My Fist Ray!

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GinBlack

GinBlack

Candiru
MFK Member
May 15, 2009
745
4
48
New York
I got me a beautiful male columbian Retic Ray. He's about 5-6 inches (disc) and is just amazing! This is my first ray, have wanted one for years but never had the adequate room. He's now in my 150 and seems to love the room since he was in a 20 gal high at the petstore.

I have a question concerning feeding. I know these guys eat a lot and I am diligent with morning feedings and evening feedings when I get in from work. I just want to know what portion size is good for a ray his size? He is currently eating black worms and doesnt want anything else as of yet.

I got him on the 19th and he seemed slow, as he went about exploring the tank and seemed to eat very slow. This morning he looked like he was on fast forward! So I want to make sure I am giving him adequate amounts of food!

Any suggestions anyone?
 
A 1/2 pound of blackworms for a 5" retic with feeding every morning and every night should last you about 5 to 6 days. I use a turkey baster to feed my little rays.
 
It's funny you mention the turkey baster cuz I told my husband thats what I was gonna do and he looked at me like I lost my mind! My ray gets more attention than everyone else in the tank! LOL

Ok so I should get a 1/2 pound for 5-6 days, no problem, but how much should i feed at once?
 
I think it varies from ray to ray....I have a 6" Motoro and she will only eat mabe 1-2 large worms per feeding....if I put any more in after that, she will just ignore it. I change it up every feeding. Worms, market shrimp, scallops, prawns every now and then,and bloodworms. I feed her 2x a day....whatever is still there after 5 mins a take out.
 
1/2 lbs. is what I go thru, but I would buy 1/4 lbs. at a time and see how you do in 5 days and see what he eats. That way you are not buying alot of worms and they are sitting in the frig to long. On my turkey baster, it has 1/4oz then 1/2oz markings. Water included, I usually suck up between a 1/4oz and a 1/2oz.. I squirt that just in front of the ray into the sand. He will get use to the turkey baster and then know its a food source.
Blackworms that dont get eaten can stay in the tank. It wont hurt anything.. They will bury themselves and the ray will find them later.
So try sucking up (water included in this) bwtween a 1/4oz and 1/2oz.. See what he eats in 5 minutes. If he eats them all, your good, if he doesnt, do a little less next time.
Remember, retics have small mouths, so at 5", black worms are what is best rt now. Other foods I wouldnt try till he is a little bigger. You can chop some talipa up from time to time, (really small pieces) and add one or two pieces when you feed the worms and see how he does with it, but remember, retic rays are small, have a small mouth, esp at 5" and you need to be feed foods you know he can eat till he is bigger.

What other tank mates are in with him/her?
 
Thanks so much for the advice I will follow your direction on this. As of yet he shows no interest in other foods aside from the worms. He seems to sometimes pick at fish flakes tho I'm noticing now. His tank mates are a 6-7 inch black arowana, a 5-6 inch florida gar, one 4 inch green terror, 3 red sevs, 3 green sevs (all the sevs are roughly 4 inches) and three geos (one geo is 4 1/2 inches and the other two are 3inches & 3 1/2 inches), two 3 inch plecos and one 7-8 inch jack demsey female which oddly enough have become roomates with my ray under the driftwood! When I first got the ray the fish were curious but after that they ignored him. During feeding time I feed everyone else first then feed him last so he can get the bulk of the food since he only eats one type of food now.

I don't have the turkey baster yet, so last night I took a portion of worms, say about a tablespoon worth in my hand and brought it to him, I pushed em into the sand and he immediately hovered over where i put the worms and ate at his leisure, the other fish didn't even realize there were worms around! I waited till he was done and swam away and there were maybe 3 worms left! This morning I tried the same method and it worked out the same way except he didnt wait for me to push the worms into the sand, he started to nudge my fingers so I just let the worms go and he ate that way, left about maybe 5-6 worms which his girlfriend my dempsey took care of! (no one dares mess with her she is the big mama of the tank so my ray has a nice bodyguard!)
 
Glad its working out. I would like to help you one in one other way..
The plecos will be a problem for the ray, may be the servs to and the gar, but the plecos will suck the slim coat off the ray and will cause problems for him, even death. So, it may really be a good idea to remove the plecos. Put them into another tank if you have one or whatever. Plecos are known for this and can really cause your ray harm. Just watch everyone else and see. But the plecos will, at night or whenever, start to mess with the ray. I have known plenty of people who have had this problem, so most of us here will warn you of that issue.
again, glad all is working out with feeding.
keep us informed and good luck
 
Thank you so much for your help! My ray (Rayden) and I truly appreciate it! And I will move the plecos when I get home tonight. I don't want to take any chances. If I have time tonight I'll post pics of him.
 
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