Let's talk Stingrays....

saltyguy51 said:
Yellow and California Rounds are your more hardy home aquaria ones, stay away from the Blue Spotted no matter how pretty they are. Rays need room to swim around and room without alot of rock. When one of these types are adult size I would have them in something no less 3'x6', I have a 10' round pond in my basement and they do well, now I know not everyone can not do that but I dont think alot of people should not have a ray. They become very personable in time letting you pet them and rubbing up against your hand.
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I have....terrible luck...my tank is 6' long and 2' wide... :( Real bummer, but I guess it's like the debates over Tangs...don't want to hurt a ray by putting it in too small a tank. Even if the tank is just a foot undersized.

Well, I'd still like to learn as much as possible on them just for future reference...what kinds of fish cannot be kept with them. And are any inverts safe? Can small lionfish go with them?

I still don't get why they are "expert only"? There has to be a reason that they are "expert only". Would be my worst nightmare to order one from somewhere that doesn't cover guarantees on them making it...and loose ____ amount of money.
I mean, if all they need is a big enough tank, to be fed once a day, and water params that would keep an invert alive, what makes them so hard to keep?
 
The bigger amount of water is always good, it's just not an option for everyone, I have an old house with a unfinished basement so if water gets on the floor "so what" I just do a water change at that time, I have approx 1000 gallons and when you get that size you pretty much have a pond and with enough rock (in 300 gallon sump) and sand in pond and sump it pretty much takes care of itself with out doing massive water changes. If you were to check into people with large system that keep elasmobranch's they dont do what most would expect in water changes, only when alot of the essential elements have be depleted or skimmed out. I really dont think that some of the hardier Rays are expert only like labeled unless you have never done salt, an experianced salt tanker can do them, I think though the smaller tanks are harder to keep in check.
 
I think as long as you have the proper set-up and general know-how of fish you would be okay to get one, but don't take this as "I have a 55 gallon tank, and I think stingrays r kewl so I should get one'...
 
Your welcome to have a couple of these. They get pretty big though. These little guys are about 6 inches across.

IMAG0065.jpg
 
Looked at Monster fish keepers...or whatever that site is, and I couldn't really understand how the site worked...so I gave up looking.
So, there is no ray small enough for a 210g tank? With the tank being 6ft long and 2ft wide?
Are Rays hard to get feeding?
And would one take down a small P. Volitans lion?
How big would the QT have to be for a ray?
How fine should the sand be, and how deep?
Do rays like caves/arches?
My main questions are the lionfish one, and the tank size. I'm not giving the lion up, and....well...bigger tank really isn't an option right now.
 
StephLionfish said:
So, there is no ray small enough for a 210g tank? With the tank being 6ft long and 2ft wide? Yes, that's plenty
Are Rays hard to get feeding? Majorly depends on the species
And would one take down a small P. Volitans lion? Possible, but mine hasn't
How big would the QT have to be for a ray? Not sure, I think it would be to stressful for them to QT b/c they like their sand and you wouldn't be able to copper, and have to use hypo...
How fine should the sand be, and how deep? Pretty fine, a few inches would be good, enough to bury itself
Do rays like caves/arches? Just like any other fish
My main questions are the lionfish one, and the tank size. I'm not giving the lion up, and....well...bigger tank really isn't an option right now.
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I might get flamed, but all my opinions. ;)
 
I never qt'ed my ray. And they don't really need a cave because they bury themselves in the sand. For your 6' tank you will want very limited live rock, and most of the filtration will be moved to the sump so get a large skimmer and a large sump so it can hold live rock. Aquascape with one or two small islands in the middle, but make sure you leave room for the ray to swim around both sides.. I would go at least 3-4" of the finest grade sand. Your livestock selection with the ray and that size of a tank is very limited. You could try either a purple tang or a yellow tang.
 
jjk_reef00 said:
I never qt'ed my ray. And they don't really need a cave because they bury themselves in the sand. For your 6' tank you will want very limited live rock, and most of the filtration will be moved to the sump so get a large skimmer and a large sump so it can hold live rock. Aquascape with one or two small islands in the middle, but make sure you leave room for the ray to swim around both sides.. I would go at least 3-4" of the finest grade sand. Your livestock selection with the ray and that size of a tank is very limited. You could try either a purple tang or a yellow tang.
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So, basically you're saying that really it's too small a tank. I was wanting to stack the rocks in two piles on either side of the back corners of the tank. So that would leave the whole middle/front section open water/sand space. But, I'm only going to have a 55g sump. Or maybe 75g...idk yet. And, I don't have anywhere else for the lionfish to go...and he's my favorite fish...so I'm not giving him up.

Super fine sand? Won't that cloud the tank up for two weeks or something when he digs into the sand? And how in the world would you have powerheads w/o blowing it all to one side...?

I was at the LFS today, and it was like he could READ my mind! I walked in, and he greeted me with a " Name any fish that you want us to get in, and we'll get it in." I said California Stingray, and he said he'd get one in easily....of course, I told him not to, cause I don't have a tank for one...but it made my craving for one so much stronger... He also said that if I picked it up the day it came in, he'd take 30% off the price... But, I was under the impression to not get one till I see it eat?

Another ques. regarding the sand: How do you keep nitrates down with the stingray digging around?
 
I've had my electric bullseye ray for 9 months now, which would make him 9 months and 2 days old. (got to love working at a LFS) and I've had my spotted ray for 3 months now.

It depends on the ray species, and the aquarium design. I have always liked long wide tanks that aren't to tall so its perfect. Just make sure it has about twice as much room to swim as you think it will need. mine are currently both in a 300g 72x48x20 with only three rock structures so there is lots of sand.

Things that have come in handy.

soak food in iodine every time

when they say a rough sand bed is bad, they mean it!!! I remove rubble and shells from my sand bed weekly

tangs, triggers, hawkfish, and many other fish will nip at their tails constantly causing them to stress

about a 2.5 inch sand bed works amazingly for me

get them eating krill out of your hand as soon as possible


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Pics were taken in my quarantine tank, they didn't like the sand bed at all and were moved to the main display as soon as they started eating frozen foods.
 
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wlyon said:
It depends on the ray species, and the aquarium design. I have always liked long wide tanks that aren't to tall so its perfect.
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I just want a small, non expert ray that can fit happily in my tank, and co-exist with my lion. My 210 is 72"x24"x28". But, it seems there isn't one... I would love to build something giant like a 2,000g stingray tank...but that's for the future me :D

wylon,
Is it just me, or does your second ray look shiny? lol Hand feed? That would be so awesome! Oh, and beautiful rays, btw.

Do Rays just not get ich or parasites like fish, or what's the deal on QT and Rays?
 
you could keep a small round ray in that size tank for a while, but i wouldny take a chance with a lionfish, I've heard of rays getting stung while gliding thru the water and touching the Lionfish, I have a 5 yr old California Round and shes around 11" across and 18" long, so just remember they get to that size in time, if you found a 4" one you could start there and make sure you see it eating a few times and a long acclimation is important. It's best to feed fresh seafood like shrimp, scallops, salmon, squid that can be purchased at your local grocery store, shrimp has enough iodine that you dont have to worry about a suppliment
 
My dad fell absolutely head over heels in love with a stingray at the lfs awhile ago (i couldnt help being a little smitten either :inlove: ). It was my solemn duty to break his heart and tell him we couldnt bring it home though. After reading this thread though, a stingray tank is starting to sound more and more viable. So a 6x3 tank would make a suitable LONG TERM home for a ray? (with the ray living comfortably and without the need to re-home when it reaches adult size). I may have to do some more searching on this.
 
I used to breed motoros for years, [FW species] and now have a blue spot in a indoor pond.

basically, they need FINE sand, I can not emphasize enough.

other tank mates to not pick at them.

LOW NO3. !!!!!

a ray, will never give up on food, if it does, itis time to start praying, and changing 50% water.
lol

salty guys advice sounds very good. and I got to say, some rays, have more personality than a dog !

dont put rays in smaller tanks, I dont want to say these animals are more intelligent, but they do show when they are in small space ! if you see your ray going in circles, know your tank is way to small.

HTH,

PS. LPS sting the XXXXXXX out of rays !
 
Allmost said:
I used to breed motoros for years, [FW species] and now have a blue spot in a indoor pond.

basically, they need FINE sand, I can not emphasize enough.

other tank mates to not pick at them.

LOW NO3. !!!!!

a ray, will never give up on food, if it does, itis time to start praying, and changing 50% water.
lol

salty guys advice sounds very good. and I got to say, some rays, have more personality than a dog !

dont put rays in smaller tanks, I dont want to say these animals are more intelligent, but they do show when they are in small space ! if you see your ray going in circles, know your tank is way to small.

HTH,

PS. LPS sting the XXXXXXX out of rays !
Click to expand...

maybe your ray is going in circles if you have a round pool/pond:lolspin:
 
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