I want a fresh water STING RAY -- Where ??? Advice ???
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Yes I can give you some information as I did research on them hoping to get one myself. This is what I found: One LFS sells them and I have talked with another LFS that refuses to sell them because of the difficulty in keeping them.
1) They are illegal to sell or own in many states so you would want to check that out first.
2) They need pristine water conditions as babies and if they survive to adulthood they will probably do fine.
3) They love live food and will eat most other fish in their tank. Most people keep them in species only tanks.
4) The tank needs to start at a minimum of 50 gln. and go up from there as they grow. I have seen some pictures of them in tanks and those tanks have all been in the 200 gln. range.
5) They do have stingers and can sting you and it can potentially be serious to you.
After all my research I decided that I will not get them as I personally can't/don't want to give them what they need to be healthy and happy.
I suggest you Google "Freshwater stingray" and you will find multiple sites to read and then you can decide if you want to get them.
1) They are illegal to sell or own in many states so you would want to check that out first.
2) They need pristine water conditions as babies and if they survive to adulthood they will probably do fine.
3) They love live food and will eat most other fish in their tank. Most people keep them in species only tanks.
4) The tank needs to start at a minimum of 50 gln. and go up from there as they grow. I have seen some pictures of them in tanks and those tanks have all been in the 200 gln. range.
5) They do have stingers and can sting you and it can potentially be serious to you.
After all my research I decided that I will not get them as I personally can't/don't want to give them what they need to be healthy and happy.
I suggest you Google "Freshwater stingray" and you will find multiple sites to read and then you can decide if you want to get them.
src
Aquarium Advice Freak
If you want one, come to Richmond Virginia. My local fish store has one in a 10 gallon tank. It's already about 8-10" across the body. Makes me sick. I'm not sure I will be visiting them again anytime soon.
Toirtis
God of primitive fishes
A FW ray is a big undertaking...most species get pretty large, so be thinking 125+ gallons, and even 'teacup' rays (usually P. reticulatus) gat large enough to want a 75 gallon wide tank for just a couple.
Rays are not inexpensive....expect to pay $40-$100 (depending on where you live) for the least expensive (usually the teacups), $120-$200 for a motoro (the most common of the more colourful tays), and more for many species.
Any tank that a ray goes into needs to have excellent water quality, be very stable as to water parameters, and be well cycled and seasoned. Sand substrate is a must (and not all sands are the correct type), and care must be taken when decorating the tank, from the type and amount of decorations to the placement of them.
Species tanks are best, although there are tankmates that are suitable, but again, these must be chosen very carefully, for their sake and the ray's.
A few members here keep and have kept FW rays, so if this is something you wish to pursue, please feel free to ask specific questions.
Rays are not inexpensive....expect to pay $40-$100 (depending on where you live) for the least expensive (usually the teacups), $120-$200 for a motoro (the most common of the more colourful tays), and more for many species.
Any tank that a ray goes into needs to have excellent water quality, be very stable as to water parameters, and be well cycled and seasoned. Sand substrate is a must (and not all sands are the correct type), and care must be taken when decorating the tank, from the type and amount of decorations to the placement of them.
Species tanks are best, although there are tankmates that are suitable, but again, these must be chosen very carefully, for their sake and the ray's.
A few members here keep and have kept FW rays, so if this is something you wish to pursue, please feel free to ask specific questions.
hc8719
Aquarium Advice Addict
this is a type of loach called a hillsdale loach or something, and it looks very similar to a stingray, but stays small
Those loaches are called Chinese Hillstream Loaches, Butterfly loaches or just Hillstream loach. Scientific name: Beaufortia kweichowensis. They grow to about 3" and can live in cold or warm water. The bigger need for them is a fast moving stream or current, like their native river environment. Most people use multiple power heads to achieve this. Although they tend to be good community fish the issue is can the other fish live with the water current? I know that people do keep them without the current but that's not natural for them and IMO we should try to keep our fish in as close to their natural environments as possible.
They are really cool and my LFS that advised me not to get the stingrays suggested the Hillstream loach as an alternative if I could get the water flow right. Unfortunately that doesn't fit in with my community tank so I've passed on the Hillstreams at this point.
Google "Hillstream loach" and you'll find multiple sites with good information if you so choose.
They are really cool and my LFS that advised me not to get the stingrays suggested the Hillstream loach as an alternative if I could get the water flow right. Unfortunately that doesn't fit in with my community tank so I've passed on the Hillstreams at this point.
Google "Hillstream loach" and you'll find multiple sites with good information if you so choose.
hc8719
Aquarium Advice Addict
you think putting them in a tank without a strong current is unnatural, try putting any fish in a tank to begin with is unnatural...
Jaybird
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Heh, you could go to Argentina 
The freshwater rays there get huuuge!!! When fishing, you occassionally hook one, and they are dangerous out of the water. Here is a link to a site where the have a picture of a 198kg ray http://www.pescaynauticaweb.com.ar/pinacoteca/pinacoteca_fotos1.htm
The freshwater rays there get huuuge!!! When fishing, you occassionally hook one, and they are dangerous out of the water. Here is a link to a site where the have a picture of a 198kg ray http://www.pescaynauticaweb.com.ar/pinacoteca/pinacoteca_fotos1.htm
That Hillstream loach sounds like a good alternative except the current issue like was mentioned. As for the regular rays I don't have a tank large enough ,yet, maybe some day.
That is a huge ray in the link, never been close to one that big. I dove with a few spotted eagle rays and lots of yellow and southern stingrays in Coz but never that big.
Thanks for the info and guidance.
That is a huge ray in the link, never been close to one that big. I dove with a few spotted eagle rays and lots of yellow and southern stingrays in Coz but never that big.
Thanks for the info and guidance.
greenmaji
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ive seen a few tanks with the the high current layout with fish that are approrate.
flamingonhot
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Cinder, i'd also like to point out that there's not only ONE species of hillstream loach. Hillstream loach is just a basic name given to a sub-family of loaches with many many members. Beaufortia kweichowensis is usually one of the most basic types seen in local lfs's. Multiple types of hillstream loaches look exactly alike, with only a little variation here and there in stripes and coloration, others look more like a shinese algae eater with large pectoral fins.
They are a great "poorman's stingray", very different from a stingray but one of the closest things you can get to it without having a tank around 180 gallons.
Don't trust any local lfs with your stingray unless you are sure they know what they're doing. Many couldn't even tell what type it is, or have it stuck on ghost shrimp or blackworms. Black worms and ghost shrimp are the most commonly accepted food items by smaller stingrays; sadly if fed constantly they'll ignore any other food you put in with them.
The biggest thing that annoys me is they don't know what type it is. Usually they just plaster a sticker on the tank saying " Teacup Stingray", sorry but that's a name used for ANY stingray in the 4 inch diameter area. The only stingray that's usually dubbed this name when NOT around 4 inches is Potomatrygon Reticulatus. It's usually best you look up the types after reading basic skills and get acquainted to each species and what it looks like if your buying from your lfs. Many types look slightly different when smaller and some will even look the same as another species.
Keeping them with tankmates is a tricky business, sometimes the fish will pick at the ray's disc or tail, sometimes the stingray will try to eat the fish. Personally i've kept mine with needlenose fish, jaguar cichlids, and larger bichirs for short periods of time with nothing bad coming out of it. It would of course probably be a different story if the stingray was fully grown.
My three basic tips for success in these:
1. Like said, have a very stable environment.
2. Have the biggest tank possible, starting at about 150 gallons for a full grown ( larger for flower rays, etc. ).
3. Order it offline from a REPUTABLE dealer. Don't go onto aquabid and bid on some 100 dollar stingray from some guy that's never on. There are plenty of forums and sites that have dealers that specialize in only stingrays or large tankbusters in general. Search for monster fish, predatory fish, etc.
They are a great "poorman's stingray", very different from a stingray but one of the closest things you can get to it without having a tank around 180 gallons.
Don't trust any local lfs with your stingray unless you are sure they know what they're doing. Many couldn't even tell what type it is, or have it stuck on ghost shrimp or blackworms. Black worms and ghost shrimp are the most commonly accepted food items by smaller stingrays; sadly if fed constantly they'll ignore any other food you put in with them.
The biggest thing that annoys me is they don't know what type it is. Usually they just plaster a sticker on the tank saying " Teacup Stingray", sorry but that's a name used for ANY stingray in the 4 inch diameter area. The only stingray that's usually dubbed this name when NOT around 4 inches is Potomatrygon Reticulatus. It's usually best you look up the types after reading basic skills and get acquainted to each species and what it looks like if your buying from your lfs. Many types look slightly different when smaller and some will even look the same as another species.
Keeping them with tankmates is a tricky business, sometimes the fish will pick at the ray's disc or tail, sometimes the stingray will try to eat the fish. Personally i've kept mine with needlenose fish, jaguar cichlids, and larger bichirs for short periods of time with nothing bad coming out of it. It would of course probably be a different story if the stingray was fully grown.
My three basic tips for success in these:
1. Like said, have a very stable environment.
2. Have the biggest tank possible, starting at about 150 gallons for a full grown ( larger for flower rays, etc. ).
3. Order it offline from a REPUTABLE dealer. Don't go onto aquabid and bid on some 100 dollar stingray from some guy that's never on. There are plenty of forums and sites that have dealers that specialize in only stingrays or large tankbusters in general. Search for monster fish, predatory fish, etc.
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