Need help w/ my Cali Ray

[hotrod]

I woke up this morning and my male Cali Ray looks like it stubbed its nose on something. The very front tip is red (a dot about 2-3mm) and it is keeping its nose of the ground. I dont think it is curled disc since it is only the nose. He is also breathing about 2x as fast as normal. I tried feeding it and it would not take. Also, it is just sitting on top of the substrate instead of burying itself like normal.
I would hate to lose him, so any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Kyle

 

[slcfish]

You might want to seek the advice of psusocr1. I'm pretty sure he has two Cali rays, and would probably be the best person to ask.
Good luck.

 

[hotrod]

It's skin is starting to look blotchy and when it is swimming it is getting pushed around by the current more than it is swimming.

 

[hotrod]

Well its too late. He is now dead. I dont really understand what it could be since i would think a parasite or bacterial infection would have noticeable symptoms that would last longer.
Now my female is all alone.
If anybody has an idea of what happened please let me know. I would hate for this to happen to my female.

 

[psusocr1]

same things happened to mine.. if i learned anythign from keeping calis its that they will be alright in warmer water but without a chiller they will eventually get a tiny white parasite that i have not been able to find how to treat , those blotches are from the parasite i beleive and shortly after they will die.. my rays where just like that until i got them in a cloldwater system, they quickly fought off the parasite and are fine in the coldwater system now! without that though they are doomed. thats how it will start though
1. blotches
2. spreading of the blotches
3. slowly stops eating
4. wont bury itself anymore
and 5. unfortunatly a sure death
sorry to hear about your ray also what size tank, how much live rock? especially what tankmates and water parametes

 

[hotrod]

its a 6'x1.5' "pond", 50lbs live rock, its tankmates were a female cali ray, and a brownbanded shark. the temp in my tank almost never gets over 77 and is generally around 76.0, is that not cold enough? i dont really have the funds for a chiller so if that isnt cold enough i am going to have to return the ray to the fish store.

 

[psusocr1]

unfortunatly 54-72 degrees is their best temp to be kept at.. thats why their fine and all of a sudden they just stop..i hope im helping , your not the only one this happened to.

 

[tony detroit]

I had mine close to 2 years running mid 70's. Probably 74ish most of the time.
Looking back on it, there's a lot of coldwater stuff you can keep at warmer temps, but it isn't that great for the animals.
Have you thought about putting a fan on your sump/pond, etc.?
You can drop 5 degrees off with a good amound of airflow and reduced lighting. You'd be surprised if you haven't already tried it.
Do you feed a good diet, keep good water?
tony

 

[hotrod]

You are definetely helping and i greatly appreciate it. Looks like i will be taking the female back tomorrow

 

[psusocr1]

hey tony ,
good to have your eperience around
i have my male and female for close to a year now if not more with the male a little less with the female, butr i had to put them into coldwater tanks or i think they would have died, they tolerate it for awhile but dont really enjoy it over along period of time from my experience

 

[hotrod]

i dont think i could drop it enough. i could keep it that cold now since its winter but during the summer around here (Lubbock, tx) It would be impossible to keep that cool.