picked up this reticulated ray today

[sharp tooth]

thanks for all the info m8 it is much appreciated,i didnt really get to read what you wrote properly earlier as i had to sort the baby out for bed lol,but i have read it now and i will do what uve said,do u think i should get rid of the barbs?? the only reson i got them was to bring the arowana out of its shell a bit as he was just sitting in the top corner of my tank,as soon as i put them in he started swimming around alot more than he was. thanks again


matty

if they become a problem at feeding time then i would remove them till the ray is feeding properly and able to get to food before the barbs pick it all off.
when they are new and start to feed she will be slow and only eat small amounts (usually). as she settles and gets stronger she will become more aggressive at feeding time.

the problem is, the barbs will eat alot of food before they leave enough for the ray to take her/his? time over. so you add more food to make sure there is enough for every one, adding more food will take its affect on water conditions so you will have to step up your waterchanges and make sure you remove uneaten food from the tank when she is done. give her around 20/30 mins each sitting then remove whats left. unless she shows no intrest then ide probably just remove it.

she will have to get used to your water, to you the shop and your water are both fine but to the ray its totally different. so she may take a while to get used to it. the more you leave her alone and just let her get on with it the better. leaveing the lights off for a few days can only help. as long as its not pitch black and she can see, it will be good for her.

 

[matty246810]

ive decided im getting rid of them,i think my ray will be alot happier without them,i caught 1 of them trying to nip his/her tail earlier so its game over for them! they are outa here!!! plus my arowana is getting very jumpy with them to.
my ray is doing fantastic even over the 24 hours ive had it,he/she is very active and looks happy,as for now it hasnt eaten im gonna chop some muscles up now and see what happens thanks for your input again much appreciated

matty

 

[T1KARMANN]

active is not always a good thing unless its feeding its active because its looking for food and not finding it

up the temp to 86 add lots of aeration and getting it feeding the 1st few weeks are very important with retics

try live blood worm or chopped earth worms be careful with both as they can be very addictive and hard to get the ray eating dead food after

 

[Gshock]

active is not always a good thing unless its feeding

Agree with T1 on this. On all my rays that have died, before they curled, a couple days before the curl starts, they would be all active, going crazy and all. Not always a good thing to be active.

 

[matty246810]

he ate for the first time today!the moment ive been waiting for!,i droped 3 pieces of diced muscle in today and walked out of the room,i go back to the tank 30 mins later thinking i was gonna have to net the food out of there,and what do you no!!!!! he must of felt a little pekish!! im so happy!!

 

[NikkiC]

Glad you got him/her eating

 

[morello]

sweet! cant wait to see another pic after a couple of weeks of good food and water changes
ive found bloodworm to be alot less messy than mussels and a good starter food for young rays. then get him/her on some krill pacifica and krill superba with mussels and cockels aswell

 

[matty246810]

i will give it a month now and i will post some b4 & after pics,he ate alot more this morning so things are looking up,ive ID'ed this fish as a male,i no for a female at the same size,what size tank would i need for a pair of these retics plus my aro,all of these fish are 6 inches at the moment and will be in a 120g as a grow out, until i need to upgrade in 6 months to a year thanks

matty