Ray breeding behaviour

[Nick660]

Over the past week my female motoro has been bitten repeatedly in the same place by the male and consequently the wound doesn't seem to be healing.
So yesterday I decided to add salt, initially at half dose with a plan to add the other half today. However, later in the day, both rays unusually showed a lack of interest in their food although they did eat most of it eventually.
Now today I witnessed the pair actually mating . However, at feeding time the female didn't bother to eat and the male only showed little interest in the food .

Is it usual for rays to lose interest in feeding during mating?
Or is it possible that the addition of salt has affected their appetite?
Do you think that the change in salinity may have actually triggered the rays to mate?
Should I continue with the planned salt treatment or just water change it out?

Female is 11", male is 10" and his claspers seem to have developed quickly, opening up over the past 2 months.
Water temp is 82*F, pH = 7.7, Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 40

Any input appreciated, cheers.

 

[turkeyboy85]

try doing a quick water change,... im no expert however i have heard of because of they mated... the water clairity from the ray's seman could be doing it... also i have heard of rays just randomly not showing interest in food too.... but like i said i am far from any expert so see what other people will say... and by the way....
CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vamptrev]

ur nitrate is high, and can be causing the lack of appetite. ur female is way too small to get pregnant. if the male dosnt let off, u might have to seperate. nitrate needs to be brought down. what do u usually feed?

 

[Nick660]

ur nitrate is high, and can be causing the lack of appetite. ur female is way too small to get pregnant. if the male dosnt let off, u might have to seperate. nitrate needs to be brought down. what do u usually feed?

Yes, in the ideal world the nitrates could be lower but in the real world 40 is acceptable and unlikely to be causing a problem IMO. My nitrates have been higher than this and throughout all the fish have been healthy and growing well. This is the first time they have ever lost interest in eating.
I read that the females release a pheromone to let the male know they are ready to mate. Not saying she will get pregnant but she certainly seemed ready to give it a go!
Feeding prawns, smelt, earthworms, pollack.

 

[Nick660]

I suppose I'm most interested in finding out if it's usual for FW stingrays to lose interest in feeding when they are in mating mode. If they don't then I need to be looking for another reason.

Anyway, here's a pic of the females bite injury. Since the pic was taken she has got a couple more bites on the edge of the disc. No signs of secondary infection but that is what I'm most worried about.

 

[Miles]

I wish I could bite my old lady and flip her on her backside whenever I felt 'the urge'.. jeez.

Nitrates are good.. Not sure about appetite during breeding. One of the breeders will chime in..

 

[Lode]

During breeding appetite is on and off here.

 

[Nick660]

During breeding appetite is on and off here.

That sounds reassuring. Hopefully that's all that is going on with my pair. Other things on their mind than just eating!

I got a bit worried because the loss of appetite coincided with the addition of salt. It's only at a level of 0.5g/L at present anyway but I think I won't add any more and just let the concentration fall with my usual water changes.

So far the female has got the gash on her flank, a bite on one ventral, and a couple more small bites on the disc edge. No bleeding or signs of infection as far as I can tell. She's always been more dominant than the male so I'm hoping things will settle down soon. They do seem a bit more laid back this evening. I don't really have the facilities to seperate them at the moment

 

[T1KARMANN]

that bite is nothing compaired to what can happen during breeding i wouldnt add anything to the tank

i fond the female would go off food for 2-4 days after breeding then back to normal then she would eat alot more after 1 month from breeding then go off food 1-2days before the pups were born

 

[Nick660]

that bite is nothing compaired to what can happen during breeding i wouldnt add anything to the tank

i fond the female would go off food for 2-4 days after breeding then back to normal then she would eat alot more after 1 month from breeding then go off food 1-2days before the pups were born

Cheers, that's useful to know.

I was getting a bit stressed about the wound because the male seemed to be going for the same spot every time, making it worse rather than giving it a chance to heal .
I think maybe I need to give things a chance to settle down and resist the urge to interfere