Velvet fungus and stingrays?

sad to say but two of my stingrays have caught the velvet fungus....one of them(a female motoro) looks really sick and was bleeding over her body, the second (male motoro) has white patches over its left and right side. i was told by a trusted aquarium shop owner to add some aquarium salt and aquaclear and hope for the best (tho he also told me theres only a slim chance of recovery)....now, six hours later, the light bleeding\red sore has stopped and is covered with some white slime...but she looks a little better.....what is velvet?...how did i get it(no new fish)? any solutions? any preventatives? i was told it might even come from the store bought frozen krill or silversides.Velvet fungus and stingrays?
Velvet and fungus are two separate conditions. Velvet is a parasite that appears like a white powder, but the color changes to rust/gold when under a bright light. ';Fungus'; really isn't a fungus although it was once considered that. This rarely attacks healthy fish - it's opportunistic if there's a wound already or if the fish's immune system is weakened by poor water quality, improper temperature, pH, etc. There's a third possibility, called Columnaris, and this is a bacterial condition, although it appears more fungus-like. Without seeing your rays, it's difficult knowing which one you're dealing with.





If what your rays have is ';fuzzy'; in appearance, it's more likely one of the last two. In the body ';fungus';, the individual filaments should be distinct. The outline of the infection is generally irregular. This would be treatable with salt, although you also want to keep your water quality as good as possible. Double check things like the ammonia and nitrite levels, temperature, and make sure your rays are on an appropriate substrate - if they're attempting to burrow into a large or rough substrate, they may be injuring their skin, and the fungus is attacking open open wounds.





If this is Columnaris, the filaments will be more matted so you won't be able to make out individual filaments. The infection outline will be roughly circular. This also seems more likely of the conditions as the central portion of the infection often becomes a open red sore, with the ';fuzzy'; filaments just around the perimeter. Since this is a bacterial condition, salt doesn't have that much effect. Generally, an anitbiotic (Nifurpirinol, brand names of Binox or Furanace) is used, but rays can be sensitive to medications.





I've never kept freshwater rays myself, so I don't know that the above medications are appropriate for them. I'm going to forward this question to another user (Magicman - you can also contact him directly through his profile [see the 10 ten answerers in the fish forum]) who owns freshwater rays himself, and see if he can give you additional advice. Just in case he doesn't answer, I would suggest that you also ask your question at this website: http://www.wetwebmedia.comVelvet fungus and stingrays?
I TOLD YOU BEFORE NOT TO GET THEM they are simply too hard to care for for someone of your status (i can tell because ive been tracking your posts I KNEW YOU WOULDENT LISTEN you cand just dive into stingrays i myself took in 20 hours of research just because