Substrate for Rays

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Thanks for the heads up.. What is the issue with the pool filter sand? It seems to work great. Much better than any of the other commercially available 'play sands' that I had tested.
 
I went on a supply reconnaissance mission. LFS only has day-glo orange Estes sand. :22_yikes:

Found a place online that seems to have a decent price, but the shipping is probably more than the sand since it weighs so much. I need to wait for "the fish guy" to be in the store and find out if he can order some for me. From what I'm hearing from you folks, black would be the best choice for a Leopoldi, huh?

Also, what products/techniques do you use to keep the pH in the ranges they need? I'm thinking my old stand-by of adding driftwood to lower the pH would be a bad idea, as I want the habitat to be as smooth as possible. Thoughts?
 
Only a thought as it seems. Lets first point out that rays descend from their salt-water counter parts. Salt water contains a high amount of minerals making it hard. Even though these fish are from water that "tends" to be soft in that area, they seem to adhere to the natural source they have not fully evolved from. I could be wrong but i do nothing to our 7.5 water with a 225 hardness and they far well. Somebody tell me my opinion is wrong now. :screwy: <--Waldo
 
DavidW said:
as you already said, it has silica in it, which is very fine and very sharp and will cause mnor abrasions to the underside of your rays, as well as other possible negative effects on the gills, which can allow a bacterial infection to penetrate under the slime coat, which probably will kill your rays. Watch them for any signs of red-ness on their undersides.
Better to use either river sand or Estes sand, which is coated, or fine smooth gravel. Easiest of all is no substrate at all, Rays get used to it very quickly and it is the easiest to keep clean.
hth
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Ahh.. Thanks Again.

I believe it has Silica in it, but the bag did not say whether it did or not. I asked for the largest, smoothest grain they had available, and I did everything I could to remove any fine particles.. The bag had no specifics on where the sand came from, or how much Silica it contains.

I have dabbled with a number of silica play sands, available at Lowe's and what not.. None of them were to my liking, as they all seemed very abrasive. This filter sand however is much smoother. I am not saying that it will work, just saying that it is alot smoother than Silica-based sands.

Been watching closely the undersides and the behavior of the rays since we introduced the new sand. They have made a positive improvement, from what I could tell.. However, this could just be temporary as you said. Can the slime coat be worn away, and the ray still have normal behavior? What should I look for in the gill area?.. Abnormal breathing, redness? Anything else to watch for? Thanks in Advance..

Well we have been using this particular sand in just 2 seperate tanks. Most of the time rays are placed in a pool for QT before being placed into a display tank, which would likely contain a substrate. The 2 rays that have been in this sand have been enjoying life for about 3 or more weeks now.. Eating regularly, and showing no signs of distress. They really seem to enjoy sifting through the sand, in search of food. Hopefully I am not killing them with kindness..

Thanks for your help DW!

Miles

PS. This is a great thread, as I have seen and asked this question many times. Perhaps some links to wholesalers of Estes sand and other viable sands could be posted?
 
pH stability is important. If you use chemicals or buffers to adjust the pH, you can cause a 'rollercoaster' effect with each water change. Rays are very adaptable, and should adapt to whatever your water source is. Unless you are trying to breed them, I would stick with the most consistant water quality available. Thats just my opinion ;)
 
Miles said:
pH stability is important. If you use chemicals or buffers to adjust the pH, you can cause a 'rollercoaster' effect with each water change. Rays are very adaptable, and should adapt to whatever your water source is. Unless you are trying to breed them, I would stick with the most consistant water quality available. Thats just my opinion ;)
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Interesting... My focus has been on African Cichlids for the past couple of years, and I've worked out several techniques for fostering and maintaining the correct pH for those critters. I guess since it's so important to them, I'd kind of forgotten how well many other species can adapt. I'm sure there are also those of you out there who would say that I don't have to be so picky about the pH for my cichlids as well, but I've had such great success with them, that I'm not going to mess with the formula now. ;)
 
DavidW said:
mine too
:)

save the money and don;t bother with the chemicals or buffers. If you should decide to adjust your water do it in a seperate container so that if you eff it up no harm is done. Never add chems direct to the tank ( except meds)

The only chemical you should add on a very regular basis is good old clean H2O
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It's very interesting that this is your opinion as well, since you're the "Ray Guy". ;)
 
Tis the latest Fad... everyones doing it. :shakehead
 
spryandspringy said:
Interesting... My focus has been on African Cichlids for the past couple of years, and I've worked out several techniques for fostering and maintaining the correct pH for those critters. I guess since it's so important to them, I'd kind of forgotten how well many other species can adapt. I'm sure there are also those of you out there who would say that I don't have to be so picky about the pH for my cichlids as well, but I've had such great success with them, that I'm not going to mess with the formula now. ;)
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I would have to say that raising the pH and keeping the water hard is a much easier task than making it soft, and acidic.. The problems you will have is with your pH crashing due to low levels of alkalinity. Africans also will suffer greatly from a low pH, when I've noticed S.American fish seem to adapt quite well. I often keep wild-caught Tetras in a pH of around 7.8, when you likely couldn't keep africans in a neutral pH.

Either way, if you mess with your water, you will be changing SOME paramater with each water change. Unless you are incredibely anal and precise about pre-mixing water and matching paramaters, it's not worth the trouble. Get a Python, keep nitrates at 0, and keep everything 'consistant'.. You'll be alright :)

If you are trying to breed a specific fish, and pH plays a great variable in the success of inducing them to spawn.. Then by all means should the water quality be altered, but only temporarily for spawning, IMO.

Hasta,

Miles

PS.. Is that uhhh uhmm, a Texas Cichlid in your avatar? hahaha... :)
 
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