Skinny Ray Help

[zev]

I got my first rays 3 days ago (guyana rays: humerosas I think). Well I had to order them from my disttributer (I work at an LFS), I lost the male (who was not doing well from the beginning) last night, and the female is active and doing okay I think.

Here is the question; she is very thin.... I can see the hip bones, and there is the dent between the eyes. I know that this is not a good situation, but it was my only option for the rays.... I have a pound of black worms colonized in the tank (looks like a brown wiggleing field ) I know she is eating them, I also think she took out some ghost shrimp over night. She has not yet taken interest in earthworms.

How long will it take for her to start noticably put on weight?

The tank is a 90 gallon (grow out I know she will need a bigger tank), an eheim pro II and cascade canister filters, as well as an airstone which she loves.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: ~10ppm
ph: 6.6
temp:81.8
Also, how do you get rays to eat earthworms?

Sorry for the long post, I am just worried.

p.s. I can't take a picture for you b/c my digital is broken

 

[ahfu25]

How long will it take for her to start noticably put on weight?

it depends on how many times a day you feed her. when i got my retics about 2-3 weeks ago they were on the skinny side but now there doing good . I feed them 3 times a day, bloodworms mostly(lfs that sells black worms is kinda far) and blackworms , i add a lil vita-chem to frozen krill and they nibble on it. Just feed them 2-3 times daily and you'll see the difference.

 

[Fish Room Plus]

I would feed 2x a day. Stir up the black worms to make it easier for her to eat. Add a few ghost shrimps also. Cut the earth worms in halves so she eat them, if too long she will spit them out

 

[rallysman]

I mixed shrimp in with blackworms and my ray took the shrimp within a few weeks.

 

[zev]

I am thinking that because she is eating blackworms whenever she pleases (there are a ton easily available in the tank) that she has no interest when I try to feed her cut earthworms. I have gone so far to turkey baste the cut worms under her disc. She sat on top of them for a bit then swam away without eating them.

I have a feeling that I have spoiled her already

We will see how things go.

 

[ahfu25]

I mixed shrimp in with blackworms and my ray took the shrimp within a few weeks.

imma try that

 

[zev]

A one week update. tomarrow She will have been in my tank one week, and she has definately started eating more. She has gone through most of the original pound of blackworms and I just stocked the tank with more. I can start to see the hip bones starting to receed, however she still has a very defined hump between her eyes. She is very active (mostly at night it seems), and she has not yet taken any interest in the earthworms. I think that I will stick with blackworms to get her fat and try other foods then.

Thank you to everyone and their advice... I will continue to keep my fingers crossed.

zev