Hungry Ray Has Stopped Eating

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FishDog

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MFK Member
Jan 2, 2008
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What can cause a once hungry Castexi who was the last addition 7 weeks ago to stop eating. He was one of the biggest eaters in the tank, I left for 3 days and had a close fish fanatic friend of mine come over and feed my fish. I had all the food set up for him and he said everything ate while I was gone. I return home and my male Castexi is laying still in the back of the tank and doesn't eat anything when I feed the others. I check the water and this is what I got, pH 7.6 (always steady) ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 40 ppm, and temp. 82 degrees. I did a 40% water change and have been observing him. He just lays really still in the back of the tank. This is the ray I had to pick fish lice off of when I first got him. I have not noticed any lice on any of my rays or fish after I put him in the main tank from quarantine. I can't help but think he might have some lice on his belly, but I can't see it to tell. Any info would be awesome.
 
Retracing my foot steps before I left, I took some packs of frozen raw shrimp out of the freezer and left them out for about 6 hours. They still felt real cold when I put them in the fridge where they stayed the 3 days I was gone. These are the same shrimp my friend fed my rays when I was gone. Is this enough time for the shrimp to spoil? My other 3 rays act like everything is fine. Can rays get food poisoning?
 
shrimp could have been a problem... but i have had rays in the past stop eating for a lil bit... my one motoro stopped eating for a week then resumed back to normal.... just keep a eye on the ray
 
I have been watching him since yesterday and what I have noticed is when he moves about the tank which is not often he uses his pelvic fins and keeps his disk still. When he stops, the front of his disk lifts up in a arch. No matter where he is in the tank he will lift the front of his disk. From what I can tell, there are no marks on the under side of him. It is almost like he is fin curling. I will get some pics.
 
i hope your ray is ok. sounds like normal to me. when my rays stop eating thats the time when i start fasting them like the rest of my fish.
 
Any updates?

Is the Castexi a aggressive eater? Maybe he ate more of the bad shrimp than the others?
 
Yes he is an aggressive eater, or was. I have noticed a dent in his forehead and his hips starting to show a little. I went ahead and treated the whole tank with prazi pro. I can't help but think it is internal parasites of some kind since his weight loss is so rapid. I just dosed the tank tonight with the recomended dosage of 1 oz. per 120 gallons. I will keep everyone posted.
 
FishDog;1762989; said:
Retracing my foot steps before I left, I took some packs of frozen raw shrimp out of the freezer and left them out for about 6 hours. They still felt real cold when I put them in the fridge where they stayed the 3 days I was gone. These are the same shrimp my friend fed my rays when I was gone. Is this enough time for the shrimp to spoil? My other 3 rays act like everything is fine. Can rays get food poisoning?

I really doubt it has anything to do with bad shrimps. Shrimps produce high amounts of ammonia when they decompose. That’s why people get so sick when they eat bad/old shrimps.Your rays wouldn’t have touched them if they had the slightest trace of ammonia to them.
It must be something else.
 
did it start eating yet?? update and some photos?
 
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