Basic Theory Lesson of Keeping Rays for newbie...

[cavallino]

my recommendations to those who are fairly new to rays:

1) watch your pH- the bio loading for rays is high and once the buffering capacity of the water is exceeded the pH can crash from 7 to 5.5 in hours. that kills.

2) watch your nitrates- again, the bioloading is high. plants and denitrators aside, i personally advocate 50% WC twice a week.

3) heaters- i personally save heaters only for weak pups, not for stronger pups and adults. if you must use them, use a heater guard.

4) comming rays with rays- there is no fixed formula for mixing rays of this size and that size, or this species with that species. the golden rule is- You need to observe them. One thing is for sure, stress from harrassment kills a ray much faster than starvation does.

5) comming rays with other fish- general rule of thumb- no plecos, no feifengs, no pig nose turtle. Of course there are exceptionally ray friendly plecos, so remember the golden rule- You need to observe them. Aros that have grown up in comm tanks are fine. A 4- yr aro who has been alone in a tank all its life would be less friendly. Try not to comm rays with fish that can fit in its mouth.

rays aren't the most difficult fish to keep, but they arguably are the most beautiful. enjoy!

[itchy]

Originally Posted by shiokmc

errrrr - u wanan control feeding ah ???

ie underfeed ur treasured pratas

Or u can invest in a v good biological filtration system... but NOTHING beats good ol' w/Change

hahaa, thats why most people change water twice weekly for heavy feeding rays?

[cavallino]

Originally Posted by shiokmc

better listen to the Pro.... slowly weannnnnnnnn

pro karchng lah.. mai suan leh

[shiokmc]

Originally Posted by itchy

hahaa, thats why most people change water twice weekly for heavy feeding rays?

yappppp - for me minimum 50A% twice a week
u will observe they EAT more n are more active
hate fishes that just 'park' one corner

Originally Posted by cavallino

rays aren't the most difficult fish to keep, but they arguably are the most beautiful. enjoy!

Originally Posted by cavallino

pro karchng lah.. mai suan leh

PRO talking !!!!!! 1001% concurrrrrrrrrrrr

*btw- u hiring? im gonna b jobless soon.... wan banglaMC do w/C n feedg n packing?

Originally Posted by watsupdoc

Thank you for sharing the useful tips.

Besides water change, how do we keep Nitrite, Nitrate and Ammonia levels low?

What i do i improvise a floating platform punch a few holes put pandan leaves ....work well for me..... learn from some sifus here..... This is to eliminate nitrite development

[itchy]

Originally Posted by cavallino

my recommendations to those who are fairly new to rays:

1) watch your pH- the bio loading for rays is high and once the buffering capacity of the water is exceeded the pH can crash from 7 to 5.5 in hours. that kills.

2) watch your nitrates- again, the bioloading is high. plants and denitrators aside, i personally advocate 50% WC twice a week.

3) heaters- i personally save heaters only for weak pups, not for stronger pups and adults. if you must use them, use a heater guard.

4) comming rays with rays- there is no fixed formula for mixing rays of this size and that size, or this species with that species. the golden rule is- You need to observe them. One thing is for sure, stress from harrassment kills a ray much faster than starvation does.

5) comming rays with other fish- general rule of thumb- no plecos, no feifengs, no pig nose turtle. Of course there are exceptionally ray friendly plecos, so remember the golden rule- You need to observe them. Aros that have grown up in comm tanks are fine. A 4- yr aro who has been alone in a tank all its life would be less friendly. Try not to comm rays with fish that can fit in its mouth.

rays aren't the most difficult fish to keep, but they arguably are the most beautiful. enjoy!

Thanks for the tips on ray keeping.

Regarding the pointer on bioload, can I check, other than changing water reguarly. Does adding of additional coral chips or better medias like bio homme plus helps? Thanks

Originally Posted by cavallino

my recommendations to those who are fairly new to rays:

1) watch your pH- the bio loading for rays is high and once the buffering capacity of the water is exceeded the pH can crash from 7 to 5.5 in hours. that kills.

2) watch your nitrates- again, the bioloading is high. plants and denitrators aside, i personally advocate 50% WC twice a week.

3) heaters- i personally save heaters only for weak pups, not for stronger pups and adults. if you must use them, use a heater guard.

4) comming rays with rays- there is no fixed formula for mixing rays of this size and that size, or this species with that species. the golden rule is- You need to observe them. One thing is for sure, stress from harrassment kills a ray much faster than starvation does.

5) comming rays with other fish- general rule of thumb- no plecos, no feifengs, no pig nose turtle. Of course there are exceptionally ray friendly plecos, so remember the golden rule- You need to observe them. Aros that have grown up in comm tanks are fine. A 4- yr aro who has been alone in a tank all its life would be less friendly. Try not to comm rays with fish that can fit in its mouth.

rays aren't the most difficult fish to keep, but they arguably are the most beautiful. enjoy!

Well said boss .....

[itchy]

Originally Posted by shiokmc

yappppp - for me minimum 50A% twice a week
u will observe they EAT more n are more active
hate fishes that just 'park' one corner

50% water change will not be too much?

[cavallino]

Originally Posted by itchy

Thanks for the tips on ray keeping.

Regarding the pointer on bioload, can I check, other than changing water reguarly. Does adding of additional coral chips or better medias like bio homme plus helps? Thanks

i'm just sharing like boss uluaking is doing.

coral chips can act as bio media and it leaches calcium carbonate which buffers the hardness of the water and consequently your pH. Biohome acts as a bio media too. Both these media increase the efficiency and capacity of the filter, but the end product of the nitrogen cycle, nitrates, aren't easily removed (lots of plants and industrial sized denitrators aside) except for water changes.

Originally Posted by itchy

50% water change will not be too much?

Depends on areas..... use Storage water rather than tap water..... if you dont have any storage water.... best 20% or lesser ..... cos chlorine kills .... water changing is best come with a good Anti-chlorine solution