new to rays , a few Q's
- Thread starter Tychevelle
- Start date
Thanks for the replys guys , nice rays 
, i live in B.C an hour from Vancouver , still havent got a ray yet just doin more research and waitin for a deal to come along
, i live in B.C an hour from Vancouver , still havent got a ray yet just doin more research and waitin for a deal to come along
IMO, retics are not any harder than the other rays..
They just are often abused because of their low initial price tag ($8 out of the river maybe), they are treated like any other fish..
Poorly shipped, over-packed in the bag.. hyperplasia, ammonia damage, internal parasites.. Many issues the rays could have before you even purchase them.
The other thing is retics, being a tiny species of ray, are in their 'teens' at just a few inches.. They have tiny little stomachs, with racing high metabolism, and small mouths.. They tend to be finicky eaters, but when they are juvie and growing, they need a ton of food.. Usually expensive live black worms..
This need to 'overfeed' them often results in compromised water quality, especially if people say "I have a 3" ray, it can live in a 50g!".. Space isn't as much an issue as water volume. You need to dilute the concentrated amounts of ammonia that FW rays release, in order for your bio-filter to break it down effeciently.. Work with a small water volume, and those ammonia spike concentrations will get worse.
So basically, make sure you get them from a quality supplier, QT'ed for parasites and shipped properly into the country.. after that hurdle, just feed the crap out of them and change the water very frequently.. I would imagine once they get past the 6" range and start feeding on prepared foods they are simple like Motoros..
They just are often abused because of their low initial price tag ($8 out of the river maybe), they are treated like any other fish..
Poorly shipped, over-packed in the bag.. hyperplasia, ammonia damage, internal parasites.. Many issues the rays could have before you even purchase them.
The other thing is retics, being a tiny species of ray, are in their 'teens' at just a few inches.. They have tiny little stomachs, with racing high metabolism, and small mouths.. They tend to be finicky eaters, but when they are juvie and growing, they need a ton of food.. Usually expensive live black worms..
This need to 'overfeed' them often results in compromised water quality, especially if people say "I have a 3" ray, it can live in a 50g!".. Space isn't as much an issue as water volume. You need to dilute the concentrated amounts of ammonia that FW rays release, in order for your bio-filter to break it down effeciently.. Work with a small water volume, and those ammonia spike concentrations will get worse.
So basically, make sure you get them from a quality supplier, QT'ed for parasites and shipped properly into the country.. after that hurdle, just feed the crap out of them and change the water very frequently.. I would imagine once they get past the 6" range and start feeding on prepared foods they are simple like Motoros..
sweet thanks miles ,
i was actually wondering if there more delicate because there more available then motoros around here anyways .... and as u said poor shipping etc..
i was planning on puttin one in my 180g with my baby silver aro , i have made a constant water change system thats running on all 8 of my tanks , it keeps nitrates below 5-10 at all tanks
there a big als that has the retics for 80 and another lps has a retic for 90 and he actually offered to let me feed him b4 i even asked , he's bigger then the big als retics so if i did i think id get that one..
i was actually wondering if there more delicate because there more available then motoros around here anyways .... and as u said poor shipping etc..
i was planning on puttin one in my 180g with my baby silver aro , i have made a constant water change system thats running on all 8 of my tanks , it keeps nitrates below 5-10 at all tanks
there a big als that has the retics for 80 and another lps has a retic for 90 and he actually offered to let me feed him b4 i even asked , he's bigger then the big als retics so if i did i think id get that one..
