FW Stingrays?

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jamesrm

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
Messages
235
I was at the LFS today and saw some beautiful FW stingrays. I was on lunch so didn't get to ask about them at the store, but has anyone had one of these before?

Are they a species only tank situation, or can you keep them with other fish? Any info would be appretiated.
 
i would think the would do best in a species tank. They like alot of tank floorspace and sand substrate. Thats all i know about them. I also know most need large tanks- i have seen some people keep them in very shallow indoor ponds which is a great idea.
 
Although they are very cool, they're also very demanding. They require a large tank with soft sand or a bare bottom. Young ones in captivity seldom live to adulthood.
 
I went to the lfs today and they had 2 teacup rays in with a school of small Discus in a 55. Personally, I would never get one considering how fragile they are. Mor eof a curiousity in a pet store than something to sink 100 dollras in. But, there are books dedicated to the how-tos on keeping on alive. They need a long tank with a sandy bottom. They eat worms and such; water must be kept pristine. Here's a link to a book on them:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_/002-7157258-1731206?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=stingrays
 
i posted a thread not too long ago about fw stingrays.

basically they get a little bigger in diameter than what even 75 gallon wouldn't be comfortable
they also get to be 10" long at least with the tail (tail is not the stinger, so you can't cut it off if anything, not that you would, i hope)
 
Rays need very large tanks with large footprints. A 36" wide tank thats at least 72" long (about 240 gal) would be okay for the smaller species of rays. A lot of people who keep rays don't have sandy-bottomed tanks; they just go bare bottom for easier maintenance. It's all preference. And I don't think they are too hard to keep (like not on discus level), but they are messy eaters and you would have to clean the tank often. Also, there are tons of fish compatible with rays; it doesn't have to be a species only tank. Aquatic Predators is a good website to go to if you want more info on rays.

HTH
 
Unfortunately, motoros are one of the easier to keep, common species, but do get rather large (28" disc), teacup retics can be touchy. All rays need very stable water conditions in a mature tank, and as mentioned sand/bare bottom, excellent filtration, very cardfully selected or no tankmates.
 
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