noob question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
i think when it comes to rays, knowing whether or not the ray is healthy before buying is very important. I'm sure you've heard of the death curl, which apparently almost always results in the ray dying.. check the ray's stinger as well, you need to treat with meds/antibiotics if you notice any injury, as the fleshy sheath that surrounds the stinger is usually affected (torn off, cut, etc etc - it doesn't grow back either) during the ray's capture and transportation... usual practice is to place a piece of airline tubing over the stinger - you need to get this removed once you bring your new ray back home.

All the best with your new rays!
 
feizhai said:
i think when it comes to rays, knowing whether or not the ray is healthy before buying is very important. I'm sure you've heard of the death curl, which apparently almost always results in the ray dying.. check the ray's stinger as well, you need to treat with meds/antibiotics if you notice any injury, as the fleshy sheath that surrounds the stinger is usually affected (torn off, cut, etc etc - it doesn't grow back either) during the ray's capture and transportation... usual practice is to place a piece of airline tubing over the stinger - you need to get this removed once you bring your new ray back home.

All the best with your new rays!
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rays shed there stingers and regrow them so they dont grow back but they will get new ones
 
only 3 of the rays left in the tank had full tails. i put one of them on hold and it was moved to a different tank.

if there is 2 still with longer taisl i might get another so i have 2 total. i want to try for a pair but who knows if they will be sexable at the size they are. plus i will have to get a good look at them also to check.

there is about 8 small rays in this tank and only 3 had good long full tails and the others were short tails, there was 2 more rays on hold for some other person and both had nice full tails on them.
 
First and foremost make sure the rays are not skinny. Look for a dent in between the eyes and small triangles or points sticking out on their disk right before their tail (these are their hip bones). If any of those are present dont buy the ray. Most cases you can barely see their hip bones because LFS do not seem to realize how much rays eat so if that is your case and it is just barely noticable and the ray eagerly eats when food is placed in the tank you should be fine.
 
cant you just buy a skinny ray and feed it? if you dont buy the rays because they are skinny then you are just leaving them to die arent you? wont they recoop and eat and fatten up?
 
Alot of times they do not eat because of other things such as disease or just being stressed to the breaking point. Also a skinny ray could mean parasites. When buying a delicate animal why start yourself off with a handicap? Get the healthiest one as possible!
 
yeah buy yourself the healthiest possible ray! if you have loads of $$$ then maybe you might wanna consider saving them all :D

yup, the stinger drops off and the ray regrows it, in fact, rays can have up to 3 stingers at any one time! the longest one is of course the old stinger and needless to say the new ones are shorter. i was referring to the fleshy sheath that usually covers the stinger, in most aquarium rays this sheath is usually gone or partially missing - check that there is no infection or injury in this section, else you must treat with antibiotics/meds

as for skinny rays, once acclimatised, they will start feeding and you can pump them back to health. But as JD7.62 says, why buy a skinny one? the aqualog book on keeping rays is extremely useful, just realised its the book mentioned in tip #1 in the sticky on rays! heh.
 
rays are acclimating and have eatten chopped earth worm alreayd while still acclimating in the beer cooler

i would have gotten more but they guy only knocked $5 off each ray and i only got $40 for my 19 africans i traded in. i should tried to get more but i wasnt really focused on that i was too excited about the rays and picking out the male.

there was one more really nice female but she was skinny and i could see the pelvic bones sticking out big time. i will go back in a week and maybe she might be fatter by then if she isnt sold already. when the guy fed them this skinny ray ate almost all of the chopped earth worm they fed. she was a pig! there was 5 left in the tank after i got my 2 and someone else had 2 more in a seperate tank on hold. so there is 7 rays left at the store. the skinny female is the only one with a full length tail left out of the 5 remaning in the tank for sale. if she is still there in a week i might get her. she was a darker looking one with a different pattern then the ones i got. i would have gotten her but i liked my feamles pattern better and that dark female was the really skinny one.

my female and male look slightly different but both are lighter coloured compared to most in the tank they had
 
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