kev82;1652712; said:
You're probably right with alot of these points. F.e. the female has never put on much weight, even if she's eaten well since I got her.
Shipping stress could suppress the immune system and cause internal parasites to take over I would guess..
I'm not 100% sure about the shipping tho, because the distance might be far (3000 miles or so), but the amount of time in the container probably isn't much longer than your average overnight shipping in the states. However the shipping to the exporter in netherlands, maybe all the way from peru may have taken a much longer time, damaging the fish beyond salvation.
Well the overnight deliveries we have here in US might be a little different than overseas express flights.. It makes me wonder if altitude and oxygen pressure play a roll in fish stress. I would also have to say the distance from Peru to Iceland was what I was focusing in at.. The ray probably doesn't eat the whole time, is exposed to many different water conditions, many transporters mishandle the fish and have mythical bagging and re-packaging procedures that are actually bad for the fish, etc etc..
Internal organ damage can make a ray die months later for no good reason.. I have also heard that it in freshly imported fish that have been 'fasted' per say, it's not good practice to power-feed them upon arrival because their stomach can't handle it.
They're not dead yet, so I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing and see if they'll bounce back. And even if they die on me, I'll probably just get bigger rays next time, and some hardier rays, like motoros perhaps. Only problem is that motoro juveniles go for around $700 or so.
The Motoro price says it all.. for a common Motoro your only paying about $30 out of the wild in Peru for one.. the extra $670 is SHIPPING and handlers fees/markup fees.. Getting a box into the US from Peru costs around $50-80 depending on how much your import, but I bet it's 2-3x that amount to your destination!! Shipping water is expensive!
