gross anatomy

[spotfin]

I had the (un)fortunate opportunity to perform an autopsy on one of my rays. It was a cb male motoro, 5" dia. I had noticed for awhile that his back side and belly seemed to be slightly swollen, even after having not eaten for a few days. It looked how a ray would after a eating a large meal, only he hadn't eaten that much. His appetite and behavior were normal until about 2 days before he died.

I looked through his intestine and didn't find any signs of worms, eggs, etc. Stomach was empty. What I did find were many sand grains in the intestine. I use the 3M S grade sand in my tank. I wonder if this particular sand was causing a problem for the ray?

Much of the color was gone off of the individual sand grains. If anyone has read the bag this particular sand comes in will see lots of unpleasant chemicals listed.

Is there any literature on the digestive systems of rays and how sand is passed?

My female hystrix is showing a similar slightly swollen belly.

 

[jcardona1]

sand in the intestines...interesting. i dont know much about rays, but is this normal behaviour for them?

 

[DavidW]

Sand normally has a gastolithic function in rays, what were the listed chemicals?
ps, good job with the sharp photos!

 

[coeus]

Sand normally has a gastolithic function in rays, what were the listed chemicals?
ps, good job with the sharp photos!

so does that mean rays not kept on sand area at a disadvantage?

 

[DavidW]

not really (imo) , the foods they are being fed in captivity may require some chewing but usually not much grinding, and the function is probably minor, as they don;t have a 'muscular' stomach.

 

[gaz025]

nice photos . a bit gruesome but i hope the documentation willl help you find the cause


should the stomach area be green like that ?

is it just the camera angle or lens that makes the left side of the ray look smaller than the right or was it acutally deformed ?

 

[Kamisan]

For me, Liver will be the first target to check in any autopsy. It will give us an idea what is the root cause behind the sickness. Base on the liver appearance shown in the pic, it could be some kind of internal bacterial disease causing the death.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[DB junkie]

I've wondered about the sand aiding in digestion. I've taken sand covered tanks and switched to barebottom before and low and behold weeks down the road there is small amounts of sand in the tank.

I know IF I use sand in a tank with rays I always use Estes sand. Not worth the risk to use anything else, as there is NO documentation on long term effects of sand not manufactered primarly for aquariums..

I'm sorry for your loss Jason. Hopefully someone fimiliar with this kinda stuff can lead you to a root cause based on your photos. Good luck.

 

[spotfin]

Sand normally has a gastolithic function in rays, what were the listed chemicals?
ps, good job with the sharp photos!

Thanks. I will post a picture tomorrow showing the chemicals. Easier to take a picture then type them all out. THought the sand may have been the problem after seeing it in the intestine. It wasn't packed in the intestine, but there a significant amount in there.

should the stomach area be green like that ?

Yes, the ray was frozen and I think it is the gall bladder (?) that burst from freezing. THe gall bladder is dark green in the picture.


is it just the camera angle or lens that makes the left side of the ray look smaller than the right or was it acutally deformed ?

It is the camera angle. THe ray is 5" diameter.

For me, Liver will be the first target to check in any autopsy. It will give us an idea what is the root cause behind the sickness. Base on the liver appearance shown in the pic, it could be some kind of internal bacterial disease causing the death.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

What does a healthy liver look like? Only other picture I've seen is in the Dr. Ross book.

I've wondered about the sand aiding in digestion. I've taken sand covered tanks and switched to barebottom before and low and behold weeks down the road there is small amounts of sand in the tank.

I know IF I use sand in a tank with rays I always use Estes sand. Not worth the risk to use anything else, as there is NO documentation on long term effects of sand not manufactered primarly for aquariums..

I'm sorry for your loss Jason. Hopefully someone fimiliar with this kinda stuff can lead you to a root cause based on your photos. Good luck.

Thanks. I had Estes in there originally, but switch to the 3m for a darker color.
Will post some more pics showing the other organs.

 

[jwong1024]

singrays siff though sand, having ingest some of it shouldn't be a problem. if that was the case, my rays would be dead too.

bloating would tell me that there was gas or swelling of organs. most likely an infection of some sort. being that your ray was still a pup, anything couldve killed it.