Male Leo not eating and acting not like usual

coyotethug

Gambusia
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2005
551
4
16
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Michigan
In your position I would use Seachem Malawi buffer. Be sure to get test kits for KH and GH so you can see what is happening to your system. I use baking soda, but you need to be more careful.

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davenmandy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Feb 1, 2012
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the ray didnt eat for another 3-4 days. still was a bti active but going downhill. i set up a 20 gallon long tank with a 125 gal rated sponge filter and moved him 2 days ago. at the recomendation of a LFS owner with experience with rays, he thought since the ray was mouthing teh food it was a Hexamita issue, so he told me to treat with metro+, which i did, along with salt and a bit of prazi. since then he has yet to eat or even show interest when i drop food in there. he breathes super super heavy moving his entire body when he breathes. i am going to get blood worms, ghost shrimp, and a couple tiny feeders today after work. what can i do to spark his interest in food? is he too far gone when he starts breathing like this, is the death curl next? should i move him back to the big tank where there was more circulation and a stronger filtration system, cosndiering i only have the sponge filter on the 20 gal? do i just keep at it in the small tank? should i continue/stop dosing either metro prazi or salt? im quite upset about this, i was doing everything i could. ph dropped back to 6.6 in my big tank so im going to get crushed coral today as well for that and do a water change today/tomorrow morning. does anyone have any suggestions at all? i hope i didnt put him over the top moving him, he doesnt move much in teh small tank at all. water cahnged it today and dosed with mroe prazi so im really hoping he gets something into him.
 

doveandgrenade

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 20, 2012
805
3
16
Canada
i would of left him in the big tank. moving him could of been too much stress for him.
whats in your sump? maybe there isn't enough media in there for your bio filtration so your system keeps crashing on you? 6.6 is a big drop from it being in the 7s a few days ago.

maybe its just water conditions and constantly medicating could be stress him out more? (sorry, im not familiar with prazi or metro+ as ive never needed to use them yet).
 

tonyt

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 28, 2011
296
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16
hudson valley,ny
You should have added the crushed coral already , that would have slowly raised the ph and the bio filter would have kicked into high gear! Did you really put a ray in a 20 tank ? If it poops once it will spike the tank


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davenmandy

Peacock Bass
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Feb 1, 2012
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i continue to get conflicting advice, kind of hard to pick one voice out of 20 to listen 2. 3 other ppl said the tank wouldnt be a problem, and as for the ph, others have said just keep w/c and try to stabalize the ph that way so if i did that and added crushed coral would it not have skyrocketed my PH?
 

vamptrev

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Apr 23, 2007
8,227
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Chesterfield MI
Well heres my way of thinking with rays... Waterchanges, waterchanges, waterchanges!!!! With that said there is no reason why your ph is 6.whatever if your tap is 7.5

You need to find stability somewhere and your best bet is your tap which is 7.5



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doveandgrenade

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 20, 2012
805
3
16
Canada
i continue to get conflicting advice, kind of hard to pick one voice out of 20 to listen 2. 3 other ppl said the tank wouldnt be a problem, and as for the ph, others have said just keep w/c and try to stabalize the ph that way so if i did that and added crushed coral would it not have skyrocketed my PH?
First off I wouldn't listen to the LFS. The guy is a goofball and knows nothing about rays. His store quality for them is terrible. Also the crushed coral will keep your ph stable. Then just keep up with the water changes. Lots of good advice in this thread.



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johno27

Piranha
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2006
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Eastpointe MI
After all that and finally testing your water and finding the problem you moved the ray into a 20 gallon with a sponge filter and treated it for parasites?

My best advice to you is to personal message one of the more experienced ray keepers/breeders familiar with your situation (Trev,David,Keepin,etc...just the first three that came to mind in this thread not trying to play favorites) Find someone willing to help you and follow their advice and only their advice. If you keep getting 100 different opinions and following several different treatments your going to do a lot more harm than good.
 

davenmandy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Feb 1, 2012
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That is exactly what I have been doing. I have been following cheon advice exactly, asking Trevor for his advice, and asking them who I should be listening to. And I don't believe I ever found the problem with him. He's just mega stressed right now. Working everyday.


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davenmandy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Feb 1, 2012
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havent updated in a while. this is day 13 of him not eating. about day 3 of him not breathing super hard, and day 5ish back in the big tank. i built a nice divider and hes by himself now, im kicking myself so damn hard for not doing that before moving him. he is skinny as no other. slightly active but mostly sits in the corner. i have added 16lbs of salt in my system, and a single dose of prazi pro. i got a 16oz bottle coming in any day now and will do a double dose when i get it. hes not interested whatsover in food, doesnt mouth it even, swims away most times. really unsure of what I can do that may get him back interested in food. nothing can bug him, treating for what i can think of, but he just wont eat. i dont know if the fact that he stopped breathing ridiculously heavy is a good or bad thing, maybe hes less stressed, but maybe hes on his way out. very very sad. i so wish i tried making the divider before moving, didnt think it was doable with the way my tank is braced, but i managed to macgiver it. lights are off 95% of the day, only on to feed my bass and arowana on the otehr side of the divider, but he does seem to move around a bit and hes no longer lifting the front of his disc to get water circulating through his gills, so idk what to make of this. doubt its flukes cuz of all the time i treated for it, just using prazi as an attempt to spark his appetite. dont wanna dose more metro because a) its in my big tank now and b) dont wanna stress him by overmedicating. will continue with salt treatment. not sure about water changing, the crush coral is keeping my PH stable, either i dont or i do them everyday, but with work its hard to do everyday so i think ill leave him in the water hes in.
 
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