Update on my retics

[Tucc185]

Just wanted to post an update on my two retics. It's been a little over a month now, and both are thriving. Both are eating well and have adjusted to the tank, my twice weekly 30% water changes have probably been a big part of that. They both eat great, although I haven't got them on shrimp yet. The dark one so far wont eat anything but troutworms (although of course I gave them both blackworms when I could get them as a treat). They seem to get along well and I've noticed my insomnia lends itself well to FW ray keeping because they are always ready to eat whenever I wander down to their tank, and they have been getting several feedings per day this way. The best news is that I just acquired a 72"x24"x22" tank (whatever that size is) that is going to be their home in the near future. Right now I'm designing a massive DIY filtration system for it with loads of bio and built-in redundancies. That will be a fun project, I will post pics of my design in the DIY forum when I get a chance. Some older pics here, more to come tomorrow so you can see the difference in size, color. Any suggestions on getting them to eat shrimp? I tried that trick of soaking them with chopped worms to scent the shrimp, but no luck. What should be the basis of their diet if they wont eat shrimp?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[StiffMeister]

They look good! full tank shot?

 

[Alex.P]

Beautiful . Finally a nice pair of fatttttttt retics, now thats what i like to see .
Akex

 

[Miles]

Nice Retics..

when they get out of their 'juvenile' stage and you are comfortable with the weight and thickness of the tail.. try starving them for a few days, and then the 'mix shrimp with previous diet' trick..

 

[rvrrays]

Nice Retics..

when they get out of their 'juvenile' stage and you are comfortable with the weight and thickness of the tail.. try starving them for a few days, and then the 'mix shrimp with previous diet' trick..

This is exactly how you can get them on to other foods.

Colin

 

[Nic]

they are some nice fat rays as far as shrimp just keep offering it soaked in worm stuff with every or every other feeding they will eventually take it

 

[Tucc185]

So those pics I posted were at least two or three weeks old, here's some I just took minutes ago of the retics. They're much fatter now I think.... . Oh, and a full tank shot would be difficult, its an odd size (48"x24"x12"). But its not much to see anyways, aquascaping with rays is almost pointless, not that I don't try. But I think you can see the red hook (myleus sp.) and the angel that live with them in these pics.

 

[BlackKnife86]

Awesome looking rays!! If you dont mind me asking what was the price tag on those? Once my tank is fully cycled and the water is perfect for them I was looking at picking up a pair of retics or hystrics w/e is available in my area.

 

[Tucc185]

Well, I got pretty lucky on these guys...I work at an lfs, and my boss ordered two rays (labeled only as sm. stingray) without telling us, so the fish order came in, and here were these two beauties in a bag, and I knew they would never last in our system because no one other than me would give them the care they required, so needless to say I took them home. I didn't even have a tank set up for them, so they stayed in an aerated bucket for a few frantic hours while I rushed to set them up in what was a turtle tank....Crazy I know, but I had to have them, couldn't let them waste away in the store. As for the price, it's gonna make people crazy when I say they were less then $15usd each. One of the few perks of working at an lfs. But BlackKnife, they retail around $40each, sometimes cheaper sometimes more expensive, usually just called teacups, so you never know what you're gonna get.

 

[BlackKnife86]

Well, I got pretty lucky on these guys...I work at an lfs, and my boss ordered two rays (labeled only as sm. stingray) without telling us, so the fish order came in, and here were these two beauties in a bag, and I knew they would never last in our system because no one other than me would give them the care they required, so needless to say I took them home. I didn't even have a tank set up for them, so they stayed in an aerated bucket for a few frantic hours while I rushed to set them up in what was a turtle tank....Crazy I know, but I had to have them, couldn't let them waste away in the store. As for the price, it's gonna make people crazy when I say they were less then $15usd each. One of the few perks of working at an lfs. But BlackKnife, they retail around $40each, sometimes cheaper sometimes more expensive, usually just called teacups, so you never know what you're gonna get.

Thats awesome man! Makes your pick up even better!