Rays Internal parasites discussion

[giar]

Q1- How do parasites get into the tank system when we always feed frozen food (frozen MP / frozen Bloodworm / frozen shrimps) and never any live feeders?

Q2- What can we do to prevent our rays from being sick from internal parasites?

Q3- When a ray is sick from an internal parasite, should we treat the whole tank or the sick ray itself by putting it into a quarantine tank?

Q4- would be keeping the water temp around 30-31 C and using uv sterilizer could greatly decrease the chance of any parasites infestation?

Thanks for answering

 

[eddiegunks]

Sorry, i have no answers just questions....

Do you share nets, siphons, filters, or any other tools between tanks?

Are you having a parasite problem?
Did you trleat them when they arrived?
Where they trelated before they enteted a community tank?
Are there other fish in the community?

Right or wrong, i treat all my new rays with prazi. I always quarantine them. I use a smaller tank for quarantine. I usually keep them for 4-6 weeks before they get introduced to the community.

 

[millerkid519]

Dieselhybrid

 

[Dieselhybrid]

Just discussing some aspects of this in a similar thread: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/levamisole.692192/

Quarantine and treat all feeders. Quarantine and treat all new fish. Designated specific equipment for each tank (nets, filters, etc.)

Q3 = Yes do both if possible

Q4 = The temperature can influence the gestation rates of the egg and larval forms of some parasites. Higher temperature generally fast reproduction. Not always true, but generally. Higher temperatures also bacterial risks. 31C is around 88F, that's too hot IMO. My systems get up to 84-85 (29C) in the summer, but only for a month or so, then back down to low 80's or high 70's.
UV will help as long as the bulb is new (6 months and they degrade), strong enough, and the water flow is slow. The slower the better really, the longer the UV treats the water the more it will kill, parasites, bacteria even viruses. There are formulas online to help you choose the right wattage bulb, and flow rates required to treat various pathogens. The UV will really prevent transmission. Not going to help treat a sick individual however, a great preventative measure indeed.

 

[Dieselhybrid]

You know to touch on Q3 again, sometimes use caution moving sick rays. If they are very stressed the move can sometimes be a bad thing that isn't worth the further stress. If you do move them, do it in the dark with a red light. they won't spook as much and keep them underwater in a container during the transfer. Do not expose them to air, especially their mouths and gills. Some situations are tough and you'll have to use your judgement. This intuition will improve as you spend more and more time studying their behavior. I've moved all of the healthy rays out of a system before, and left the sick one alone for treatment. That way I removed the other fish causing additional stress, could target feed and meter food intake better on the sick individual and quarantine without the stress of moving the ray needing treatment.

If they're just a little skinny yet active and still feeding, I say move them safely. But if they have stopped eating, heavy breathing and things are desperate, I would move the other rays and keep that one where it is for treatment if possible. Sometimes the stress of chasing with the net can lead to a quick death with a sick ray. Stress alone can be a killer so it can REALLY compound other problems. Keeping stress low for a sick ray is as important as the treatment you give them oftentimes IMO

 

[giar]

Sorry, i have no answers just questions....

Do you share nets, siphons, filters, or any other tools between tanks?

Are you having a parasite problem?
Did you trleat them when they arrived?
Where they trelated before they enteted a community tank?
Are there other fish in the community?

Right or wrong, i treat all my new rays with prazi. I always quarantine them. I use a smaller tank for quarantine. I usually keep them for 4-6 weeks before they get introduced to the community.

Urgghhh. your questions is like a punch in my face.

- yes i share net between tanks
- yes i share the pump to drain the water for WC between tanks
- yes one of my ray is stop eating and i suspect a parasite issue as everyone else are eating like pigs
- the sick ray is the new coming ray. He was fine for the first week and suddenly stop eating 3 days ago
- i cant find prazipro here in indonesia. I think i will buy it in singapore next week but im afraid if it will be too late already

 

[Dieselhybrid]

Try offering worms and various foods to get it to keep eating. Can you put up a divider and give it some time alone without being swam over?

 

[giar]

Just discussing some aspects of this in a similar thread: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/levamisole.692192/

Quarantine and treat all feeders. Quarantine and treat all new fish. Designated specific equipment for each tank (nets, filters, etc.)

Q3 = Yes do both if possible

Q4 = The temperature can influence the gestation rates of the egg and larval forms of some parasites. Higher temperature generally fast reproduction. Not always true, but generally. Higher temperatures also bacterial risks. 31C is around 88F, that's too hot IMO. My systems get up to 84-85 (29C) in the summer, but only for a month or so, then back down to low 80's or high 70's.
UV will help as long as the bulb is new (6 months and they degrade), strong enough, and the water flow is slow. The slower the better really, the longer the UV treats the water the more it will kill, parasites, bacteria even viruses. There are formulas online to help you choose the right wattage bulb, and flow rates required to treat various pathogens. The UV will really prevent transmission. Not going to help treat a sick individual however, a great preventative measure indeed.

Thanks so much for the reply. Ok so im goin to get uv sterilizer for the tank. Problem is the highest wattage i can find around here is a 36watt uv. But with my fx6 filter, the flow rate is too high and wouldnt be too effective killing bacteria/ virus. Should i get it still?

For now i treat the whole tank with low dosage of salt. Like 0.1%, I dissolved the salt completely before adding it to the tank. I also use tetracycline. I know it will kill the BB as well, so now im doin 50% WC every 2 days and use seachem prime. Im treating the tank like a new tank

 

[giar]

Try offering worms and various foods to get it to keep eating. Can you put up a divider and give it some time alone without being swam over?

No luck still. Tried ghost shrimps and frozen worm, didnt success

 

[Dieselhybrid]

You can always consider running the UV from a regular submersible pump. It doesn't have to be attached to a filter. Just buy the appropriate sized pump, use tubing, you may need a reducer somewhere but should be pretty simple to rig something up.

I don't add salt to tanks with rays, so I can't advise there as I don't have much experience. I've used epsom salt for GI issues, but not regular salt