)
  • Any concrete way to check if the water has aged or needs more?
  • Whats the deal with salt? Is it required to keep rays? (I have not put any in, also whats the tablespoons/Ltrs water ratio?
  • Im Going to do another 40% water change this weekend (while i got no fish in, should i wait until the ray is in first too see if theres a amonia spike?)
  • Also i put some amonia remover (them white stones) on the top layer of teh spunge (just a little bit had some left over from my other canister filter), the logic behind it was to reduce an amonia spike if the tank is not aged enough for the ray's
  • Whats the best way to test paramaters, at the moment i have strips an all in one strip, and sometiems teh other colours mix with other readings and can be rather hard to read. Whats better liquid or unique strips?
  • Last questions whats the ideal paramaters i should be aiming for?
Any advice is welcome...
 
skylineiz;2417770; said:
Yea so as it says,

My GF is getting a Motoro next week.
But yea im doing all the tank preparation.

So basically at the moment it has been filtering for about 2 months at least, I put the Oscars in there to build up some good bacteria for about 3 weeks. Also had a bunch of feeders in there before hand (for the Oscars).

I tried searching had other questions which mostly coverd and answerd, but had these remaining....

  • So any last minute things i should know about to do before i put the ray in next week. (it will be alone in the tank for now)
-make sure the ray is eating and in good health when you pick it up(no dent between the forhead, hipbones not visible, bottom of the disk is white and not red/pink,active), try and get a male because they grow slower
  • Any concrete way to check if the water has aged or needs more?
-test the water. a cycled tank should have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites
  • Whats the deal with salt? Is it required to keep rays? (I have not put any in, also whats the tablespoons/Ltrs water ratio?
-no not required
  • Im Going to do another 40% water change this weekend (while i got no fish in, should i wait until the ray is in first too see if theres a amonia spike?)
you have no fish in the tank now? If I read that correctly than the tank will not be cycled.
  • Also i put some amonia remover (them white stones) on the top layer of teh spunge (just a little bit had some left over from my other canister filter), the logic behind it was to reduce an amonia spike if the tank is not aged enough for the ray's
what filter are you using? size tank?
  • Whats the best way to test paramaters, at the moment i have strips an all in one strip, and sometiems teh other colours mix with other readings and can be rather hard to read. Whats better liquid or unique strips?
liquid test kits are MUCH better
  • Last questions whats the ideal paramaters i should be aiming for?
ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrates <20 ph 6.0-8.0 as long as it stays stable temp. 84F
Any advice is welcome...
-make sure you have a clear understanding of the nitrogen cyle before you purchase a ray
-keep up on waterchanges
-sand or barebottom tank is preffered, don't use gravel unless it is very smooth and has no sharp edges
-offer your ray a varied diet
-read the book freshwater stingrays pet owners guide by Richard Ross and read the stickies at the top of the ray section
Click to expand...

.
 
trying to answer some question, and all of my answer based on "what will i do if its happen to me" :D

  • So any last minute things i should know about to do before i put the ray in next week. (it will be alone in the tank for now) if its me, i'll put some other little fish first, just for checking if the water have a problem or not.
  • Whats the deal with salt? Is it required to keep rays? (I have not put any in, also whats the tablespoons/Ltrs water ratio? dont use it if ur ray doesnt have any problem.
  • Im Going to do another 40% water change this weekend (while i got no fish in, should i wait until the ray is in first too see if theres a amonia spike?) what for? i dont think changing water will effect much, still pure water without amonia or any harmful things..
  • Also i put some amonia remover (them white stones) on the top layer of teh spunge (just a little bit had some left over from my other canister filter), the logic behind it was to reduce an amonia spike if the tank is not aged enough for the ray's thats why i usually use other little fish before the main fish enter the tank. so i'll know when the tank ready. i only use medical treatment or any removal thingy if there is no other way. maybe you can put some tetra aquasafe before you put the ray.
  • Whats the best way to test paramaters, at the moment i have strips an all in one strip, and sometiems teh other colours mix with other readings and can be rather hard to read. Whats better liquid or unique strips? buy a digital tester.
  • Last questions whats the ideal paramaters i should be aiming for? first you have to know where did your girl get those stingray? then you just have to follow the parameter from that place.
 
Mosquito;2417904; said:
trying to answer some question, and all of my answer based on "what will i do if its happen to me" :D

  • So any last minute things i should know about to do before i put the ray in next week. (it will be alone in the tank for now) if its me, i'll put some other little fish first, just for checking if the water have a problem or not.
  • Whats the deal with salt? Is it required to keep rays? (I have not put any in, also whats the tablespoons/Ltrs water ratio? dont use it if ur ray doesnt have any problem.
  • Im Going to do another 40% water change this weekend (while i got no fish in, should i wait until the ray is in first too see if theres a amonia spike?) what for? i dont think changing water will effect much, still pure water without amonia or any harmful things..
  • Also i put some amonia remover (them white stones) on the top layer of teh spunge (just a little bit had some left over from my other canister filter), the logic behind it was to reduce an amonia spike if the tank is not aged enough for the ray's thats why i usually use other little fish before the main fish enter the tank. so i'll know when the tank ready. i only use medical treatment or any removal thingy if there is no other way. maybe you can put some tetra aquasafe before you put the ray.
  • Whats the best way to test paramaters, at the moment i have strips an all in one strip, and sometiems teh other colours mix with other readings and can be rather hard to read. Whats better liquid or unique strips? buy a digital tester.
  • Last questions whats the ideal paramaters i should be aiming for? first you have to know where did your girl get those stingray? then you just have to follow the parameter from that place.
Click to expand...

you don't want to "just follow th parameters from that place". If the place where you are buying the ray at has a ph of 8.0 and your ph is 6.0 you don't want to raise your ph to match theirs, then you will always have to be adjusting your ph. Instead just drip acclimate the ray to your tank, rays can adjust to pretty much any water param levels as long as they are in reason(referring to ph obviously not to ammonia, nitrite or nitrates)
You should expect any reliable source that you get your rays from to maintain tanks with 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and reasonable nitrates. there nitrates might not be under 20 ppm, but that is what you should aim for.
 
stingray94;2417948; said:
you don't want to "just follow th parameters from that place". If the place where you are buying the ray at has a ph of 8.0 and your ph is 6.0 you don't want to raise your ph to match theres, then you will always have to be adjusting your ph. Instead just drip acclimate the ray to your tank, rays can adjust to pretty much any water param levels as long as they are in reason(referring to ph obviously not to ammonia, nitrite or nitrates)
Click to expand...

ooh ic, i think it will be better if we follow the parameter like before so they wont stress so much when they enter the new tank. after 2-3 days, eating well, swiming all around, then i will start changing the water to set the parameter little by little until its same to my normal water parameter.
just too scare my ray will so stress and stop eating... :nilly:

btw thanks for your advice stingray94 :D
 
Mosquito;2418020; said:
ooh ic, i think it will be better if we follow the parameter like before so they wont stress so much when they enter the new tank. after 2-3 days, eating well, swiming all around, then i will start changing the water to set the parameter little by little until its same to my normal water parameter.
just too scare my ray will so stress and stop eating... :nilly:

btw thanks for your advice stingray94 :D
Click to expand...

I guess you could do it that way, but from what I've read and my limited experience it is better and easier to just drip acclimate them well. To adjust your water params to match those of the supplier you would have to use all sorts of chemicals-which I've been instructed not to use with rays. My method for acclimating my rays is to bring them home in the bag and carefully put them in a rubbermaid container with an airstone. I then draped a towel over the rubbermaid container to keep it dark and reduce stress. For my past 2 rays I drip acclimated them for 45 minutes-an hour or however long it took for most of the water to be replaced with water from the tank. then before putting them in the tank just test the water of both the tank and the rubbermaid container and see if it matches. Then just net the ray into the tank, leave the lights off for a couple of hours and your good.
 
stingray94;2418061; said:
I guess you could do it that way, but from what I've read and my limited experience it is better and easier to just drip acclimate them well. To adjust your water params to match those of the supplier you would have to use all sorts of chemicals-which I've been instructed not to use with rays. My method for acclimating my rays is to bring them home in the bag and carefully put them in a rubbermaid container with an airstone. I then draped a towel over the rubbermaid container to keep it dark and reduce stress. For my past 2 rays I drip acclimated them for 45 minutes-an hour or however long it took for most of the water to be replaced with water from the tank. then before putting them in the tank just test the water of both the tank and the rubbermaid container and see if it matches. Then just net the ray into the tank, leave the lights off for a couple of hours and your good.
Click to expand...

wow 45 minutes... i usually aclimate them only for 15 minutes.. i think im too rush to watch them in my tank... hehehhe... yup, i think you right about this, thanks man... :headbang2
 
Mosquito;2417904; said:
trying to answer some question, and all of my answer based on "what will i do if its happen to me" :D

  • Im Going to do another 40% water change this weekend (while i got no fish in, should i wait until the ray is in first too see if theres a amonia spike?) what for? i dont think changing water will effect much, still pure water without amonia or any harmful things..
  • Also i put some amonia remover (them white stones) on the top layer of teh spunge (just a little bit had some left over from my other canister filter), the logic behind it was to reduce an amonia spike if the tank is not aged enough for the ray's thats why i usually use other little fish before the main fish enter the tank. so i'll know when the tank ready. i only use medical treatment or any removal thingy if there is no other way. maybe you can put some tetra aquasafe before you put the ray.
Click to expand...

Hey guys thanks for the detailed/ quick response
Yea like i was saying, i had oscars and some feeders in the tank for a while and they did fine. Doing another water change to remove any physical "waste" that the Oscars made and is in the gravel, as you probably already know, there crap alot....




Keep the advice coming guys,


Iz
 
Drip acclimating IS NOT REQUIRED. I scooped and dumped the last 20+ rays I received directly from Peru and Colombia and never lost a single one.
 
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