Snowing in the summer xingu snow leopards

[Matteus]

Hey my freind, can I ask how your rays do with sand in the tank? Do you reccommend doing this or advise against it? Both breeders I have purchased rays from use bare bottom tanks but i think the sand looks more natural. Just curious as to your thoughts and experience? What sane do you use?

I like some aspects of sand such as it gives the rays something to do since they are always searching for food, even after they ate. It gives them a place to hide even if you don’t have any decorations in the tank. I also feel as if fish tend to act more secure, natural when there is a substrate bottom rather than living on a giant mirror.

the downsides are that you need to go sifting through the sand every 6 months when the rays loose their barbs. I try to pull them out of the tank as soon as I realize they are gone, but I can’t always find them right away which can be un nerving at the best of times. I don’t typically have much issues with pockets of waste in the sand as some people suggest is a thing because the rays are always stirring it up. So in my opinion the good typically outweighs the bad. As long as I can collect them before incident.

I have used blasting sand and pool filter sand and I think blasting is my favourite because it is a better price point and also it is a bigger grain size. If you have pups on too small of a grain size, sometimes they have troubles with separating food from sand and they stop eating, in which case you need to pull them out of the sand to get them eating again.

 

[Black_Diamond]

I like some aspects of sand such as it gives the rays something to do since they are always searching for food, even after they ate. It gives them a place to hide even if you don’t have any decorations in the tank. I also feel as if fish tend to act more secure, natural when there is a substrate bottom rather than living on a giant mirror.

the downsides are that you need to go sifting through the sand every 6 months when the rays loose their barbs. I try to pull them out of the tank as soon as I realize they are gone, but I can’t always find them right away which can be un nerving at the best of times. I don’t typically have much issues with pockets of waste in the sand as some people suggest is a thing because the rays are always stirring it up. So in my opinion the good typically outweighs the bad. As long as I can collect them before incident.

I have used blasting sand and pool filter sand and I think blasting is my favourite because it is a better price point and also it is a bigger grain size. If you have pups on too small of a grain size, sometimes they have troubles with separating food from sand and they stop eating, in which case you need to pull them out of the sand to get them eating again.

Oh man thank you for the quick reply! I appreciate the feedback. I have a 405 and its blue and my 13 in is all alone in there I always want to scape it in some way but not really sure where to strt. He used to be in a 210 and was way more social because he could see me all the time and now i feel like hes for lack a better words, sad or bored.
My snow leopard is way too small to be with him so at the moment shes in A quarantine container that floats inside it.
Any suggestions id love to hear. I should have some pics of my setip on my page as well for you to see

 

[Matteus]

Oh man thank you for the quick reply! I appreciate the feedback. I have a 405 and its blue and my 13 in is all alone in there I always want to scape it in some way but not really sure where to strt. He used to be in a 210 and was way more social because he could see me all the time and now i feel like hes for lack a better words, sad or bored.
My snow leopard is way too small to be with him so at the moment shes in A quarantine container that floats inside it.
Any suggestions id love to hear. I should have some pics of my setip on my page as well for you to see

I find most rays tend to like company. There is always an exception to the rules tho. I often expect bigger rays to pick on smaller, but it doesn’t always happen if they are well fed.

I just recently had a little 4” pup escape from its floating box and it hung out with the big boys for 2-3 weeks before he went to his new home.

the big guys fought amongst themselves but they seemed to leave the little guy alone.

but then I have also seen the other end of the spectrum where it turned out absolutely horrible. So it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

do post up some pics of your girl. I think we have spoke before on band.

 

[Black_Diamond]

I find most rays tend to like company. There is always an exception to the rules tho. I often expect bigger rays to pick on smaller, but it doesn’t always happen if they are well fed.

I just recently had a little 4” pup escape from its floating box and it hung out with the big boys for 2-3 weeks before he went to his new home.

the big guys fought amongst themselves but they seemed to leave the little guy alone.

but then I have also seen the other end of the spectrum where it turned out absolutely horrible. So it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

do post up some pics of your girl. I think we have spoke before on band.

 

[Black_Diamond]

Hey man, ya I recognize your name as well!
So my breeder keeps rays together but he has many adults and right now I onky have my adult BD male and my baby Snow female so they cant be put together, but I feel like youre correct in saying they like company.
I moved them into a different room to hold a much larger tank and unfortunately theres just not as much activity in there as his okd room so I feel like he's def more lonely.
I wanna put an Oscar or something in there with him for company and some sand to make him more happy but I get so many different opinions.

 

[Matteus]

Hey man, ya I recognize your name as well!
So my breeder keeps rays together but he has many adults and right now I onky have my adult BD male and my baby Snow female so they cant be put together, but I feel like youre correct in saying they like company.
I moved them into a different room to hold a much larger tank and unfortunately theres just not as much activity in there as his okd room so I feel like he's def more lonely.
I wanna put an Oscar or something in there with him for company and some sand to make him more happy but I get so many different opinions.

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Ultimately you need to do what is right for you. Everyone has an opinion, but if you don’t try new things, sometimes you don’t learn. But typically you would want the female to be bigger than the male for things to work out. I can understand not putting a tiny female with a grown male.

 

[Matteus]

ok so to update the progress here.

I had to re home one of the males. It was getting too cramped for all the boys together. They were all fighting and stressing each other out, which stresses me out. I was low on space to have solo rays, and I found someone who gave me an offer I was willing to accept. So now I am down to the pair. The male I let go is in the last photo

The male I kept is in all the other photos. He is looking very good, super feisty and absolutely the boss out of all the males. He may be half the size of the bino male, but definitely not afraid to beat up the big boy twice his age. As soon as food would hit the tank he would bite the bino male, before it would even go for the food. This is basically what the females were doing in the tub which is why my female bino was so stressed and almost died.

the female snow here is doing well, eating lots and growing. She seems to get along really well with the pearl female. She tolerates the bino male and they haven’t started fights yet. I think this time next year she will be mature. It wouldn’t surprise me if she matures even faster than normal. She has grown so much, so fast, I can hardly believe she is from the same batch as the male. She is bigger at 1year than the bino male is at 2 years old.