Help with dead ray.
- Thread starter dparks87
- Start date
Do you guys think a spike or, internal parasites. I am leaning more towards parasites as I have been diligent about water changes and keeping the tank clean. All the other fish seem ok. I am going to take all your advice including the parasite medicating. I must say when i got these guys I could see the hip bones on both. inspecting the dead one a bit more I can see his hip bones are still much more apparent than the other ray. I am going to keep a close eye on the water parameters and I would like to pick up a new test kit.
What company do you guys recommend?
What company do you guys recommend?
well you are running a very small tank for 2 rays with tank mates and we dont know how long its been up and running. you are running all zeros and thats showing a spike but you also have a new rays and retics at that. tell us more about the rays like did you buy from lfs or order and just general information like that. could be a combo of small spike and malnutrition. parasites are always a probability but they get blamed for more things when sometimes its something else. also when buying a test kit buy from places that sell alot of them and they are not on the shelf long. i like buying from big websites as they go through them fast. i use API but im sure other people use other kits.
when you say you keep your tank clean....do you mean like cleaning the filters out all the time as well?
How do you go about cleaning your tank?
How do you go about cleaning your tank?
Couple of quick questions.... and a few suggestions going forward.
How long has the tank been up and running? As posted above me, knowing about your filters and the cleaning of them would help as well. Those will help rule out water quality.
As for the body in the pic, that ray is super thin. Parasites are very common, so is live/renal failure. If you still have the body, take a razor to the underside. Get pics of the liver (looking for color). Cut through it or squeeze it and let us know the texture of it. Also, cut out the GI tract (stomach and spiral valve). Cut it open and post up about the content (color, texture). If you have a basic microscope and a slide, you can look for parasites in both the GI tract and the liver.
Those are the two things I do right away with any unknown elasmobranch death.
Get that, and we'll go from there.
How long has the tank been up and running? As posted above me, knowing about your filters and the cleaning of them would help as well. Those will help rule out water quality.
As for the body in the pic, that ray is super thin. Parasites are very common, so is live/renal failure. If you still have the body, take a razor to the underside. Get pics of the liver (looking for color). Cut through it or squeeze it and let us know the texture of it. Also, cut out the GI tract (stomach and spiral valve). Cut it open and post up about the content (color, texture). If you have a basic microscope and a slide, you can look for parasites in both the GI tract and the liver.
Those are the two things I do right away with any unknown elasmobranch death.
Get that, and we'll go from there.
The tank has been running for about a year now. Its cycled and established. I was cleaning the tank evey other feeding and I was feeding once or twice a day. The fluval on the tank is cleaned every month or so. I also have two sponge filters in the tank but I honestly dont bother with them much. As far as how I clean the tank I usually do a very light gravel siphon and then let the water drain down for around one third of the tank. The gravel is a fine stone slightly smaller than the average aquarium gravel you would see from a company like estes.
Zoodiver: i was going to try and cut him open but I really would have no idea what to look for so I got rid of the body.
i would love to know more about what to look for if I tried an autopsy, hopfully this does not happen again. the other one is very active and semingly healthy and is putting weight on. I did get them from a local shop, they were eating and inspite of my research I feel I still overlooked some basic ray no no's as far as quality is concerned. I am not discouraged though, next time I will go with a more reliable source.
Zoodiver: i was going to try and cut him open but I really would have no idea what to look for so I got rid of the body.
i would love to know more about what to look for if I tried an autopsy, hopfully this does not happen again. the other one is very active and semingly healthy and is putting weight on. I did get them from a local shop, they were eating and inspite of my research I feel I still overlooked some basic ray no no's as far as quality is concerned. I am not discouraged though, next time I will go with a more reliable source.
Sounds like you're taking care of your tank properly. Some people say they clean their tank, and by that they mean they scrub everything, put new bio media in filter, clean it with tap water, etc...sending them into a mini cycle every time they clean their tank.
SpeshulEd;4266924; said:
Yes, and I certainly have been guilty of that in the past. My next rays I am going to get from a better source. I must say though these were my first rays and they have stolen the show, im simply infatuated with these guys now! Its dangerous!
