Need Experts Advice. Motoro Stingray dying.

[yargnits]

His tail looks pretty thin for a 2 yr old ray so perhaps after he heals up increase his feeding regimen. Good luck.

this was one of the first things i thought when i saw the pic but its not something you can change instantly

offer smaller foods. try chopped up frozen prowans [defroseted ofc] prawns break the big ones into three and the smaller into two . hes likley not eating atm though .

hopefully he is not as bad as the disc curl looks in the pic

the pic doesnt look good and i expect adding meds will only stress your ray more but good luck and keep us posted . hopefully hes not as bad as he looks in the pic.

whilst hes breathing there is hope ;]

 

[Anderman]

If you have had that ray for 2 years then it should be fatter and bigger. After 2 years a motoro wouldn't even fit inside that bucket! Looks to be a newly imported WC ray. It's hip bones are showing and is really skinny. Something is definitely wrong but at this point there might not be much you can do but keep the water clean and maybe some salt. Check the water parameters and post the results.

 

[Venom Stinger]

you guys kill me...this guy has a family pet at deaths door and is pretty much begging for help..
and you guys are giving him crap because you think the ray is to skinny..which has nothing what so ever to do with this rays skin pealing off..
be less heartless.

 

[Anderman]

you guys kill me...this guy has a family pet at deaths door and is pretty much begging for help..
and you guys are giving him crap because you think the ray is to skinny..which has nothing what so ever to do with this rays skin pealing off..
be less heartless.

It has nothing to do with "think it is skinny", it is skinny and It definitely probably has something to do with it the water. The parameters are probably out of wack causing loss of appetite and the skin problem! If you can't see that it's skinny and also can't draw the conclusion that is should be way bigger after 2 years then all I can say is WOW!

 

[mvonstei]

Hey Guys. Thank you for all of your feedback. I'll address some of the stuff you guys raised as best I can:

Weight Issue: You guys are right, he's a little thin right now, and so you know, its been that way for about 2 months now. He's slowed on the eating. He use to eat 2 silversides a day (and was plenty fat), but has been less interested in eating. He still eats around 1 silverside a day. I provide a large mix of food to try to stimulate eating, bloodworms, ghost shrimp...etc. You guys are not wrong about him being thin, but his owner is taking care of him.


Placed in a Bucket: When I first some him sick this morning, I panicked and wanted him away from the tank mates, I know i should have taken out the tank mates instead, but catching those small fish is a pain and I was again worried. Sprinkles is now back in the tank and hopefully recovering.

Tank Mates: I've removed the Tiger Barbs from the tank if there is even a chance of them causing the issue. I don't believe it is the tiger barbs because I have never seen them bother him in 2 years. But, i'm always willing to be wrong, I just wouldn't think they are the cause. Its too extreme too quickly. I have left the Bala Sharks in the tank because those fish are barely aware of their own existence and don't bother anything or anyone.

I've read online and one thing caught my interest; a fellow stingray owner realized that he had burnt his stingray with fresh water salt. He described the injury as a "Darkened scab, that slowly peeled off the skin, revealing white flesh beneath" and that it was "sudden". Well, this description is almost identical. I would be so angry with myself if this is what happened, when i do a water change I add a little fresh water salt. I would think I would notice pouring the salt onto my ray, which I don't think I did, but again, I absolutely could be wrong. I'm surprised too because man, that salt dissolves quickly, if that's what caused the burn then man, I'm such an idiot.

Venom, thanks for the support.

Thank all of you too, I have bought a antibacterial, but I'm afraid to use it.

Here's a vid of him from about a year ago, Healthy and Strong:

[video=youtube;xqAC7NIcGAg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqAC7NIcGAg[/video]

 

[Venom Stinger]

It has nothing to do with "think it is skinny", it is skinny and It definitely probably has something to do with it the water. The parameters are probably out of wack causing loss of appetite and the skin problem! If you can't see that it's skinny and also can't draw the conclusion that is should be way bigger after 2 years then all I can say is WOW!

water being bad...sure.
parasite...sure
bad feeding habits...no.

 

[Anderman]

Looks healthy in the video so something is definitely causing the loss of appetite. I would lean to both internal problems and water. If nitrates have been not in check and high for a long period of time then that could be the reason for the slow growth and appetite. Check you Nitrates as high nitrates cause a loss of appetite and can cause the disc to curl and also affect it's immune system and now it may have internal parasites. Water changes is the way to reduce the nitrates in the tank. The disc problem could be ammonia or salt burn if it happened in just 24hrs. Definitely looks like a burn of some sort but hard to say.

When adding salt to a ray tank put it in the sump if you have one or you can premix it in water and add it to the tank.

 

[mvonstei]

another issue I forgot to address is my water quality. Which....is good....

I will take any suggestion as to what to do or what happened, but I do not believe it is water quality.

• pH: My Ph level is around 7. Can be softer at times.
• Ammonia: Ammonia is usually around 00 - .05 ppm
• Nitrite: Always well below .5 ppm
• Nitrate: 20ppm
• Chlorine: None.

 

[Venom Stinger]

Venom, thanks for the support.

not a problem..there is a time to be helpful and a time to give you hell.

it wouldnt surprise me about the salt to be honest but i dont know first hand.
maybe it wasnt so much you pouring the salt on him as much as it is him laying on it after you put it in..
maybe next time put it in a bucket with water and let it sit for 5 minutes before you add it to the tank.

 

[mvonstei]

Looks healthy in the video so something is definitely causing the loss of appetite. I would lean to both internal problems and water. If nitrates have been not in check and high for a long period of time then that could be the reason for the slow growth and appetite. Check you Nitrates as high nitrates cause a loss of appetite and can cause the disc to curl and also affect it's immune system and now it may have internal parasites. Water changes is the way to reduce the nitrates in the tank. The disc problem could be ammonia or salt burn if it happened in just 24hrs. Definitely looks like a burn of some sort but hard to say.

Thank you blkpiranha, I'm starting to lean more and more towards salt burn, just seems to make the most "sense" as far as timing is concerned.