Keepin - check for bacterial infection. You are doing everything else right and the rays is not improving. Bacterial infections can weaken the ray making it more succeptible to other infections (parasites). The medication I used was recommended to me by a importer when I was having ray problems and nothing else seemed to work. He had lost alot of rays he brought in and was following the standard protocol (Prazi and water changes) with no success until he was told about bacterial infections. I'm at the library right now with my kids and can't recall the name of the meds for sure. Will check once I get home and PM you.
New thread...p14 is very swollen????? Video-
- Thread starter keepinfish
- Start date
Just got home. The med is Metronidiazole made by Seachem. It is for the treatment of protozoan and anaerobic bacterial diseases. Does not affect fillter bed and easily removed with Carbon. Comes is a small vial that treats 1000 - 2000 litres (250 to 500 gallons). Repeat every 2 days until symptoms disappear. I bought mine at Big Als.
If it is an internal bacterial infection, a UV steralizer won't do the trick - unless you pass your ray through it! LOL
Might be worth a try. I'm not an expert, but it looks like a bacterial infection to me the way he's swelling up. Not an external infection but an internal infection.
Best of Luck - he's in good hands!
If it is an internal bacterial infection, a UV steralizer won't do the trick - unless you pass your ray through it! LOL
Might be worth a try. I'm not an expert, but it looks like a bacterial infection to me the way he's swelling up. Not an external infection but an internal infection.
Best of Luck - he's in good hands!
sorry to hear about the situtation. i would do what everyones been suggesting since we dont know what it actually is. keep up with the clean water and hope he comes around. get him eating. keeping the water clean and making sure he feeds is the only thing you can do right now. i had a bdleo that i got before that had the strangest bump on her forehead. she went super skinny after eating tons of prawn and i thought she was going to die. i had a pair so i kept them with a divider in the same tank. i kept up my wc, once every 3 days. 30%. added salt and raised the temp to 86. i started to feed frozen bloodworms because thats all she would eat. eventually she started to eat more and more (back to small pieces of prawn) & the bump completely dissapeared. no one knew what was wrong with this ray and it scared the crap out of me because i didnt want to lose the ray!!! i hope yours will recover with some tlc. i think small rays are quite fragile & sensitive to move around. they get stressed quite easily or some just dont adjust as well as others and become prone to sickness. gluck buddy!!!
heres a pic of my bdleo female.
before:
after:
heres a pic of my bdleo female.
before:
after:
The problem with P-14's is that they are so interbred that they have a week immune system and are susceptible to everything and anything. Most likely a bacterial infection and possible kidney failure or liver failure. May be some kind of form of Dropsy.
I once had a Plesiotrygon iwamae which got stung by my P.leopoldi and didn't make it after a week or so. In it's last days, it developed a large swollen hump on it's head just like the one in the picture. But I doubt your ray's condition is this. Good luck! Keep us updated!
Raman thanks for the info. How would one check for bacterial tho?
For now I think I am going to wait it out a few days and keep his water perfect. I moved him to a 55 gallon last night where he is alone. I have tons of aeration going too. I tried black worms and no interest.
Mclass, that is similar to what mine looks like but is swollen all over. Did yours have a thick disc edge? Or just a lump on the head?
For now I think I am going to wait it out a few days and keep his water perfect. I moved him to a 55 gallon last night where he is alone. I have tons of aeration going too. I tried black worms and no interest.
Mclass, that is similar to what mine looks like but is swollen all over. Did yours have a thick disc edge? Or just a lump on the head?
just the hump. disc was ok.
i know mine is dif than keepins but just showing that sometimes there are unknown symptoms that arise from keeping rays but we just have to keep the water clean and hope they come around. keep us updated. i hope your male will do better!!!
i know mine is dif than keepins but just showing that sometimes there are unknown symptoms that arise from keeping rays but we just have to keep the water clean and hope they come around. keep us updated. i hope your male will do better!!!
What is perfect water though...that seems to be the dabate lately. I think minerals similar to what is in their native water would be perfect... If I was rich, I'd be dumping colloidal minerals and coloidal silver in their water all the time to match the flow that runs into the Amazon...But I'm not.
I'm not an expert..but I know that all forms of life need balance of minerals to maintain a lot of functions. SO I'm just always questioning the term "pristine water" becuse if it has nothing in it, where does everything that the ray needs come from?
Ever hear of college kids dieing during a frat hazing because they overdosed on plain ole "pristine" water?
Not preaching or being a know-it-all...but this just seems to be a hot topic lately with a lot of keepers. J.M.O.
Mike
I'm not an expert..but I know that all forms of life need balance of minerals to maintain a lot of functions. SO I'm just always questioning the term "pristine water" becuse if it has nothing in it, where does everything that the ray needs come from?
Ever hear of college kids dieing during a frat hazing because they overdosed on plain ole "pristine" water?
Not preaching or being a know-it-all...but this just seems to be a hot topic lately with a lot of keepers. J.M.O.
Mike
Keepin,
One does not know for sure, but you have done everything right - pristine water conditions, treated for parasites, aeration, etc. with no improvement. Just doing the same thing isn't going to change anything - otherwise your ray would be improving by now. The swelling that your ray shows indicates there is something internal going on. Metronidiazole is not harmful to rays - I used it on 2 month old pups when I had similar problems. I put some pups in a discus tank, they stopped eating, breathed heavily and started acting weird (were fine when I first got them). I did the same thing - water changes, Prazipro and all that happened was I got more stressed out watching my $3,000.00 slowly die. I had several conversations with the guy I bought the pups (captive bred) from. He is a breeder / importer / exporter from the US. As a last resort, he told me sometimes he has similar issues with imported rays where they wouldn't respond to the "normal" treatments that ray keepers do when their rays are in trouble and was told about bacterial infections. He was advised to use Metronidiazole. He used it and his rays rebounded. I used it and within a week, my pups were back to normal feeding again. I still have these rays today (ditched the discus though).
I think yours and DB scenario is similar.
I know I'm new to MFK and this forum, but I have been keeping rays since 2008.
One does not know for sure, but you have done everything right - pristine water conditions, treated for parasites, aeration, etc. with no improvement. Just doing the same thing isn't going to change anything - otherwise your ray would be improving by now. The swelling that your ray shows indicates there is something internal going on. Metronidiazole is not harmful to rays - I used it on 2 month old pups when I had similar problems. I put some pups in a discus tank, they stopped eating, breathed heavily and started acting weird (were fine when I first got them). I did the same thing - water changes, Prazipro and all that happened was I got more stressed out watching my $3,000.00 slowly die. I had several conversations with the guy I bought the pups (captive bred) from. He is a breeder / importer / exporter from the US. As a last resort, he told me sometimes he has similar issues with imported rays where they wouldn't respond to the "normal" treatments that ray keepers do when their rays are in trouble and was told about bacterial infections. He was advised to use Metronidiazole. He used it and his rays rebounded. I used it and within a week, my pups were back to normal feeding again. I still have these rays today (ditched the discus though).
I think yours and DB scenario is similar.
I know I'm new to MFK and this forum, but I have been keeping rays since 2008.
well, weekend has past and ray is not eating.... if he is eating black worms he is eating very little. still pretty swollen.
think i may need to go ahead and use the shotgun approach and start treating for bacterial......
think i may need to go ahead and use the shotgun approach and start treating for bacterial......
