Stingrays

[stratmaster]

Who can fill me in about Stingrays? I had one before about 7 years ago but it ended up dead due to my non experienced self. But I really really liked it's personality and now that I'm to say starting from scratch due to my massive fish death, once my tank is set to go (waiting the 21 days for the ick problem) is a 100 gallon tank big enough for a ray? Anyone here actually have a ray? And from my past experience with one they're super sensitive to nitrates. Is this true?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Flake]

From what i've read, rays need tanks with a fairly large footprint so they have plenty of space to swim around. I'd think gallon size would be less important than the dimensions. I would think a standard 100g tank would be too small.

What are the dimensions of your tank anyways?

 

[melosu58]

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Round Stingray

This one here says that it needs a 180 gallon minimum. If you notice it says for experts only. Usually when it says that there is no guarantee and even if it arrives dead you will not be reimbursed.

 

[stratmaster]

Yeah I definitely wouldn't order a Ray from the internet, I'd go into my LFS and have him order one for me so I could observe it first to make sure it's healthy and eats well. Oh yes I know Rays are for experts only rofl I found that out the hard way years ago. The nice thing about my tank is instead of being tall and short mine happens to be very very long and not so tall. It's 72 inches I believe length wise and I believe 24 inches wide. I've heard they prefer length over height and width so I do have that going for me. I'm gonna think about it but I'd really like to give it a go, I think now over the past 7 years since my first Ray I've learned a whole lot.

Steve

 

[melosu58]

Well you should know alot about them then. At least more than I do. Remember they need lots of sandy substrate also.

 

[stratmaster]

Actually no I really don't rofl, in fact I was 13 when I got that stringray and so inexperienced without the funds to even do an aquarium! Lol I don't even know what I was thinking, and to this day I still miss my stingray. I would like to try it once again, I just want to make sure my tank is large enough to keep it with it being happy ya know? I wonder if there's any books on them? I am very bad at searching on the internet and couldn't find hardly anything on care for them.

Steve

 

[ccCapt]

This may help.

BatoidFAQs
A few quotes from the FAQ...
Stingrays
Is there a small type of ray that will fit in my 12 inch in diameter and 39 in length? <No... no... and no... this aquarium is probably less than 55 gallons. You would need at least 30" wide aquarium...that is at least 6-8ft in length to house even the smallest of rays. IanB>

"Urolophus halleri?
Hey guys, I was wondering if Urolophus halleri was a cool water or tropical species? LiveAquaria.com has it as a tropical (72 - 78) but I've heard that it's a cool water also.
<It's found from Northern CA, where temps are around 50-55, all the way down to Panama. Keep in mind though that most individuals in the trade are likely coming from warm waters and may need to be acclimated slowly.> "

"Blue-spotted Stingray tank?
Hi, I am planning on building atank for stingrays - dimensions - 7 ft long x 3 feet wide x 2 ft high,
<hmmm... just one small specimen hopefully. Very little rock in the display too... soft substrates (1 mm sand grain size)... heavy filtration... ozone use too perhaps>
how many gallons is this and is this
<LXWXH in feet X the multiple 7.4 (galls of water in a cubic foot) = 310 gallons>
sufficient for 1 stingray w/no tankmates to live out his life?
<yes... several species could I believe. One specimen only though>
It would house possibly Urolophus halleri (cool water?)
<eh... I'm inclined not to recommend temperate species... harder to keep. More expensive usually too>
but I would really like Dasyatis kuhlii,
<an excellent choice!>
although I cannot find anybody that sells it.
<do put a special request in with rare fish collectors like the LFS oldtownaquarium.com in Chicago. They seek the rarest of the rare every week and ship nationwide.>
My LFS has a Taeniura lymna but I think I should look for a different species.
<Yikes! What a horrible species for captivity! I'm truly sorry to see it even offered Please avoid this one my friend>
What is a good ray that would happily live in this tank? Thanks!
<your first choice for blue spotted ray was quite excellent. Dasyatis kuhlii is an aquarium-use species of merit and beauty. Pasted below is the caption we will likely use for this fish in contrast to the other dreadful species mentioned above:
**What a difference a genus makes! Dasyatis kuhlii (Muller & Henle 1841) is also known as the Blue-Spotted Stingray (or Kuhl's Ray). Like Taeniura lymna, this ray of shared common namesake is also found throughout the Indo-West Pacific, including the Red Sea. Growing somewhat larger, to twenty inches in width (50 cm) with the same electric blue spots, this species on the contrary makes an excellent aquarium specimen. They are reef associated and feed mostly on crustaceans with a tolerance for home-prepared substitutes (cocktail shrimp, packaged krill, etc.). What they lack in number of blue spots compared to the Ribbontail Ray, they make up for in hardiness, survivability and grace. Other common meats of marine origin are accepted readily like fish, Mysids, and squid, as well as commercial frozen shark food formulas and live feeder shrimp and crabs. A Best Bet elasmobranch. Venomous – pictured here off Heron Island, Australia.**
[from the Natural Marine Aquarium Vol. 2 part one, "Reef Fishes" by Robert Fenner and Anthony Calfo (2005)]
best regards, Anthony> "

"Bat Ray?
Bob, I wish to purchase a bat ray (4-5"'s) for my home 180 gal tank. Please email me with specifics. Bo Siryj
<Specifics? I have never seen a bat ray offered for sale that was less than eighteen or so inches wide... these animals get too large for your system. Bob Fenner> "

 

[Innovator]

No, 100g is not enough room for any stingray. IME with having kept freshwater and saltwater stingrays you would need to purchase a custom tank of at least 500g and more along the lines of 1000g+ for multiples and eventual long-term development. Most of your books grossly undersize display requirements with just allowing the animal to turn and redirect movement once matured.

 

[stratmaster]

How about if it was a real small ray and with in a year or so I upgraded to a much larger system? I do plan on it but for now I just wanted to see how taking care of the ray would be. Again I don't even know if I'm going to get one at this point, just doing my research. It's funny though, I don't know if people just lie to get you to buy them or their just stupid? Everyone I've talked to (including Ray owners) said you could get by with a 180 gallon tank. Not to mention all of the numerous videos of youtube of Ray owners with tiny tanks, it's ridiculous really a 75 gallon?

I figured considering my tank was much longer and wider then taller a ray might be happy in there, height is nothing to keep a ray right?

Not to mention I heard there are Rays like the California Ray or the Blue Spotted Ray that will stay on the smaller side in captivity. I'll have to see what my LFS says.... he's a marine biologist so he'd probably know more then anyone.

 

[Innovator]

Getting by doesn't cut it, which is why I never recommend aquarists house fw or sw stingrays because they are usually unable to properly keep and care for them. Rays stress very easily and in small displays they become aggressive due to it and that poses safety concerns for you and the animal. If it were me, save what you can and purchase the right tank once.

You are correct that rays do prefer a length x width tank versus height, but they will scale upwards throughout the day if the space allows for it. Your common Cortez round stingray, Urobatis maculatus, will achieve 16" in time and yes that is fairly small. Push come to shove a 180g (72x24x24) will suffice for a while unless you eventually want breeding adults. Most other rays will require a larger tank and especially since 1 ray is never enough. Of course, this is just my opinion.

 

[stratmaster]

I didn't mean getting by, I ment just as you said a 180 gallon would be sufficent enough. I do not plan on keeping more then one Ray and I did have my heart set on a Blue spotted, Yellow spotted or California Ray and again I was told the Blue spotted and California stay on the smaller side. If this is true I don't know.

As I said I don't even know if I'll be getting one for sure, just seeing my options. I really don't feel like upgrading to a bigger system seeing as I just setup my refugium and all and dumped a ton of money into my current system. So I don't know, I guess we'll see. I'll keep you guys updated. Right now I'm just waiting for the 21 day period for the ick to die in my aquarium.

But you say they become aggressive if the aquarium is to small, eh?


Steve

 

[Etunes]

They also need quite a bit of space with no live rock. For swimming and burying themselves.

 

[Innovator]

The California stingray, Urobatis halleri, will reach over 21". The Bluespotted ribbontail ray, Taeniura lymma, will reach over 27". The Yellow/spotted stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis, will reach over 26". These would require a larger display than 180g. I personally like having some type of rockwork, even if just a backdrop to act as a reef fringe; otherwise the tank ends up looking rather stale, but this also requires more room to be taken up as well.

 

[ccCapt]

Right now I'm just waiting for the 21 day period for the ick to die in my aquarium.

Where did you hear ich will die off in 21 days?

I guess you didn't read the link I posted. It has pretty much all the info you may want to know on stingrays.

 

[stratmaster]

The marine biologist said since all of my fish were lost in my tank that if I wait 21 days the ick will die because it will not have a host (hence no fish) if this is true or not well I guess you only know the answer to that I'm just going by what my LFS said.

And yes sir I certainly did read the link you posted. I appreciate it but I don't like to go by just one source, I like to have multiple people involved in the opinion. But I guess it really doesn't matter anyway, I should start using my gut feeling as time goes on more instead of posting every little question or detail on here I guess, especially since I myself consider my aquarium to be large to handle a very small Calfornia Ray, at least for now. I even piled up some rock in the corners just so it didn't look so plain and then threw the rest of it in my refugium.

Steve

 

[Innovator]

For a while it could handle a very juvenile ray, but eventually you'll need to upgrade. By the way, cryptocaryon irritans has a 10-15 day life cycle at 78F; however, tomonts can release theronts 70+/- days after dropping from the fish and ultimately means any fallow tank could conceivably contain ich for 3mos. 30 days of hypo. for teleosts is a recommended rate based on the life cycle, unless you have particularly stubborn parasites. Of course, elasmobranches do not tolerate hypo....lovely huh XD

 

[stratmaster]

Well it's official.... I now am a proud owner of a California Ray! I'm gonna go pick it up Wednesday from another LFS around here I ordered it from. Woohoo, I'm so excited! I made sure to put about 70% of the LR in my refugium so the Ray will have plenty of swimming space and left about 30% of it just for looks and just in case I'd ever decide to get something else for the tank. (like an eel or something though I'm sure the Ray will need all the room for itself) definitely have the length for the Ray, 6 ft. is plenty IMO but the width is a tad small at 24" and not very high (though I don't think this will be to big a deal)
It is a juvenile so I have some time to keep my eyes peeled for a larger tank, definitely going to start searching though and boy is now the time! I see 200 and 250 gallon tanks for $200 and $300 on Ebay and craiglist all the time around me. Maybe I shouldn't wait, hehe.

Steve