How to release newly transported rays into aquarium

Cirrus

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
I have been wondering lately how best to release freshwater stingrays into an aquarium. Some people use a drip method, some use a dump method. I decided to contact the guys at www.freshwaterstingray.nl and ask them:

Take 60% of the transport water out and add 30 % freshwater from your tank in, including the salt; watch the temp because the transport water will be +/-20 celcius , so it will be a lot colder ! But remember it is nicer to get a warm shower than a cold shower! Then every 10 minutes take out water from the boxes and add tankwater.

After 4 times put them in the tank lights out, surrounding lights in the room dim so the fish is on bright " moonlight " surrounding.
When they are starting to get active, start some feeding like red mosquito larvae or mysis, blackworms, small fish particles (not everything at the same time).
Be sure that they eat or remove after 1 hour and try again later.
Waterparameter 30/ 32 celcius
Ph. 7.5
Salinity. 5 gr sodium or sea salt /ltr
Nice current by a lot of airbubbles
Lights on after 3 days 50%
After 7 days 100%
lots of succes

PS - If you change the water too slow the chance for a nitratepeak in the transportboxes is very big by chemical reaction !!!
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I pretty much do the same thing as the response you got Theo. I open the bags when the rays come...let it sit in open air for 20-30mins. Afterwhich I add a few scoop of water from the existing tank into the bag....and leave in for another 10-15mins. I do this 3 times and then empty out most of the water in the bag that the rays are in so that you can lift the rays in....once in the tank I let them go right out....seems to have worked all the time I've done this....the entire process should take approx. an hour.....
 
I would keep an airstone in the bag with the ray(s) to keep the bag water's ph stable.
As co2 accumulates/dissolves in the bag water the ph will change as well (rise). So by having an airstone, hopefully it'll keep the ph level stable by introducing o2 at the same time. Just a thought...

It's probably unnecessary but for such expensive and hard to get specimens, I would take every procaution there is. I don't normally do much in terms of acclimation for regular fish.
 
yup....forgot to say that, once the bag is open I throw in an airstone in right away....

also keep a close eye on the cats!....so they don't have rays for dinner!
 
Regardless of what you do add prime to the water immediately upon opening. Pure oyygen will slow the ammonia toxifying the water and as soon as you release it the water can become toxic very quickly.

The air stone will help this as well and therefore if you dont trust prime then use the air stone.
 
rudy said:
Regardless of what you do add prime to the water immediately upon opening. Pure oyygen will slow the ammonia toxifying the water and as soon as you release it the water can become toxic very quickly.

The air stone will help this as well and therefore if you dont trust prime then use the air stone.
Click to expand...

Yes that's right, thanks for adding Prime. It's very usefull.
 
I did the "dump" method with no problems a few days ago.

temperature match and then took the ray out with my hands and into the tank...
 
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