Frustration is when you try and net a female to strip her eggs and she ejects them all over the tank like they were on a spring loaded trap. It can also be defined as the moment when you are holding a female in your hands getting ready to strip the eggs, and she decides that she would rather flop onto the floor a couple times in a row. Or when you do a couple water changes to your Stingray system, and the water suddenly goes from crystal clear to muddy brown. Or... I could go on and on...
If it was all smooth and easy, then everyone would be doing it. There's a lot of great stuff in this thread, but the days I don't update are sometimes filled with stress. Daily challenges... unexpected setbacks...I don't share them all, but this is reality.
One of the rays I've been waiting on died. She never ate after she spit up the hook...I guess it's not a financial setback (for me), but I'm just bummed about the whole process of catching wild rays. It's one of the reasons why I want to be involved in captive breeding, so I just have to remind myself that I'm not collecting these for a personal collection, but rather to increase the supply of captive bred rays so that a few more might stay in the rivers where they truely belong. I'm not sure what she will be replaced with, I hate that word in this context. But I know I'm dealing with the right person...that part is solid. I don't mind the wait...when it's time, they will come.
And the pregnant Motoro? I can't help but wonder...what if I don't know what I'm talking about? What if she's just fat? Heck...I can barely see through the water right now to check on her.
Things are going better than planned overall... Just gotta remember that. I already have some money coming in, and it's already enough to cover my costs. That is amazing to me...really.
Mike