A few years ago I bred Hystrix rays. This was my first experience with breeding, so much so I never knew the female was pregnant until one day during regular maintenance I was astonished and surprised to see a single female pup climbing the walls of the aquarium....from that day I was inspired!!
Now this female grew into one of the mot gorgeous Hystrix pups you could ever imagine, she was more like a Flower ray, beautiful pattern, we do not usually name the rays but this one was affectionately called Jamima by the kids, she used to hand feed, so so tame, absolutely loved her as well as being very proud to have bred her, after all she was my first born.
Well, one fateful evening I came in from work and found she had climbed out of her tank and as literally stuck to the concrete slab on the floor beside the fish house heater...couldn't have landed in a worse place, her spiracles were still pumping albeit very slow. I wet the floor and peeled her from the slab, her underside was dark red, I gently cradled her in the tank till she built up enough strength for me to let her go, I did this throughout the night for 6 hours until my eyes could take no more and i needed to go to bed. The following morning I ran out of the house with my heart in my mouth in the hope she would be moving around, we have all been there I'm sure............she was dead!!!!!!! my first ever baby ray, I was crying inside, never has the death of a fish upset me like that and you know what? it is still very raw today and that was 5 years ago. The same week I lost the mother for a completely different reason, she was over 10 years old and had produced 3 litters for me.
Thankfully I retained another one of her off spring, a female which I will point point out in the photo's as we go on, she isn't as beautiful has Jamima was but she is still very special to me.
This prompted me to go on a crusade to collect as many Hystrix as possible to start breeding a few again, these rays are not the most prestigious or beautifully marked rays around but for me they are the best......you just have to love em!!!
