Need Help: Thousand Island Stingray Not Active and Not Eating

[adamsfishes]

The basic facts of filtration are pretty simple and not worth arguing over.

If you're ammonia and nitrire are ZERO 100% of the time, then your filtration is adequate. If it's EVER not zero, then your filtration is inadequate.

But filters won't get rid of all the nitrate ... you need to do water changes for that. I'd recommend 80% once a week or if you can manage it twice a week. After a water change, nitrates should be 5 ppm or under. If not, then you're water change schedule is inadequate. If you don't want to do more water changes, then the only recourse is to reduce bio load.

That's really all there is to it.

Sorry that your fish is sick, hope it bounces back.

 

[Avisek Dasgupta]

I think it is unfortunate that you came here asking for help and then seemingly disappeared. From what I can observe with the very limited information you have provided :

Your tank dimensions are too small for those fish

The bio load exceeds your current maintenance schedule

You have two large fish in a 100 gallon tank where the water is already 25% below full and then don’t change the water for several weeks.

I would suggest doing 50% water changes daily until nitrate levels come down. I am guessing they are high.

Best of luck to you. Those fish look to be nice specimens. I hope they survive.

I am from India and the time at which you posted a message here was 2:04 am in India. So in all likelihood I was asleep and hadn't disappeared.

Having said that, after reading the comments, I am seriously considering a filtration upgrade. Will probably add a Hydor 600 to this tank. Any views on this filter will be highly appreciated.

 

[Avisek Dasgupta]

The basic facts of filtration are pretty simple and not worth arguing over.

If you're ammonia and nitrire are ZERO 100% of the time, then your filtration is adequate. If it's EVER not zero, then your filtration is inadequate.

But filters won't get rid of all the nitrate ... you need to do water changes for that. I'd recommend 80% once a week or if you can manage it twice a week. After a water change, nitrates should be 5 ppm or under. If not, then you're water change schedule is inadequate. If you don't want to do more water changes, then the only recourse is to reduce bio load.

That's really all there is to it.

Sorry that your fish is sick, hope it bounces back.

Thanks for your advice, but wouldn't 80% water change drastically alter the pH of the tank?

 

[Avisek Dasgupta]

API test kit pH only goes down to 6 so if you're getting a reading of 6 it might actually be way below 6.

Nitrification is going to be quite slow at these low pH levels which may partially or completely explain your persistent ammonia readings.

I use a lot of Seachem Prime. Isn't it supposed to handle nitrates, nitrites and ammonia?

 

[Avisek Dasgupta]

I agree with your filtration is inadequete. On an 6x2x2 tank i have with two small raypups and an pregnant female i have a sump running 3000L/h through 25-30L of k1 then i have one eheim 2262 filled to the brim with 20L of bioballs. On another 6x2x2 tank with one 40cm ray male in thats on time out from the females i have a showerfilter with aprox 70L of biomedia running 6000L/h hour through it and one eheim 2280 filled with biomedia and chaning water twice a week in those tanks by 80%.

When not changing water for some time your ph will drop due to the water getting bad. And when you change water your ph will quickly rise and that can kill an fish. Esp an ray. Trust me ive done that mistake once some years ago. If i where you i would upgrade both the tank and the filtration asap.

Oh and by the way farms and some stores will tell you things are enough to sell more fish. An fx6 to a large ray and an arowana is way wrong. I use one fx6 on a tank half the size as yours with 11 geophagus im growing out and they are prob around 15cm right now.

Fair point! I am planning to add a Hydor 600 external canister to this tank alongwith the Fluval and Sobo. Any reviews on the Hydor? Never used it.

 

[Avisek Dasgupta]

So water parameters? If you would like some help.

Don't know what you mean.

 

[sikoko]

Use your water test kit and post the results for everything accurately so we can assist you further.

 

[Matteus]

Don't know what you mean.

HEs asking what your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels are.

If you have left the tank for a long time with out a wc, I would suggest doing 20-30% at a time over 2-3 days to not be so drastic of change in water chemistry.

It is better to do more wc more often with these fish because they create a huge amount of waste. If you do them more often you can get away with doing larger changes and not need to worry about ph as much because the fish will be used to the ph that is typical for your area.

 

[Tobiassorensen]

Fair point! I am planning to add a Hydor 600 external canister to this tank alongwith the Fluval and Sobo. Any reviews on the Hydor? Never used it.

Never used hydors canisters. If you can get your hands on an eheim 2260 or 2262 that would be better. Thats an expensive canister but yet one of the best out there if not the best if you aint going up to pondfiltration wich is what i use on my large tank. If you are in to DIY you could do an bakkishower easy and cheap. That way you will increase your filtration to the max and also saturate the oxygenlevels in the tank.

Here is a pic of one of my showerfilters.

And one more thin. When was the last tkme you cleaned you fx6?

 

[adamsfishes]

Thanks for your advice, but wouldn't 80% water change drastically alter the pH of the tank?

Why would it alter the ph? Presumably you're putting in the same water, from the same source, every time you do a water change. The ph of my water supply is very consistent, right around 7. Is that not the case for you?

But every serious fishkeeper does big weekly (if not more frequent) water changes. It's not optional regardless of ph.