Blue spot/ribbonytail sting ray?

[Blown 346]

I have been looking into getting one of the blue spotted/ribbon tail sting rays.

I have a store by me that has 2 of them, I have been to several differnt sites that give differnt info on them.

One said they are pretty easy to care for once you get them to eat( the store that has them hand feeds). They also say that a 75 gallon or larger tank at minimum should be used.

The other site says they are medium to somewhat difficult, and they should be kept in a tank of over 100 gallons.

I have a 125(6 foot) that they would go in.

Basically Im asking for any advice or what info you have on them. I want to make sure they will be comfortable with the tanks size, and how difficult they really are to keep.

Thanks,Mike

 

[Blown 346]

After searching I have found that the ribbon tail ray is a no. What about the yellow ray or other smaller species?

 

[rkelman]

I would class Rays with sharks. Leave them in the ocean completely. They just typically die in captivity. It may take years but they steadily decline over time. Its too bad they are beautiful. Just my opinion for what its worth

 

[Blown 346]

That's what I was leaning towards after doing some research. I thought I would give it a shot, maybe there would have been a ray that would stay small enough to keep. Thanks.

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11113294#post11113294 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
I would class Rays with sharks. Leave them in the ocean completely. They just typically die in captivity. It may take years but they steadily decline over time. Its too bad they are beautiful. Just my opinion for what its worth

Well, that's a bit of a generalization. Several shark species lead very long lives in captivity and breed readily. That said, these are mostly public aquariums. Most home aquaria are not equipped for sharks or rays.

 

[rkelman]

"Well, that's a bit of a generalization. Several shark species lead very long lives in captivity and breed readily. That said, these are mostly public aquariums. Most home aquaria are not equipped for sharks or rays."

We are talking about Home aquaria.

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11119429#post11119429 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
[B
We are talking about Home aquaria. [/B]

Don't underestimate what some people have in their homes :eek2:

Please note that I was simply trying to clarify that "in captivity" isn't the reason many sharks/rays don't do well, it is "improper captivity".