tips for breaking rays to new foods

[reptileguy2727]

You have to feed them. So if they are only taking black worms that is what you have to give.

Gel foods are ideal for making your own food. They are relatively easy to prepare, you control the ingredients (which can include prepared foods). This can allow you to put in a high quality prepared food and blackworms.

Most LFSs are willing to make special orders. It should not be a problem to be willing to prepay for something and get it, most LFSs are not willing to refuse money. Most foods are easily available online as well.

As stated, getting them to associate an object with food helps a lot. They cna sense metal tongs in the water, so that can be used. They can also learn very quickly to associate bowls with food.

I plan on feeding New Life Spectrum. I know that in general rays will take it, I just have to get mine on them. (Whether it is just the ones at work or if I do end up getting rays at home.)

 

[Marius]

not using a turkey baster but there are a couple members who have force fed but it should only be done as a 100% last resort

Been there, done it, saved one, lost another ...

So far, one should only have problems with wild caught rays, but usually a ray bought from a responsible supplier/breeder has no problem eating more foods than one, are already dewormed and all cheerfully doing their "ray" thing.

For those crazy enough to get straight wild caughts:
Shrimp: glass shrimp (and lots of it)
California Black Worms
to fatten the rays up.
After a week of fasting, the rays will usually readily accept pellets soaked in CBW, or pieces of shrimp.

There's different degrees of difficulty of specific rays too..
Picky eaters: Shroederi, Reticulated, Iwamae (Antenna ray), Menchacai, Otorongo etc.

Gluttonous pigs: Motoros, Laticeps, sp. Peru, Hystrix, Henlei, Leos

Feel free to fill in the list based on personal experience, or research.

 

[arowfan]

really good informative read! I'm gonna try some tonight!

STICKY!!!

 

[Nic]

really good informative read! I'm gonna try some tonight!

STICKY!!!

THIS THREAD AND THE OTHER WILL NEVER BE STICKY'S


for that to happen i would have to write them over again and make them more "PROFESSIONAL" they are not good enough now with just information and holy bob himself will show up long before i do that...


well here is a idea... we got plenty of "arm chair" experts here... one of you guys can rewrite these threads and have them made stickys.... and you dont even have to give me credit for anything i put in them... how does that sound you will be instant expert...

 

[abortedsoul]

Try shrimp. I’ve got a stingray that won’t even eat earthworms, but she goes crazy for shrimp.

 

[joey02]

I have found that feeding at the same time of day, and dropping the food in the same place in the tank every time helps. They seemed to recognize that this area of the tank was where food would be. When my rays see me in the room, they will go directly to the front left corner of the tank and get excited. If i dropped in a small amount instead of a large amount, they had to compete for the small amount of food offered . Switching foods seemed easy this way. I got my WC female motoro on Massivore delite now. Temperature did not seem to play a big role. I played with the temp a few times but their eagerness to eat didnt change. I also didnt feed for 2-3 days to get a good appetite to them befor i tryed something new. I also noted that at first they wouldnt eat full sized massivore pellets, i had to break each pellet into 2-3 pieces at first, now i do not. i also did not soak them in anything. I do think that the competition between two or more rays helps alot. Or at least something else in the tank to compete with.

I may just have gotten lucky with two rays that will eat whatever i offer, but i do think feeding in the same spot in the tank every time helped. This took 6 months to get them onto massivore delite pellets. The WC female is 9-10" disc and the other ray is a captive bred motoro male, 6" disc. i can now feed 20-30 pellets a day to these two small rays and they will eat them all.

 

[joey02]

THIS THREAD AND THE OTHER WILL NEVER BE STICKY'S
...

Your thread on the "K.I.S.S" method , i have bookmarked .... Its a sticky to me!

 

[Nic]

Your thread on the "K.I.S.S" method , i have bookmarked .... Its a sticky to me!

no stingrays and meds....

 

[CrAzYNeSs]

Are the prepackaged frozen shrimps from the market okay once thawed? My Motoros are only 5" at most. Should I start training them on pellets or is it too soon?

They are only eating blackworms right now.

Going to bump this thread up. It is very useful. Someone should rewrite it into a sticky.

 

[abortedsoul]

Are the prepackaged frozen shrimps from the market okay once thawed? My Motoros are only 5" at most. Should I start training them on pellets or is it too soon?

They are only eating blackworms right now.

Going to bump this thread up. It is very useful. Someone should rewrite it into a sticky.

5 inches is a great size for motoros! You could start training them on shrimps (raw, thawed), pellets, etc. If you can get them on tilapia or catfish or something, all the better.