Ray Underside

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
very good chance that the ray is just acclimating itself. I will admit that my motoro was very pink on the bottom when I had my gravel. Now without gravel she seems ok, all white, minimal pink. Give it some time and if it remains then make a decision with the gravel.

I'm going to definetly keep my eye on it. For the time being, however, the gravel is staying. I have noticed that he will bury himself in the gravel when I approach the tank to quickly or slam the cabinet door shut. I'd hate to imagine the subsequent stress, had there been no gravel available.
 
hows it feeding?
 
That could cause quite a bit of damage i would imagine when it buries itself in the gravel. Imagine burying yourself in a tank of slate? Sand.

Carl.
 
For rays, I like to keep as clean an environment as possible, which is why I have my tank bare-bottomed. I used to have sand and even small gravel at one time or another in my tank, however it proved to be more of a nuisance, harboring debris and clogging filters. Being that some rays are more sensitive to ammonia, etc. the trapped decaying matter was bad due to the pH crashing and the water parameters being less than favorable. Sand and small gravel is great aesthetically, but unless you plan on doing a ton of regular gravel washing/vacuuming, I wouldn't recommend it.
 
I have since switched the tank over to bare bottom. I've noticed a few things so far. First, water changes are a breeze and I keep the tank spotless with a weekly 45-50% water change and small 5g blasts to clean up floating debris and poop. Second, the ray has a much easier time finding food and its appetite has tripled, even quadrupled from those first few days. Lastly, the pink belly is starting to lighten up.
 
Another satisfied barebottom tank customer, haha. Glad to hear the rays is doing so well.
 
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