In the last handful of litters that my rays have had, I have had 2-3 pups that just flat out refused to eat. With my last litter which was 5 pups, 4 of them are eating anything and everything and are growing quickly. There is one pup which simply will not eat. A few days ago I separated it from the other pups and I put some sand for it to burry in and added live black worms and some finely chopped earthworms but it doesn't seem to want anything at all. Have you guys had experienced this at all and if so were you able to finally get the pup to start eating?
Stubborn Ray Pups
- Thread starter NJBigBass
- Start date
Yes I had this with one pup. Took a year of hard work before it finally took pellets.
I started it off on chopped up earth worm, make sure there is plenty of worm guts as this gets them going I find. Mix it with pellets and prawn etc. Keep in a sealed container in fridge. Stnks like crazy but usually works.
I started it off on chopped up earth worm, make sure there is plenty of worm guts as this gets them going I find. Mix it with pellets and prawn etc. Keep in a sealed container in fridge. Stnks like crazy but usually works.
i think im a little impatient with pups and usually find one gets left behind as far as eating goes. a few will be eating . they all LOOK like they are eating but as they move on it seems one gets skinnier and ive lost a few pups that way because ive not taken enough notice. i cant honestly remember if ive had one that flat out refused but i would try some different things chopped very finely. chopped prawns. mackerel ( not much its oily) worms / nightcrawlers. blood worm might be too small so you could try very small earthworms / nightcrawlers put in whole to give them some "wriggle" .
good luck and keep us posted. i have some pups atm that im trying to get off of worms so ill be interested in progress.
good luck and keep us posted. i have some pups atm that im trying to get off of worms so ill be interested in progress.
This ray is about a month and a half old. I put more live blackworms in last night and this morning some of them seemed to be missing so maybe it ate some, I don't know though. The pup was moving around its enclosure last night which was a good sign as it hasn't moved much the last couple of days.
Like I said, cut up a mixture of earthworm (really small so all the guts come out) and mix this with prawn, mussel and pellet. I have also mixed frozen brine shrimp cubes and garlic with this. Put it in the fridge, the pellets will dissolve and you will have a stinking gloopy mess.
Use it cold, it will make a mess when it hits the water but I have found that even stubborn pups go for this.
I kept one pup alive on this for a couple of months. he went onto only eating earthworm. he was the most stubborn feeder I ever had. The other pups from the same batch went on to grow twice the size.
A year or more on this stubborn pup is now 12" and eats anything including pellets. it took time and effort though.
Use it cold, it will make a mess when it hits the water but I have found that even stubborn pups go for this.
I kept one pup alive on this for a couple of months. he went onto only eating earthworm. he was the most stubborn feeder I ever had. The other pups from the same batch went on to grow twice the size.
A year or more on this stubborn pup is now 12" and eats anything including pellets. it took time and effort though.
Wish it was always easy but sometimes you have to try different things. I am certain this particular pup would have died if I had not done something out of the ordinary.i normally only soak for 5 mins max. its interesting to see what others do. always someting to learn. i might give this a try