My rays are all dying :(

[Pyramid_Party]

Tank temp is around 81 F. We do use glade air freshener on occasion, but not near the tank. No old carbon in the system. Nothing remarkable about the appearance of the dead rays. My best guess is that I've either got some kind of infectious disease that's spread among the rays or something has changed about my source water. I realize that the first place to look is always at water chemistry, but I don't think that's the case here. The only water chemistry issue I have is borderline high nitrates. That might explain the death of a single ray, but I don't think it can account for such a quick downturn in tank health.

You need extremely high nitrates to kill fish. Those glade air fresheners could be the cause. Those chemicals travel a long ways through the air and can reach other rooms. Did you use any equipment like your WC siphon or net that might have come into contact with some chemicals? Ask whoever lives with you if they sprayed anything or mess with your equipment. Some guy one here had his fish died after someone from his family used one of his buckets for washing their car (just an example). If you have not already done so, a water change and putting some carbon in your filter should help the problem. This is why carbon is important to use and have on hand, so many people here do not use it.

 

[jstavis]

Guys,

Just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for their feedback. I'm not sure that this is one of those problems that has a clear or even a likely answer. Perhaps there are some diagnostic tools out there that would be able to pin it down, but I've gone through every possible cause and I'm still scratching my head. Mostly, I just wanted to say how appreciative I am for your concern, suggestions, and support.

I will keep everyone updated, but thank you.

Have a happy holiday.

 

[SHARK13]

Sorry for your loss... hopefully you can get it figured out and what's left will pull through for you.

 

[vamptrev]

Very sorry to hear, i hope the remaining pull through. Its always hard to give advice in situations like these. Dont loose hope!!!

My best advice would be a 25% waterchange morning and night every day for the next week or so


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[jstavis]

Thanks Trev. That sounds like a good plan.

 

[peterp63]

Yes, lots of fresh water (treated). Did you clean your filtration?? Honestly, I would start there? Do you have a Fts of the tank? Might be a dead fish somewhere or stray food that was never eaten. I know you said params were good, but I alway hear this and it always ends up being nh3, no2, no3.. good luck!

The last time I had a big loss, it was due to a pup that made its way to the top of my sump's blue/white filter and started to decay. I didn't realize she had so many pups! Big learning experience!

 

[DIDYSIS]

Good luck with all your fish and ray keeping


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[cl0wn knife]

im really sorry to hear about your rays hope the other two pull through :*

 

[jstavis]

Thanks again for all the suggestions and support. Just a quick update-- both the other rays are still alive. The pearl is still not eating and is acting a little strangely (somewhat heavy breathing and strange motion and seems to want to play on the wall but somehow seems unable to get up it). That being said, she's still looking better than either of the other two did before they died. The little male leo-hen is still eating but also still spending about 90% of the time buried in the sand. I'm doing regular small water changes and have I just finished cleaning all of my filters (I to spaced this out in order not crash the entire system). It's tough to say how things are going to progress at this point, but I'm hopeful both will pull through.

 

[coyotethug]

If you live in an area where the mineral content is low(soft water) then its very common for a sudden Ph crash especially when feeding heavily as we do with our rays.You never mentioned checking the Ph? the obvious is often overlooked in cases like this. My water is soft, I use coral gravel to keep it buffered in between water changes, I have lost many a good ray in my early learning days due to this common problem (Ph crash).
The first sign of Ph crash is a loss of appetite, secondly you will notice accelerated respiration (spiracles beating fast), the ray will also become inactive during this time........did you notice any of these signs?
If left for more than a day in this state the results are hard to reverse.
It is true that many fish can tolerate high nitrate(N03) if exposed to it gradually but like I mentioned before if your water is soft to start with there are less minerals, minerals are used up in the nitrification process hence a sudden Ph crash, people in hard water areas can go longer in between water changes without noticing they have very high nitrate, unfortunately many of us only check levels once its too late.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Just happened to me. I have been keeping rays for four years and successfully bred them a number of times. When I lived in new orleans my water was hard and never fluctuated in pH, now it is so soft here in Michigan that I have to add buffer and crushed coral to mediate pH drop. My pH drop coincided with a ray not playing nice with her tankmates and two dead rays. Mjne are hunger striking now, trying to get them on worms and slowly back to normal fare.

Sorry for your loss, it sucks. Don't jump ship now. We all go through this some times and it sucks.

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