How much sexual violence, is too much?

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00kevin

00kevin

Piranha
MFK Member
Nov 2, 2011
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NJ
My female is getting destroyed. Open cuts above the eye, with skin flapping in the current. I huge bite marks missing, fresh and bloody. I know this is a good sign of his interest, but how much is too much? She's significantly bigger, but what are the risks here?

I'm new to stingrays and this is my first pair.


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I've never kept fw rays but I've done a lot of reading and it looks to me that you should separate them. When it's at the point where the female cannot rest cuz the male, keeps harassing her, this is extremely stressful for her a separating them will give her time to rest and recover. Hopefully an expert will chime in though.


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Breeding bites I've seen with my rays consisted of bites along the back of the disk. I did have a male picking on another male that resulted in more severe biting. In your case I would definitely separate. Rays heal quickly, give her time to recover.
 
00kevin said:
But isn't separating defeating the whole purpose of breeding? I don't get it


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Well it depends on when your female actually wants to breed. As you can see, males will get really rough and the females will need a rest from all of the biting. In the wild, she can get away and the male will just move on but in a tank, there's nowhere for her to go and she's forced to get harassed, sometimes to death, by the male.


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I don't think I would let it go any further myself but it will heal. Maybe see if other breeders recommend a very light salt dose. Keep up the water changes though.
 
If it does get worse, you might have to separate. What are their sizes and where did you get them?
 
spotfin said:
If it does get worse, you might have to separate. What are their sizes and where did you get them?
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Agreed with all, seperated them, is your current tank bigger enough to put decider in the middle?? That what I did with mine on my 10ft tank. She got about 4 inches chewed off by the male when they mated
 
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