Cortez Ray in a reef

jbechel

New member
Hello I was wondering if anyone had afdvice on a Cortez stingray I have in my 120 reef aquarium there is plenty of sand bottom they are doing great the guy at the lfs told me I would be fine and would be lucky if they grew another inch or do they are about 5-7 inches now any advice or opinions would be great
 
Hello I was wondering if anyone had afdvice on a Cortez stingray I have in my 120 reef aquarium there is plenty of sand bottom they are doing great the guy at the lfs told me I would be fine and would be lucky if they grew another inch or do they are about 5-7 inches now any advice or opinions would be great


PLEASE DO NOT!!!! An empty 120 wouldnt provide enough room, no less one with rock in it. Get it a bigger home with a bigger footprint.
 
I haven't kept these, but saw some in a LFS last week. According to fishbase, maximum TL is 42 cm, typical TL is 30 cm. These rays are very active. I don't think I'd put them in anything less than a 6' tank, at least 2' wide, with 3' wide even better.
 
They? I think he has more then one. I'd find them bigger homes,or upgrade to a 6x3 foot print (marineland 300 DD would be perfect).
 
Sorry I meant one I have a 180 reef to move it to as it grows then a 540 predator tank but it currently has triggers so I'm hoping it all works out
 
This is a terrible plan. I, having kept stingrays before can tell you this will not work out. Cortez stingrays will be fine in a 6 foot x 2 foot tank with no rock work for a year or two if they start out as small as a teacup saucer, but they really need the 6 foot x 3 foot tank long term. For stingrays, one shouldn't look at gallonage; that is nonsense. They should look at the foot print and I feel one Cortez ray needs at least a 6x3 foot print (clear of live rock and with a very fine sand bottom) to live out a happy life.

Countless times I see my LFS put stingrays in with puffers/triggers and this is the ultimate no no. Puffers/triggers are very curious/hungry animals and most of the time bite off the stingray's eye and take big chunks out of their discs. Please do not put a stingray in with a puffer/trigger.

As for reefs, I have found great success in keeping coral with elasmobranchs. It is just important to remember that if you do so, it is the elasmobranchs tank not a reef tank. One should have a bigger foot print if the wish to do this and the tank should still be mostly sand not mostly reef. What I did was have coral in the two back corners of the tank and the rest of the tank was oolitic sand. If one tries to keep coral in the tank they should remember not to get sensitive to touching coral (such as the elegance coral) or corals that are known to have a vicious sting (like hammerheads). They also obviously need high powered lights and good filtration (which they need anyway to keep the ray alive).
 
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