Ok.... I should have said in the beginning the reasons why I'de even want to try this. 1) Varied diet 2) To let them hunt. I KNOW they are bored. This is the reason I added a bunch of smooth rocks to the pond in addidtion to sand. I did this when they were in a tank and it almost seemed as though they enjoyed trying to get under the rocks. Which is why I occasionally hide thier food under them. 3) Cleaners. I keep crays in a few tanks and believe it or not they do a great job at finding left over small chunks of food. Beings that rays are extremely messy eaters I figured it would be a great benefit to have them scavenging for lil bits and pieces the rays miss or make when eating. It was in NO way a form of "cheaper" diet. Time is $ and burning a afternoon hunting for crays is a lot more of a pain in the arse then goin to the market and getting shrimp...... let alone the time/space/$ in QTing them. SO........ general concensus is that qt is nothing more than letting them be for a few weeks? Or do I need to use any kind of med? Some kind of anti parasite med? Or anti worm med? Or in your guys' opinion is it just hands down NOT worth the risk?
Wild caught crays OK for rays?
- Thread starter DB junkie
- Start date
Quarantine tanks are for observation. Hospital tanks are for treatments. If you Q the crays for a few weeks, you should be able to note any problems before feeding them out or if treatment is needed.
It is not true that quarantine tanks are just for observations. Even during observational quarantines, when a disease is discovered it is generally treated for. Sometimes certian kind of anti-parasitic treatments are given as part of a quarantine protocol.
That said- you probably do not have the resources to do necropsy on dead crayfish to determine why they died. If you do not know what is going on, throwing medications at it is generally not a good idea (especially when you are talking about abtibiotics!). I'm also not an expert on crayfish diseases, but you could probably do research on line- they are cultured. I would at least give them a few weeks of isolation and not feed out if you are still seeing mortalities/signs of illness.
I also would not worry about the claws. I've never removed them and never seen a problem. I guess there is always that possibility, but I personally wouldn't worry about it.
As part of your goal is to reduce boredom, you might find this interesting: http://www.zoo.ac.za/newsletter/issues/03/10.html
You could probably adapt their ideas for rays. A piece of PVC with holes drilled in the sides and capped on each end make a great feeder that the rays have to work harder at to get the food.
That said- you probably do not have the resources to do necropsy on dead crayfish to determine why they died. If you do not know what is going on, throwing medications at it is generally not a good idea (especially when you are talking about abtibiotics!). I'm also not an expert on crayfish diseases, but you could probably do research on line- they are cultured. I would at least give them a few weeks of isolation and not feed out if you are still seeing mortalities/signs of illness.
I also would not worry about the claws. I've never removed them and never seen a problem. I guess there is always that possibility, but I personally wouldn't worry about it.
As part of your goal is to reduce boredom, you might find this interesting: http://www.zoo.ac.za/newsletter/issues/03/10.html
You could probably adapt their ideas for rays. A piece of PVC with holes drilled in the sides and capped on each end make a great feeder that the rays have to work harder at to get the food.
amazongirl;2094870; said:
Q tanks are for observation and don't include random medicating. If a pathogen is discovered and treatment begins, the Q tank becomes a hospital tank. When a desired observation period is terminated, and the animal introduced to the main system, Q tanks don't require breaking down and cleaning. They're kept in standby for the next specimen(s) to be quarantined.
I would think that if it is a good idea someone woould have been doing by now. Apparently no one is feeding these things to thier rays...... So there must be a reason. Too risky? I'de like to hear from some of the leading ray keepers on this site as to if it's a good idea or one to stay clear of. The crays have been in my tanks since Sunday. Like 4 deaths so far.... But there were a few that were pretty soft when caught. Quarentine is absolutly for sure..... But I'm not gonna feed them to rays till I get the idea that it's "OK"
