please help... first time stingray owner

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
40 breeder will be fine for short term, Just make sure you stay on top of your water changes and testing. Try live blackworms, cutup night crawlers, mysis shrimp, bloodworms and even live feeders might get the ray eating.
 
How long has he not eaten?
How long did your friend have him?
Does he move about or sit still?
Is his disc curling at the edges at all?
Any poops? What color?

You/He needs: Temp: 78-82F (82-84 right now), pH 6.5-7.5 range, soft water, 0 Nitrites, 0 Ammonia, lights off.

Offer live black worms, a lot of them, go get your self an ounce or 2 and put them in his tank.

If he does not eat within a day or two start a treatment of Metro.
 
csx4236;1646455; said:
40 breeder will be fine for short term, Just make sure you stay on top of your water changes and testing. Try live blackworms, cutup night crawlers, mysis shrimp, bloodworms.
Click to expand...

^ agreed ^
 
40 breeder too small but will do for now.... retics are usually not easy when very small they are a lil sensitive.... lots of live black worms will help put weight on the ray then move to red wigglers,krill, pellets etc.... but live black worms are your best bet... bare bottom is perfect as you can really see how much the ray is eating.. and keep your water perfect use a good established filter... if you see a dent in the head and hip bones then the ray is really bad and i wouldnt take it... its not far from death at that point..
 
thanks for all the info. i believe that my friend has had him for about 3-4 weeks, he said he hasnt seen him eat since hes gotten him. he moves a little bit, but stays pretty still for the most part. he doesnt seem to be curling at the edges, he just kind of lays there mostly letting the current under his disc, then moves around a little, and then back to sitting. i have not seen him poop yet. i have only had him since last night. i put him in an established tank for the night, then today i moved him to the 40 breeder, i used a filter out of another established tank and also put some water from the other tank in there also. i tested the water and there arent any nitrite, and trace amounts of nitrates. the ph is about 6.8 and the water is a little harder than it should be. right now i have some feeder guppies, 2 really small and one with a broken tail for limited mobility. other than that i think the only thing that my friend tried was red worms. i will go out and get some black worms and see. what is a good place for black worms? also, what is a treatment of metro and where can i get it? he does look really skinny, that is why i am trying to save him, i have actually gotten quite a few animals from this particular friend for about the same reasoning. what exactly do you mean by dent in the head and hipbones, does anyone have a pic?
 
Good Luck as you are going to need it. Unfortunately you have started with a VERY difficult situation.

Do what every one is saying. As far as the black worms go, they are all from the same source and any decent LFS should carry them. Keeping your temp up , add salt, lights out, and a good supply of food (live black worms), and praying is about all you can do.

You dont need a pic to tell if your ray is thin or not. The hip bones will look like two little tents poking up at the base of his tail and a dent in his forhead will be....a dent in his forhead.

One thing that I dont think has been mentioned is get a heater cover. Rays can burn themselves really easily!
 
up the temp to 86 and try feeding the above foods or ghost/river shrimp live
their are not many healthy rays that will refuse river/ghost shrimp

if the ray is only 3.5inch and it hasnt eatern for 3 weeks or more i think its in troble

as you have it in such a small tank you need to be changing about 25% of the water every 2 days you say the ray is fine in the 40g but smaller amouts of water are harder to keep clean than larger tanks
 
i know it will be tough, but i am going to try really hard. i will be getting some blackworms and ghost shrimp tommorow, also some more salt and the temp will be raised tonight, i have already cut off the light, just the little glow from the tank below. i have quite a few tanks and am no stranger to daily or every other day water changes, so im not concerned about doing that, i just hope he starts eating. i will keep you all updated.
 
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