Please help. First ray into 360.

[ashleysomething]

So, we put #1 in the tank today. Her disc looked perfectly fine, nice and pale. We were video-taping her going into the tank, and after about 5 to 10 minutes of her swimming around, the bottom of her disc started to turn pink, almost red.

She was sliding around the tank a lot, and swimming all over the place. I started to get freaked out, and we took her back out.

Is this normal? What could have happened?

The pH and temperature matched perfectly. There was no ammonia present, and the only thing that had been added was Turbo Start. It was filtered water, the same water that comes out of the drip system.

 

[Kamisan]

If all the water parameters are match perfectly, there are only two possibilities;
1. The Turbo start - I'm not sure what it is but if it is a kind of bio enzyme, it MIGHT irritate your ray.
2. Osmoregulatory stress - Lifting the ray out from water and transfer it to a different place with a different Osmotic pressure could lead to this kind of stress. Normally indoor transfer will not effect much.

 

[Zoodiver]

I didn't read the whole "I got a 360" thread from two days ago.... but I would guess when it's that new of a set up, that is going to lead to problems. Even tanks I fill directly from other tanks, and steal biomedia/substrate/rock out of - I run for a couple weeks (especially the big ones).

Did you dump and fill the new tank a few times to get rid of anything that might have been on the inside?

 

[ShadowStryder]

I always steal water from other setups, at least 75%, even if I take it from several tanks to acheive it. And I will also use whole filters from other systems that are well established, even with a sump I use a secondary filter for backup.
On my new ray tank it has been running for 4 weeks with other fish in it and my new rays won't be here for another 10 days.

 

[FishDog]

I would say stress. Since those rays are no where near healthy I wouldn't move any of them for atleast a couple of weeks. I would get the 360 cycled before you move them as well. I doubt they would be able to handle more ammonia and nitrite spikes like they have in the 150. Even though the 150 is smaller, it is more stable since it has been running for almost 2 weeks.

 

[armac]

You just set up the big tank............

 

[john C]

you have a 150 stock tank not cycled with rays stessed from water conditions now you place one in the new 360 not cycled. i have made my many mistakes when i first got into rays and will probably make a few more along the way. you say that you have fresh water stingray book . if you are asking for help i would recomend reading this again it should help. good luck

 

[Yanbbrox]

Sounds like new tank problems. I always use waste tank water to cycle new tanks, I just fill the new one up as my water change routine allows until full and run the new one for at least a couple of weeks then add the new tank to my routine.

Hope it works out

 

[Kolossus]

I agree with what most said here. I have done before what you have done and though your params tested fine (mine didn't), I would still hold off for a couple weeks...1.) because of the delicate situation your rays are in, and 2.) unless you have a single system running through a bunch of tanks, its just good practice to set up a tank, let it run, and supply dither fish for a spell prior to putting in your prize fish.

And don't even trip about it...We all have done it before. Just wait for a couple weeks while your dither fish chill in the big tank just to make sure everything is A-OK.

 

[abortedsoul]

I didn't read the whole "I got a 360" thread from two days ago.... but I would guess when it's that new of a set up, that is going to lead to problems. Even tanks I fill directly from other tanks, and steal biomedia/substrate/rock out of - I run for a couple weeks (especially the big ones).

Did you dump and fill the new tank a few times to get rid of anything that might have been on the inside?

I hadn't done a complete dump on the tank, no; I did wipe the internal surfaces with a damp cloth and then gave the tank a good rinse.

you have a 150 stock tank not cycled with rays stessed from water conditions now you place one in the new 360 not cycled. i have made my many mistakes when i first got into rays and will probably make a few more along the way. you say that you have fresh water stingray book . if you are asking for help i would recomend reading this again it should help. good luck

I do understand that, especially several years ago, it took tanks quite a while to get started. With the invention of electricity and the pump, water changes were reduced quite a bit, and now with advances in refrigeration and microbiology the cycling process is fairly easy to manage. I have cycled a tank with a ray in it in a little over a day, with ammonia never spiking, and nitrite hardly at all.

The huge water volume and seeded bacteria would provide a great way to get the tank started without allowing any quick ammonia buildup. I've read the book, several times over. I would say that the extra water volume would be a serious boon, which is the problem with the 150 in the first place.

I appreciate your help, but do you know why the ray's disc might have been red?