Help! Leo gets stung by another Leo!

[mshuangchao]

Hi all, so I come home from school to find out that during the one or two days I've been away the male Leo has been very keen on reproducing. The female Leo however was not very comfortable with it. I found a lot of bite marks on the female's disc. Then when the male climbed up the tank I saw this swollen hole right next to the gill slits! It doesn't seem to be bleeding and I don't think it has injured the gills which is somewhat of a relief. But I'm still very concerned about the poison. I'm pretty much sure the sting was from the female for there was signs on the stinger that the female had stung something. Despite all of this, the male is still acting normal and cruising about, just like nothing had happened! I don't know whether he will make it and how can I help him. Has anyone had similar experiences? Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Is the ray eating?

Have you found the full intact stinger in your tank? I would be worried about some of the stinger breaking off and remaining in the ray causing an infection....

 

[mshuangchao]

The male is totally normal and the stinger is still totally intact on the female's tail.

 

[ajb1971]

Your ray will be completely fine.
Rays are immune to their own toxin.

there have been several post on this topic, some with the stinger stuck in the ray,even at that the stinger usually works its way out then the wound heals

 

[csx4236]

Check out these pictures of a recent female leo, she inhaled a shed stinger while trying to eat and it went thru her back, I netted her and pulled it out and there wasnt even a mark it almost healed overnight. Should be fine

 

[RedTailKinG]

damn mike wow thats big holy ----

 

[turkeyboy85]

my male leo tried to mate with my female motoro she stung him in the mouth i had to pull it out..... he was totaly fine once I pulled it out... he might think twice before he tried again but he will be fine
regards
kevin

 

[bigspizz]

Is it safe to handle the stinger with bare hands? Where is the toxin? Each little spine on the sides? Or just the tip? Thanks, as a new ray owner, I'm just curious.

 

[haysanatar]

you could pee on it...
it works for jellyfish.
jk
hope all goes well

 

[Nic]

Is it safe to handle the stinger with bare hands? Where is the toxin? Each little spine on the sides? Or just the tip? Thanks, as a new ray owner, I'm just curious.

if the spine is pure white you are fine.. if there is flesh still on it be careful...best to just net it out of the tank and avoid touching it...