My Little Bit Of The Great Barrier Reef. 8x2x2 Tropical Marine Tank.

[T1KARMANN]

AS NORMAL ON THIS SITE THEIR ARE NEG COMMENTS TRYING TO DIS A GREAT LOOKING TANK

mice set up

 

[andywg]

AS NORMAL ON THIS SITE THEIR ARE NEG COMMENTS TRYING TO DIS A GREAT LOOKING TANK

mice set up

Or perhaps people concerned at others keeping a fish which has less than a 1% survival rate?

I wonder which it could be?

Hint - if you read my original comment you will see I complemented the set up, just criticised a choice of fish.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

mice set up

Where are the mice?, I didnt know they were Aquatic...

 

[Cossack1977]

Hi andywg,
I hope I have better luck with the moorish idol. There is nothing worse then losing a loved pet.
When I keep fish I keep them for the long run and spend alot of time making sure there healthy. Every spare moment I have I spend researching information on them. The aquarium I got him from has 3 idols in display tanks which date back 3-4 years old. They're definitely much larger than my guy. When i set the tank up he made sure i had alot of live rock with soft corals, sponges, algae and pods. I feed the tank flake, sinking tablets, frozen mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, frozen plankton, nori seaweed as well as live brine shrimp and feeder fish.
Hopefully ill be able keep him healthy and content for a long time.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Hi andywg,
I hope I have better luck with the moorish idol. There is nothing worse then losing a loved pet.
When I keep fish I keep them for the long run and spend alot of time making sure there healthy. Every spare moment I have I spend researching information on them. The aquarium I got him from has 3 idols in display tanks which date back 3-4 years old. They're definitely much larger than my guy. When i set the tank up he made sure i had alot of live rock with soft corals, sponges, algae and pods. I feed the tank flake, sinking tablets, frozen mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, frozen plankton, nori seaweed as well as live brine shrimp and feeder fish.
Hopefully ill be able keep him healthy and content for a long time.

Wow never realised you was from Australia, are you close enough to the reef to go collect fish yourself ?

 

[T1KARMANN]

mice set up

Where are the mice?, I didnt know they were Aquatic...

spelling again

i can live with it why cant you

 

[Cossack1977]

Here are some pics of both my bumblebee lionfish and my blue spot ray:

Bumblebee Lionfish. Smaller and less agressive then a Volitan Lionfish.

Blue spot ray. Currently my most fragile fish. Must make sure he eats. Currently hand feeding prawn and shrimp

Porcupine and ray

 

[Ace Of Spades]

mice set up

Where are the mice?, I didnt know they were Aquatic...

spelling again

i can live with it why cant you

I actually thought you saw some mice, try to be a bit clearer ty.

And OMG dude, That is one of the sexiest blue spotted rays I have seen. Lovley fish and spectacular tank

Aww you have to love the porky puffers lol

 

[HoZy]

Awesome pics there Andrew. Got to love the blue spotted ray! Can't wait to see him when I come over next, looks great!

Try to get a front pic of the Bumblebee lionfish though, Can't wait to see this little guy....

Cheers
MaT

 

[andywg]

Is it just me or does it look like that ray cannot actually sit facing the glass properly due to the amount of rock in the tank?

Is it going to be a permanent tank for the ray or will you be moving him to a more suitable tank with a larger floor area as he grows?

You say you research your fish for the long run yet you have many smaller fish and have then put in a lionfish (looks like Pterois antennata) which will get to the region of 7-8" and consume anything around the 4" mark. You have then put a porcupinefish in with a lion. This is a very risky move as porkies have a tendancy to trim the long spines of lions every so often. Then you have a blue spotted ray in a tank with so much live rock that turning around will become an issue very quickly as it grows and a porcupinefish which are not ever recommended as tank mates to rays due to their tendancy to sample the disc from time to time.

That stocking is far from a standard one and I would recommend you read both Aquarium Sharks and Rays by Scott Michael and The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner. The former will be very useful for you with the ray as it gives directiosn on how to force feed a ray that is not eating, and it is very common for blue spotted ribbon tail eels like yours to stop feeding at some point between 6 and 12 months.

That is very interesting to hear about the moorish idols in the dealer's shop. Perhaps he should speak to some public aquaria so as we can one day find out exactly what these fish need to stay alive in captivity.

 

[CAC]

Whats the point of saying that? You know exactly what he meant to say.....

I actually thought you saw some mice, try to be a bit clearer ty.

Slightly hypocritical, i.e whats ty about?

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Whats the point of saying that? You know exactly what he meant to say.....

I actually thought you saw some mice, try to be a bit clearer ty.

Slightly hypocritical, i.e whats ty about?

But then so is he, he can post stupid crap all the time. But im not allowed?

 

[mark7616]

Andy is the man to listen to when it comes to marine stocking mate. One thing I will point out to you that is a very unhealthy ray. It is extremely skinny thats the reason you can see its hip bones protruding also its starting to get a dip between the eyes. Have you actually got this fish eating or have you seen it eating before you bought it I would also check for internal parasites im not sure about marine but fresh wild caught rays that are skinny usually have parasites but im afraid when its as skinny as yours its quiet a low chance of getting it back not saying it cant be done but the ball is not in your favour.

 

[cheesy feet]

Sweet fish, the ray has really nice colours...Looks like it does need fattening up though

Whats the point of saying that? You know exactly what he meant to say.....

I actually thought you saw some mice, try to be a bit clearer ty.

Slightly hypocritical, i.e whats ty about?

But then so is he, he can post stupid crap all the time. But im not allowed?

No

 

[andywg]

If you are brave and want to fatten up the ray quickly then you can have a go at Force Feeding. Using thick neoprene (diving) gloves place some styrofoam or cork on the stinger to stop reduce the risk of injury. Bring it to the surface and turn it over while still submerged and then have someone else feed a gruel made by blending marine invertebrates, marine fish flesh, a multi-vitamin additive and RO water.

Apparently elasmobranches can often be dehydrated when first obtained so anywhere up to 70% water can be used. Just have the gruel drain out of a bottle into an airline that you can put in the ray's mouth.

More details on this method of feeding are on pages 190 to 191 of Aquarium Sharks and Rays. I will bow to the far greater knowledge and experience of keeping elasmobranches (albeit freshwater) of Mark that the ray looks fairly bad. If so I would strongly suggest going for a force feeding regime.

Now that I look again it seems you have a representative of almost every family of fish listed as ones that might harm a shark or ray on page 166 of Aquarium Sharks and Rays. I strongly urge you to consider at least borrowing the book and having a read, if only for the sake of the ray.