Retic problems...again

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Chasintail

Candiru
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2011
243
8
48
south central Pennsylvania
As many of you know my rays had been submitted to some sort of chemical in the water due to a problem with the media I was using. Anyway, the larger of my hystrix was the one that was showing the worst effects from the bad water issues. At the time my little retic showed very minimal signs that he was affected. The little female hystrix showed no signs of problems at all. Since that time the hystrixs are 150% fine, NO problems whatsoever. The little retic seemed to recover fine and ate heartily for a few days. Then Thursday I believe, he started pushing large canyons in the sand, which he's done before. I figured he was just digging. The next morning he was spazzing out. Humping his disc up FAR more than I'd ever seen and moving skittishly in tight jerky movements all over the tank, even swimming full speed into the sides, bottom, lid, etc. It got worse by the next morning and he was almost flipping over in his "seizure" like activity. Yesterday he seemed less irritated and seemed to sit more on the bottom though on occasion he would act the same, but nowhere near continuous as before. This morning he was buried in the sand when I fed. He came out, acting like he was feeding, but in a way that only seems like he'd taken a blow to the head. This afternoon, he's seemingly slightly better yet again, though I'm not sure he's eaten yet. In watching him for over an hour off and on, he's still moving in little jerky movements but seems to have more control over himself and is not humping up at all anymore.

I did notice that he has a new stinger just poking through the skin. Is it possible that this could be the source for his actions? Some sort of irritation like a baby thats teething?? Is it possible that it is the chemical issue still though he showed little sign of being affected and the other two are absolutely fine at this point? Had anyone seen them act like that and survive? I swore when I left for work the first night that he'd be dead when I got home in the morning. Very frustrating!
 
Sorry to hear man, It is possible that the chemicals could have affected your BB and you had a small spike as they are recovering. I would think the hystrix may be hardier than the retic. When in doubt I would just do large water changes and keep the stress low until he is feeding normal again or you can figure out what the deal is.

I am 99% certain a new stinger would not affect him

I would also test the water and let us know what it reads
 
Thank you for taking the time to answer. :)

Of course the first, second and third thing I checked at the time was water parameters. I did a 50% change anyway after the testing to be sure, also in case there were ANY residual chems floating around. I even wet vac'd the water from my sump and wiped it down inside as there always seemed to be a slight film floating on the water in there anyway. I did NOT touch the bio media when I did that, I knew better. I checked water params again every day since and all were as they usually are amm-0 nit-0, nitrate 40ish. The only thing that has changed is that I have slightly higher PH having done such frequent water changes than the tank generally runs at. Still, instead of 7.0-7.2, it was nearer 7.5-7.6. I have been running carbon in the water flow of the sump since day one when I figured out what was causing the problems with the hystrix. It may have done damage that didn't show up right away, he may have been weak from the get go with all the issues I had when I got him and this was icing on the cake. Heck, he may recover, he may not. Time will tell. At this point, unless somebody comes up with something else, I really don't know what else I can do. Very frustrating!
 
Hang in there.....I know easier said than done. You are honestly doing everything in your power to make sure they are as well taken care of as possible. Try not to beat yourself up to much over this.....
 
Sounds like your doing all you can for sure. I highly doubt that little change in PH would cause any of that. I hope he comes around for you
 
I read your other thread about the filter material. I would continue doing water changes and hopefully stabilize the pH of your water. Although it may not seem like much of change, going from a pH of 7.0 - 7.2 to 7.5 - 7.6 is a large swing in pH and should have been done gradually over a period of days. Your smaller ray could have been reacting to the pH change.
 
Could be. To do water changes is going to change the PH, no way around it for me. Its one or the other, keep the bad water in and the PH stable or give them fresh water. The PH in my tank usually runs lower than my well water.

I'll continue with smaller water changes as planned. Since I discovered the problem, I've done an initial 70%, 50%, 2-40% in the first two days alone and a 25% change every other day since. Its been since last Monday..or 8 days total today. The very first water change showed an incredible change in the Hystrix almost immediately so I knew I was on the right track.

Thank you VERY much to those that have offered advice and encouragment on this. :)
 
If you want to do a little experiment put some of your well water in a small container and add air to it with a power head or bubbler. I bet it will be the same as what is in your tank within 24 hours. What your seeing as a ph swing is more likely just a false reading because of gas exchange.

Plus we all like playing mad scientist :)
 
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