How to get a protective sheath onto a Rays Barb

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Monolicious

Monolicious

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Mar 17, 2008
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Hi Guys,

I am looking to ship one of my Rays interstate and would like to put a protective sheath over his barb.
I am looking to hear from guys who ship Rays and do this technique for any or all information on how to go about doing the procedure.
I am only looking to do this so the Ray doesn't pierce this bag he is being shipped in and expelling all the oxygen.
 
I'm not an expert or anything, but all the pictures I seen when looking @ all the rays in containers or styro. Most use air line tubing. Correct me if I'm wrong. That's just my guess. Well hope that helps ~mike


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That may be the case for pups but my Ray is a full grown leo X Motoro so he is somewhat bigger
 
Most of my rays are full grown as well, what I have been doing for shipping is using 3 6mm thick shipping bags from unline and putting a piece of 45mm edpm pond liner between the 1st and 2nd bag. The ray will puncture the first bag usually, but can't get through the line to break bags 2 and 3. So far it has worked perfectly on 9 shipments. Also has the added benefit of keeping the ray from biting through the bags. I can't take credit for the original idea.
 
Pondliner all the way!

People think that ray's stingers are the cause for bag punctures and in all reality I think thier biting is a much worse problem then that stinger.

Haven't lost a ray yet here either using pondliner.

Plus by the time you corner that thing and try to stick a tube on it's stinger you're gonna find the pond liner is a much easier option as well ;)
 
I agree, pondliner is the ticket.. I got 2 rays from John that way and they made it home no problem at all..
I only did this once being it was a PAIN to do.. :(

If you do decide to try and cover the barb this is what i did..
1. put on my Kevlar diving gloves.. :)
2. grab the longest pair of pliers i own
3. put some airline tubing in hot water so it's very flexable and use pliers to slide it on..
You also might have to hold the ray a little or this will be a very long ordeal..
Oh yea and get ready to get WET..lol
 
Rays biting is one of the bigger culprits for punctured bags. Pond liner is great but most do not have pond liner on hand. I use cardboard in between the bags. I either make a barrier of use a small box and cut the bottom off then put a bag in the box then a bag on the outside. If you want to use the airline tube get the silicone kind, put the ray in a container small enough it is hard for it to move, put a wet wash rag on it's tail and grab the tail. Once you have the tail grabbed just above the stinger slip the tub on it. Pretty simple but will admit your heart will be racing. I usually just clip the tip off of the stinger to make the end blunt. Just do not clip it to low as it will bleed some.
 
I haven't done this, nore do I own any rays but I've seen several breeders that cut the stinger because it doesn't have nervs(similar to trimming nails) prior to shipping. The stinger always grows back no worries.
 
Stingers don't always grow back.... I've had 2 rays now that had stingers at one point and lost them to have them never come back (yet anyways and it's been over a year)

I've only ever lost one ray in shipping and that was Mike's Marble. This is where the pondliner came from. After that loss pondliner has become the norm and there hasn't been a single loss in my shipping experiences since. Would love to know how many the pondliner's saved, it seems that most we've sent out seem to get through at least the 1st bag.

I've recieved countless rays with clipped stingers and sheathed stingers. Bags are still busted. All the clipping and sheathing in the world isn't gonna save a bag from a ray biting through it.
 
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