Got it fresh in the phillipines distributor bag, so that it only acclimated to my tank. No LFS water in between.
ODD SW RAY BEHAVIOR
- Thread starter capo larzo
- Start date
That's probably the issue right there. A lot of Pacific collectors drug the animals to pull them in from the wild... and elasmos don't take well to it. I would guess what you might be looking at is either liver or kidney issues right now. Keep it going with the food, and the ray might pull through for you. Make sure it has swimming space. Sometimes, with renal or live issues, not metabolizing the food correctly can lead to blood poisoning down the road as the two systems shut down trying to filter the drug out of the body.
Don't worry about tube feeding long term. I've kept rays alive for several months by tubing until they were eating on their own. Not always a great option, but sometimes it's the only thing we can do.
Don't worry about tube feeding long term. I've kept rays alive for several months by tubing until they were eating on their own. Not always a great option, but sometimes it's the only thing we can do.
Now the ray is spitting a lot of the food up! Should i stick the feeding tube deeper? Or pull him completely out of the water?
Ive been doing it either directly at the surface or slightly below. Im concerned about stomach volume as well. How many milliliters or CCs of liquid can a ray take? Its all very stressful.
As far as the Phillipines are concerned, Im aware of cyanide issues and the like. But all of the other fish Ive bought from this supplier, including other elasmos, have taken to eating immediately. So i figured it was tried and tested. But who knows, i know one thing, im stressed out and im stressing the ray out too.
Ive been doing it either directly at the surface or slightly below. Im concerned about stomach volume as well. How many milliliters or CCs of liquid can a ray take? Its all very stressful.
As far as the Phillipines are concerned, Im aware of cyanide issues and the like. But all of the other fish Ive bought from this supplier, including other elasmos, have taken to eating immediately. So i figured it was tried and tested. But who knows, i know one thing, im stressed out and im stressing the ray out too.
If the animal is reguritating the food, there might be another issue. Depending on the size of the ray, only a few CCs should be offered. Smaller amounts a few times a day is a good substitute for larger single meals. I tube out of the water for the most part... inverted, then put them back into the tank.
When you run the tube into the stomach, you'll feel the end of it, then pull back out just a little bit. Just make sure to slide the tube in slowly so you don't do damage to the stomach wall.
When you run the tube into the stomach, you'll feel the end of it, then pull back out just a little bit. Just make sure to slide the tube in slowly so you don't do damage to the stomach wall.
I'm good at pulling out a little bit Hah!
But seriously the info is very much appreciated thank you
But seriously the info is very much appreciated thank you
Now theres practically no gill movement. Definitely alive and swimming around, but it looks like its barely respirating. This is ridiculous.
I added an additional skimmer to the tank, so thats two needle wheel/venturis producing massive amounts of microbubbles, so oxygen is definitely not the issue.
An improvement however! I fed the rest of the critters just a few minutes ago and the ribbontail actually responded and tried, albeit failed, to eat a shrimp! So i ended up force feeding again anyway.
But atleast there was a slight feeding response! What a (slight) relief.
An improvement however! I fed the rest of the critters just a few minutes ago and the ribbontail actually responded and tried, albeit failed, to eat a shrimp! So i ended up force feeding again anyway.
But atleast there was a slight feeding response! What a (slight) relief.
The ray is definitely regurgitating all of the cocktail I force feed it now. Still responds to food but fails to eat. Pretty sure it will die any day now. I've run out of ideas anyone have any for me?
