New journey; freshwater stingrays…

[danotaylor]

Once you have pups can they remain with the adults?
Pat

I have been told by experienced breeders that is typically not necessary to separate the female in the late stages of pregnancy, but it is advised to remove the pups to a floating container in the tank they’re born in as they are not very tolerant of major water parameter changes in their first days of life. The smaller floating container makes it easier to target feed them as their yolk sac is absorbed. It’s critical to get them eating solids by the end of their first week of life. I plan to attempt getting them on to pellets if possible but will have raw shrimp available in the event they are playing hard to feed. I have garlic guard to soak pellets in if they don’t take them as is.

[brewmaster15]

I have been told by experienced breeders that is typically not necessary to separate the female in the late stages of pregnancy, but it is advised to remove the pups to a floating container in the tank they’re born in as they are not very tolerant of major water parameter changes in their first days of life. The smaller floating container makes it easier to target feed them as their yolk sac is absorbed. It’s critical to get them eating solids by the end of their first week of life. I plan to attempt getting them on to pellets if possible but will have raw shrimp available in the event they are playing hard to feed. I have garlic guard to soak pellets in if they don’t take them as is.

Danny sounds like you should start a tank of Endler guppies



for the pups. I think I can spare a few

[danotaylor]

That’s a good idea Al! Not sure how well they hunt live prey, but that is definitely worth considering

[danotaylor]

G’day folks. It’s been a while since I updated this thread.
Sadly, no ray pups to report as yet. The male still pesters the females but there doesn’t seems to have been any success “gettin it done”.
I recently made contact with a bloke in Columbus who has 2 rays. Long story short, due to the size of my tank and "how healthy" my rays looked to him, he is donating a 14" pure black diamond male to me as he is scaling down in preparation to move to Florida. His male is perhaps a little older than mine and might just be the addition needed to “get it done”.
The plan is to divide the tank and have the new male with the black diamond hybrid female on one side, and my current male with the brown based female on the other.
Here’s a pic of the new guy. I’ll be driving up to collect him in the next week or 2

[Second Hand Pat]

He is gorgeous Danny but what about QT? How are you dividing the tank? With a large piece of foam?
Pat

[brewmaster15]

Danny, Thats a great connection to make and generous of the fellow you met to send the male your way. Its a beauty. Pups in your future I would think.

[fljones3]

Sweet!

[LizStreithorst]

Oh my, what a good looker. And what a good friend you now have who is letting you have him. I can't wait to see puppies. What is the incubation time (if you call it that with fish)?

[danotaylor]

Greetings Pat, Al, Frank & Liz!
I feel truly blessed and fortunate to become the benefactor of such a beautiful ray. He was purchased as a 6”high end black diamond pup from Predatory Fins in 2022 for $1250!! It’s wonderful to know and get connected with people who care more about appropriately rehoming big fish like this than recouping moneys invested. TBH with our limited budget for hobby’s in this season of our lives and this economy I’m not sure I could be so generous, though my heart would be to do so.

Pat re your question w QT. I know for sure QT is best practice regardless of the species, but in 41 yrs in the hobby discus have been the single only species where I have ever experienced cross contamination, and I experienced it doing QT the correct way w 6wks observation and then the hero fish method.
I have lots of video of the set up the ray is coming from, and witnessed healthy behavior, no visible skin issues, active feeding and interacting with another ray and an Australian lungfish. These are all the signs of an otherwise healthy ray. As you can imagine having a second tank big enough to house a 14”W x24”L stingray for 6 weeks is challenging.
At this point the plan is to introduce the rays to each other in my 560gal tank and to be ready for contingencies just like with the hero fish method. Again, I am not suggesting this is the best practice, but due to tank size constraints is my only option other than declining the gift.
I will be using an extendable plastic baby gate to divide the tank.

Al, I sure hope pus are on the near horizon

Liz, he is a very handsome male for sure. A pregnant female carries her pups for 90-120days

The attached image is him when he was offered for sale in 2022

More to come friends. Peace and blessings to you all!

[LizStreithorst]

Peace and blessings to you as well, Danny.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Danny and totally understand the logistics of QT with large fish. Sounds like you have a plan and I am sure all will go well with the new fellow. He sure is a lovely ray
Pat

[danotaylor]

Thank you Liz!

Thanks Pat. He is indeed a lovely ray. I sure hope all goes well also!

[Charlyc11]

Good luck! It's always nice to make an add to the collection.

[danotaylor]

Thanks Frank, when there’s room at the inn, collection additions are always welcome

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Frank, when there’s room at the inn, collection additions are always welcome

...And when there is no more room, you make it.