Having a little trouble breaking motoro off blackworms.

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mikehagan

Candiru
MFK Member
Oct 17, 2011
572
5
48
Pittsburgh
Tried soaking earthworms and krill in blackworm soup. Nothing.

Tried a week of starvation. Nothing.

The only food I can seem to get him to eat is live blackworms. Its been almost two months since I bought him, and three weeks since I moved him into his own 75. He is 5-6" disc.

I want to get him onto tilapia and shrimp asap to put on weight. He is very sluggish all of the time and only moves around to eat.
 
What's your water and water change regime like?
I had the same problem with a small Moto some years back and it didn't end well.
My water was crap with high nitrates


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I don't know alot about ray behavior but I would guess it hasnt been long enough to break him of the live food addiction.

one week generally won't break most fish off live anything, starve him till he takes whatever else you offer. Unless he is showing signs of illness due to not eating don't give in before he does.

P.S. I see you are in the burgh, where'd you get your ray? I've only seen them available at AquaWorld by neville island.
 
Yes that is where I traded in a few polys for it.

I do a weekly 50% or twice weekly 25%. This week will the the former. Filtration is two 400 gph HOB filters and the largest sponge filter I could buy. Lightly planted for now with java fern and anubias growing on mopani driftwood

I keep all of the lights off to reduce stress. He has PFS to burrow in, which he almost always does. He is very shy. If he sees me walking around the room he will not come out of the sand.

Water is a bit high at 8.1pH. Ammonia and nitrite are at 0, but I left my nitrate test at home. I dont have the full test with me up at school.
 
mikehagan said:
Yes that is where I traded in a few polys for it.

I do a weekly 50% or twice weekly 25%. This week will the the former. Filtration is two 400 gph HOB filters and the largest sponge filter I could buy. Lightly planted for now with java fern and anubias growing on mopani driftwood

I keep all of the lights off to reduce stress. He has PFS to burrow in, which he almost always does. He is very shy. If he sees me walking around the room he will not come out of the sand.

Water is a bit high at 8.1pH. Ammonia and nitrite are at 0, but I left my nitrate test at home. I dont have the full test with me up at school.
Click to expand...

hahaha you are the reason they only ever have big polys and no young ones that won't eat my other grow outs!
Sounds to me like you just need to stick to your guns and wait him out on a starvation. I've never see a fish that was healthy starve itself to death (I'm sure it happens but personally have never starved one to death lol)

i would look at maybe lowering the PH just a touch but thats just me. That shouldn't be the problem. I think he is just stubborn...plus coming from that place I guarantee they were feeding live exclusively...since thats all they ever feed there...
 
Good luck to you, one of the many reasons I do not feed live blackworms. If a ray only eats them for a long period of time it is very hard to get them onto other foods. I would stick with small pieces of earthworm almost shaved (use scissors to get real small). Each feeding increase worm to black worm ratio until you get him onto earthworms. If you can get him on earthworms then it will be easier to get him onto other stuff.

Another option is to introduce some ghost shrimp. Ghost shrimp love black worms so they will sit on the worm pile if the motoro will eat ghost shrimp you really have it made. If he eats them then feed ghost shrimp only leaving black worms out. Next step is to kill the the ghost shrimp buy squeezing them. Once he eats dead ghost shrimp then start introducing small slivers of frozen shrimp with the dead ghost shrimp.

Good luck, gonna be a process either way
 
The store I bought it from only feeds black worms to their rays. I was happy to see it eating,however I don't know how long it was being fed black worms.

It was pretty skinny when I got if you look back at my earlier thread. I figured it was safer to get him bulked up before I Tried to starve him. Live and learn.


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