Teacup Rays

[Suprised]

I placed a request at an LFS for 1 teacup ray that I will have by the end of the week. I would really appreciate any advice or tips on caring for these interesting little animals. Nothing specific just anything at all you think i should know about my first stingray.

 

[Fruitbat]

Most freshwater stingrays are found in the rivers of South America. They need a fairly fine substrate because they will typically bury themselves in it for the majority of the day. A relatively thin layer of well-washed kids play sand or fine gravel will work. Avoid any coarse gravels. One of the most difficult things with rays is to get them to eat. Try bloodworms, thawed, uncooked shrimp, fresh clam meat and live ghost shrimp to entice them. Once your ray has started eating you should be in good shape. Since the rays are riverine fish they will appreciate a little current flowing through the tank. They prefer (but don't require) neutral to slightly acidic water and the same temperatures as you would normally give to tropical fish.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sati]

I guess I learned something new today. I didn't know there were freshwater rays... although I had never thought about it either

What's the latin name for a teacup ray?

 

[Fruitbat]

Actually....most stingray keeps use the term 'teacup ray' to describe any young ray, so there's no telling exactly what kind Surprised is going to be surprised with. Most freshwater rays belong to the genus Potamotrygon. There are some people who refer to the Reticulated Stingray, Potamotrygon reticulata as the 'Teacup Ray' so that may be what Surprised gets.

Another thing I forgot to mention in the post above....and this is IMPORTANT!!!

The spines of the freshwater stingrays are just as poisonous as those on their saltwater cousins...and in some cases even worse. These are NOT fish to be trifled with! In areas where freshwater stingrays are common they are MUCH more feared than piranhas or poisonous snakes. Some of the symptoms associated with freshwater stingray envenomation include: severe (!!!) local pain and swelling, heavy bleeding from the site of the wound, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, heavy perspiration, generalized muscle cramps, uncontrolled muscle twitching, abdominal pain, seizures, sudden drop in blood pressure and (on occasion) paralysis.

Should you ever be stung by one of these fish...a commonly used (and effective) first aid treatment is to immerse the affected limb in hot water...as hot as the patient can stand but not hot enough to cause burns... or apply a heat pack directly to the site of the sting. This is supposed to give fairly rapid relief from the major pain and may help to denature some of the venom. Medical treatment is essential, even without the more severe symptoms. Infection at the site of the sting is not common, but if it does occur it has a tendency to be quite bad.

A site that has some nice pictures and pretty good descriptions of these rays can be found at:

http://www.tcp-ip.or.jp/~y-miura/fws/Esyurui.html

 

[Sati]

Oh good god.... now the ray is sounding a lot less cool, lol :?

Thanks for the info! Nice pics on that site

 

[Fruitbat]

Lest you get TOO bad an image....I kept a beautiful Potamotrygon motoro many years ago and found him to be a very docile fish. He was 'tamed' to the point where he would come up to the surface of the water and take bits of shrimp or clam from my fingers. I just made absolutely sure that I kept my hands FAR away from the business end of that ray...especially when I was cleaning his tank. It is hilarious to listen to a stingray 'slurp' at the water surface waiting to be fed.....they are NOISY!!!

 

[Linsay]

Oh good god.... now the ray is sounding a lot less cool, lol :?

Yikes I totally agree - think I will skip one! 8O

 

[Raimeiken]

so hold on here, you ordered a ray and you didn't even research about them first? How big is your tank? most FW rays grow to about a meter. Some maybe smaller but they will still need a big tank. I've read from some forums that you can get the stinger cut out, not the tail. Dunno but there are lots of ray fanatics at www.arofanatics.com go to there forums and you'll see one thread in there that has like 16,000 replies about rays or something.

 

[eemcg]

My ray has been fairly easy, I have a reticulated red caqueta in a 150 and he is delightful. Perfectly tame, I even hand feed Jim as well. Take a scoop or black worms (he is picky and will eat only these and feeder fish) and cup your hand at the bottom, mine just comes right up i
To me. He will follow my and around the tank when I am aquascaping. He is the best fish I've ever had the pleasure of having. I also came into owning one without any knowledge but was lucky to have good stock and a very knowledgeable owner of a LFS around here. Also I wanted to note that i tried kids play sand and I could never get it to settle, waited a week.

 

[uscamaro]

My ray has been fairly easy, I have a reticulated red caqueta in a 150 and he is delightful. Perfectly tame, I even hand feed Jim as well. Take a scoop or black worms (he is picky and will eat only these and feeder fish) and cup your hand at the bottom, mine just comes right up i
To me. He will follow my and around the tank when I am aquascaping. He is the best fish I've ever had the pleasure of having. I also came into owning one without any knowledge but was lucky to have good stock and a very knowledgeable owner of a LFS around here. Also I wanted to note that i tried kids play sand and I could never get it to settle, waited a week.

What made you bring up a thread from 5 years ago?

 

[eemcg]

I wasn't paying attention to the date. Oops!