tank size effects growth
- Thread starter turkeyboy85
- Start date
Very possible in deed. I have a few leopoldi we purchased from a customer they were 10" and over 3-4 years old. In the last 6 months they have put on 2" at the most. It seems they can be stunted very easily with when not fed enough food. Word of advice get another female who you can grow out properly yourself to ensure you have a female that is capable of breeding. I have not had any luck getting any very stunted rays to breed.
turkeyboy85;2233823; said:
Her tail seems to be missing the last few inches if the stinger is growing past the end of the tail. Common with imported rays we have quite a few with that. There tails get nibbled or fungus and the end falls off.
Anders - I'm having a hard time following your reasoning. Rays are cold blooded, which means their body temperature is dependent on the ambient temperature. Higher temperatures would increase their metabolism, which would mean increased nutrition requirements and increased growth rate. If the temps are up but the food supply isn't, the ray isn't getting the full nutritional requirements that it needs and would become stunted.
But you're saying just the opposite, that at higher temperatures your rays need less food? It doesn't make sense physiologically; at lower temps the fish should need less food because they aren't able to digest it as quickly.
If a ray is slowing down at higher temperatures, I'm guessing it's the rays' way of conserving energy because it isn't getting enough food.
But you're saying just the opposite, that at higher temperatures your rays need less food? It doesn't make sense physiologically; at lower temps the fish should need less food because they aren't able to digest it as quickly.
If a ray is slowing down at higher temperatures, I'm guessing it's the rays' way of conserving energy because it isn't getting enough food.
African_Fever;2236135; said:
African_Fever;2236135; said:
I think you have missed some of the text. But I will try again.
Most fish and all reptiles are cold blooded. And as you say, their metabolism is depended on the temp of their surroundings.
That also means that warm water/air raises their metabolism. Now, if we raise the rays temp from 26 to 27 it will mean an increase in their metabolism. They can now digest faster.
But this doesn’t mean that rays can digest a shrimp in 1 sek if we raise the temp to 50.
All fish have an ideal temp where there body and metabolism works the best. I would say that most rays function/grow best at 26-27 degrees. If you go under or over this temp their metabolism will slow down.
If you keep your rays in 29-30 degrees like I do, they need less food do to the high temp.
Our bodies work best at around 37 degrees. Anything over or under will slow the body functions down. It’s not 100% the same with rays as they are cold blooded but its close.
I will give you an example.
If you are walking on a road and its 35 degrees in the shade everything will fell hard to do, and you will become lazy. This is because the body is no longer at its optimal body temp. We also use more energy to keep us cool (though rays and reptiles don’t have to deal with this problem). That’s probably something you have expensed yourself.
The its the same deal if we ship you to the north pole. Your body temp will drop, and everything will get harder to do. This time is because your body temp is under the magical 37 degrees. The optimal body temp for us.
Now, I have also tried keeping my rays at 26 degrees. At this temp they are more active and they eat more. If you raise it to 29-30 everything changes. Their movements become slower, they will spend less time looking for food, and they will eat less. You can try it yourself if you want.
I don’t think I can do it more simple than this.
I hope it can helped you a bit, understanding the subject. We could go deeper. But its heavy stuff at that level.
Interesting... Mike I remember you telling me about a female leo in a store up there that was stunted. You think its pretty safe to say once rays are stunted they are unable to breed? I think there are a lot more stunted rays out there than we know.
csx4236;2236095; said:
she still has the fan at the end of the tail. ill get some pictures posted soon.
I guess ill have to wait and find out if mine breeds Male motoro has been chasing her around...
There is the chance that a stunted animal could have reproductive challenges. For a female, the litter size is limited by the size of her utereus. A smaller female probably wouldn't be able to carry as many babies. I bet that she is still reproductively viable though. It will be interesting to see if she will put on more size in your tank. Rays seem to grow throughout their lives, but the rate slows down as they get older. Let us know how it goes.
Im thinking since you've got her into a nice larger tank you will see some growth hopefully pretty quickly... Just keep givin her the goods and let some time pass by and I bet in a month or so we some nice progress. Best of luck! Tell that motoro to back off and let your leo male have whats his haha
nickdog98;2237155; said:
Exactly, im hoping that when/if she breeds its with the leo right away, but if its not im going to take the motoro out of the tank when she gets close to giving birth, because I know that males tend to mate with females right after they give birth i figure it would be a good way to jump start it.
