Two rays, sold to me as teacup, different pattern

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davenmandy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Feb 1, 2012
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Hey guys, I was hoping on a positive ID on both of these rays. Both of them were sold to me as teacup stingrays, reticulated apparently, but they both have different patterns. On top of this, the male grew a fair amount, he is getting to a size I am happy with, whereas the female hasnt shown any sign of growth. The male does try to steal the worms the female tries to eat, she defends herself successfully about 75% of the time. Was hoping for breeding potential but since I think they are different species and the size difference is significant I don't see it happening. Owned the male for a bit over a year, owned the female for about 6 months. The male has a thick shorter tail, and the female has a longer thin tail. Male has a spiderweb like pattern, female has a more spotted pattern, but i dont think the spots look like the flower ray spots. Debating on adding a pearl ray, but wanna know if the female will grow to the size of the male so i can safely add the bigger ray. Thanks a lot for looking.

Female:
ImageUploadedByMonsterAquariaNetwork1348022433.466737.jpg

Male underneath the female, sorry for bad pic:
ImageUploadedByMonsterAquariaNetwork1348022469.798822.jpg



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These are two variants of the same species......both Reticulata.
Nice rays!
Watch the gar doesn't remove their tails.
 
Agreed they both appear to be retics which are the common "teacups".
 
Oh okay, so they just look different but theyre the same species? Which means breeding is possible right? The only reasons I would like to hear more peoples opinions is because the vast difference in their tails, and the fact that the male grew so fast and the female isn't growing at all. I don't think that's only due to stress over the male trying to steal food from her because she eats 75% of the time. But if its really just a variance in appearance I'm happy, hopefully the female hits a spurt soon so maybe theyll breed. TBH, I like the pattern on the male better. Do females generally stay smaller than the males, and will a decently larger male be able to breed with a female?
 
How often are you feeding. I used to feed my retics at least five times a day. If they are eating then keep feeding. You need to feed them till they look pregnant. As some people on here describe it as a big arse! I can almost guarantee she is not getting enough food for the size she is. Rays that size have such a fast metabolism they need a regular intake of food. In the wild rays can eat continuously so it is best to simulate this. Just make sure your filters can cope with the extra bioload and that there is no left over food. If after a few weeks of increased feeding she is not putting on weight then it would be wise to consider a course of anti parasite treatment. This should be a flubendizole based anti fluke and wormer. If you need any more advice just ask. I personally have never had problems with retics, I even got my local lfs feeding their retics on pellets after just a week.


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sam buckle said:
How often are you feeding. I used to feed my retics at least five times a day. If they are eating then keep feeding. You need to feed them till they look pregnant. As some people on here describe it as a big arse! I can almost guarantee she is not getting enough food for the size she is. Rays that size have such a fast metabolism they need a regular intake of food. In the wild rays can eat continuously so it is best to simulate this. Just make sure your filters can cope with the extra bioload and that there is no left over food. If after a few weeks of increased feeding she is not putting on weight then it would be wise to consider a course of anti parasite treatment. This should be a flubendizole based anti fluke and wormer. If you need any more advice just ask. I personally have never had problems with retics, I even got my local lfs feeding their retics on pellets after just a week.


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Click to expand...

Good advise Sam.
I must point out though that Flubendazole based wormers are fatal to fresh water rays, its Praziquantal based remedies you need for treating Flukes and worms in Potamotrygon species...100% safe.
 
Really? I have always used flubendazole based workers to no ill effect? And at full dosage. I have never had any ill effects. Not doubting your knowledge. So the kusuri wormer should not say ray safe? All the rays I have at the moment including the pups have been dosed and are feeding brilliantly.


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aquaman45 said:
Good advise Sam.
I must point out though that Flubendazole based wormers are fatal to fresh water rays, its Praziquantal based remedies you need for treating Flukes and worms in Potamotrygon species...100% safe.
Click to expand...

I've just looked at other threads about this. I must have been extremely lucky so far. Ignore my flubendazol advice and follow aquamans. The only thing I can think is that my ph of 6 stops the ill effects.


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