Ray is losing it's color, any suggestions!

[hereticlosmorte]

is it alone, or with other fish?
i'm asking because i don't know how long you've had it, but the disc edges do look frayed. did it come to you like this, or has it been getting nipped at by other tankmates?
another reason would be that the ray could be getting stressed out from tankmates, which compromises its immune system and thus giving infections an easier time overcoming it.

 

[Gar Bite]

Okay.....I have had him for about 4 months now, he did not eat for at least the first 5 to 6 weeks in which he lost a lot of weight in which I could see his hip bones! He started eating the live black worms and continues to eat them not real aggressive though. His color and fins have just happen in the last several weeks. He is with other fish which are only about 3 to 4 inches themselves, but I never see them bother him. He is small about 4 to 5 inches. I feed them twice a day and always have left over food. The live worms go into the sand and he eats them later. I am having trouble getting him to eat anything else. I have tried earthworms, ghost shrimp, frozen: blood worms, brine shrimp, krill. Water parameters appear to all be good. Here is a pic of him when I got him.


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[Crazyfish88]

Okay.....I have had him for about 4 months now, he did not eat for at least the first 5 to 6 weeks in which he lost a lot of weight in which I could see his hip bones! He started eating the live black worms and continues to eat them not real aggressive though. His color and fins have just happen in the last several weeks. He is with other fish which are only about 3 to 4 inches themselves, but I never see them bother him. He is small about 4 to 5 inches. I feed them twice a day and always have left over food. The live worms go into the sand and he eats them later. I am having trouble getting him to eat anything else. I have tried earthworms, ghost shrimp, frozen: blood worms, brine shrimp, krill. Water parameters appear to all be good. Here is a pic of him when I got him.View attachment 749929


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He could of grown a internal parasite from not eating for that long. Do u see it fattening up after it started eating again? How long has it been aggressively eating for?


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[Gar Bite]

Yes he has gained some weight, I could see his pelvic bones before he started eating. I do not believe he is aggressively eating, he eats. I do not know what or how to make him eat any more than he is.


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[Venom Stinger]

I do not know what or how to make him eat any more than he is.

you cant Gar..its really up to him.
but dont sweat it. youre doing a really good job. retics are one of the hardest rays to care for imo.
they arent a very hardy ray and they go through a lot in such a short time. if you notice about 3 out of every 10 rays that have trouble seem to be retics. and thats a lot seeing how not many people keep retics.

my advice is to keep on doing what you are doing and keep a eye on him. its really all you can do at this point.
as long as he is eating you are ok...
keep us posted.

 

[Gar Bite]

Thanks Venom Stinger, you are right its up to him. I guess I over thought it and thought it was me. Will keep you all posted!

 

[hereticlosmorte]

they're shipped in such poor conditions that most times once the LFS has gotten them, they're just about dead.
if they were taken better care of by the shippers like the other ray species are, you wouldn't see so many problems and death with them. i don't find them hard to take care of at all, and if they'd come in like a motoro or black ray even, you'd never even notice.

a big reason is the teacup definition. people believe they will stay small and put them in tiny aquariums after doing little to no research on them.

give them a fighting chance like the other species and they would be fine.

 

[Venom Stinger]

they're shipped in such poor conditions that most times once the LFS has gotten them, they're just about dead.
if they were taken better care of by the shippers like the other ray species are, you wouldn't see so many problems and death with them. i don't find them hard to take care of at all, and if they'd come in like a motoro or black ray even, you'd never even notice.

a big reason is the teacup definition. people believe they will stay small and put them in tiny aquariums after doing little to no research on them.

give them a fighting chance like the other species and they would be fine.

is it me..or does the term teacup piss anyone else off?
typical conversation at a LFS.
me: do you have any freshwater rays?
lfs guy: yes, we have teacups
me: cool, what kind?
fls guy: teacups.
me: OK...but what kind?
lfs guy: teacups.
me: ok...so teacups are a spieces of ray?
lfs guy: i dunno..
me: are they a new morph?
lfs guy: i dunno.
me: ok, what can you tell me about them.
lfs guy: they are freshwater.

its sad really.

 

[Warrensmentor]

My first experience was pretty good. Saw the rays last year in june, and it was my first exposure to the fact that freshwater rays even existed (never considered keeping fish till the age of 27. Sad that it took so long). Anyway, I loved them in the store. They were healthy, hand fed by the owner who loved them too. Then they had a moving sale and put all fish at 75% off! I bought the ray for like $26! I should have bought the other two, but I was a noob and didn't have tank space so it was probably for the best.

 

[hereticlosmorte]

is it me..or does the term teacup piss anyone else off?
typical conversation at a LFS.
me: do you have any freshwater rays?
lfs guy: yes, we have teacups
me: cool, what kind?
fls guy: teacups.
me: OK...but what kind?
lfs guy: teacups.
me: ok...so teacups are a spieces of ray?
lfs guy: i dunno..
me: are they a new morph?
lfs guy: i dunno.
me: ok, what can you tell me about them.
lfs guy: they are freshwater.

its sad really.

yes, it pisses off most of the ray keepers on this board. it is such a misleading term and is one of the main reasons so many rays in captivity die.
it needs to be completely stricken from anything ray related (or other species that does not stay the "size of a teacup").

hell, they aren't even teasaucer.... more like dinner plate on steroids.