stingrays
- Thread starter dino_eel
- Start date
Potamotrygon reticulata is one of the most common. It gets a 12" disc and a 12" tail, which means a tank of around 125 gallons (I think is the size); something with a long footprint (5+') and a minimum of 24" wide. They grow quickly so they cannot be kept in anything much smaller for long (around a yr). They will outgrow a tank, not stay stunted. They have very hearty appetites and require much food. You can find these priced from around 40 to almost 100 dollars. Most LFS's label them as teacups, but be sure of the scientific name (some FW species get to be 3-4') as a teacup is anything with a disc size of 4" or less.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
patoloco
De seguro no sabes lo que dice aqu
Stingray info:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/5590/ray.html
Good info. (I should start charging the site owner for referral to his site)
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/5590/ray.html
Good info. (I should start charging the site owner for referral to his site)
I kept a small "teacup" last year before I moved. Make sure you have a decent sized tank. My ray was kept in a 75 gallon tank. Depending on what and how much you feed them is what in my opinion determines the rate of growth. I did a water change EVERY week. I had my tank plumbed in to a 70 gallon water tank on the other side of the wall. I kept the water heated and I had the ph right. Every week I just switched a couple of valves and the water went out of the tank and to a sink in the other room. I switched a couple of ther valves and the water went from the water storage tank to my tank. It was a wonderful setup I must say. I give the credit to my dad for making it. Make sure you give your ray excellent water quality. Very important. I would try to stay away from feeding your ray feeder fish. I have also read that when you feed them a lot of goldfish it robs them of some vitamin that they need. The tank should be setup with a sand bottom. They love to hind in the sand. Do not put a very intense light on the tank. If you do your ray will probably spend most of its time hiding in the sand. The motoro if I am not mistaken stays fairly small and is moderately easy to care for. It is also suppose to be hardy. However, they usually cost a little more than the "teacups" Oh and make SURE you have a cover on your heater. The last thing you want is your ray getting BURNT by the heater. I actually am planning on getting another ray in about another month. I have sold my rainbows and am going to set my tank up for another ray. If you have any other questions feel free to email me at wildcatsw@yahoo.com. If I can not help you I will try to find someone that will be able to. Hope this helped
patoloco
De seguro no sabes lo que dice aqu
About the goldfish feeder fish: they contain a lot of an enzime that destroys B1 vitamin. So, if you feed them goldfish, you'll have to replenish this in the water. A book I got stated that the author would throw a dissolved 500mg pill of B1 vitamin every two weeks.
About burnings: the same author stated rays seem to be unable to sense hi temps, so Born2lovefish's advice is really good. Even better, it your tank setup includes a sump, put the heater(s) in the sump rather than the tank it self.
About burnings: the same author stated rays seem to be unable to sense hi temps, so Born2lovefish's advice is really good. Even better, it your tank setup includes a sump, put the heater(s) in the sump rather than the tank it self.
I would go for a retic. Make sure you have a big enough tank. Height isn't very important. I have 2 in a 6' x 3' tank. Having a sump is really helpful for putting in heaters and making sure that large volume of water has enough oxygen in it. Unless your tank is big enough I wouldn't put any decorations in it. Rays need the floor space to swim around and bury in the sand (Estes' sand was recommended to me). If the tank is big enough though, decorations make it look nicer and the rays will check them out (it was pretty amusing watching the little girl try to fit into a rock cave that was way smaller than her disc size).
I don't really see any reason to feed feeders at all. For one stingrays aren't particularily good at catching them. I was told that if you want to feed feeders you'd have to pinch the swim bladders on the fish, destroying it, so the fish would have to stay on the bottom where the stingray would be able to find it. Which is mean in my opinion and I was like ok no feeders for them. Anyways, they eat frozen bloodworms just fine and even eat meat pellets once they're soft enough to chew. When they get larger I'll feed them frozen fish.
Make sure you do lots of water changes. The most important thing about water chemistry is to keep it constant, even if it's a little hard and the pH is a little high. I have a similar setup to born2lovefish, hoses are connected to the bottom of the tank, I play with some valves, it drains into a drain, I play with some other valves, it fills up from the drums I have full of water (including heaters to keep it the right temp, and bubblers so it doesn't go stale). It makes doing water changes way easier and then you don't have to put your hands in the tank and risk getting stung.
I haven't had my rays very long so most of what I've said here is what I've read and gathered from other people. www.aquaticpredators.com have a good stingray forum. Anyways stingrays are fun and if you can accomodate them than it's worth it. They develop quite the personality. The little girl likes to go to the top and gulp air and then swim back to the bottom, then let the bubbles go and try to catch them again as they float to the top. It's quite amusing to watch.
I don't really see any reason to feed feeders at all. For one stingrays aren't particularily good at catching them. I was told that if you want to feed feeders you'd have to pinch the swim bladders on the fish, destroying it, so the fish would have to stay on the bottom where the stingray would be able to find it. Which is mean in my opinion and I was like ok no feeders for them. Anyways, they eat frozen bloodworms just fine and even eat meat pellets once they're soft enough to chew. When they get larger I'll feed them frozen fish.
Make sure you do lots of water changes. The most important thing about water chemistry is to keep it constant, even if it's a little hard and the pH is a little high. I have a similar setup to born2lovefish, hoses are connected to the bottom of the tank, I play with some valves, it drains into a drain, I play with some other valves, it fills up from the drums I have full of water (including heaters to keep it the right temp, and bubblers so it doesn't go stale). It makes doing water changes way easier and then you don't have to put your hands in the tank and risk getting stung.
I haven't had my rays very long so most of what I've said here is what I've read and gathered from other people. www.aquaticpredators.com have a good stingray forum. Anyways stingrays are fun and if you can accomodate them than it's worth it. They develop quite the personality. The little girl likes to go to the top and gulp air and then swim back to the bottom, then let the bubbles go and try to catch them again as they float to the top. It's quite amusing to watch.
patoloco said:
Thanks. I wonder if you have the same book. It is published by Barron and it is called Freshwarer Stingrays(Complete Pet Owner's Manual). It is under $10 and I found it to be extremely helpful. I would recommend it to anyone who is considering getting a ray.
hey im getting a stingray too. i would recomend a hystrix only because they get a little shorter tails or the retic get a little longer tails so need a little bigger tanks. i am ordering my custom 235 gallon tank tomorrow(60" by 36" by 25") those are L W H btw. make sure you get your ray from somewhere that has more than just 1 ray because they usually just get them in from time to time and you could never know what kind of ray it really is there is a site that sells hystix rays for $80. i would say a tank size of at least 4 feet long and at least 30" wide because if the ray gets 2 feet long it is gonna need that extra 6 inches to turn around and swim i was gonna get a 4 foot tank but decided 5 footer so i could get 2 rays eventually. your ray is gonna need a sandy bottom so it dosnt scratch itslef on the rocks. it also needs very clean water. i would recommend doulbe the filtration so if you have a 150 gallon tank 150 gallon filter getting a 300 gallon filter. sorryi if someone posted something like this didnt have time to read it all now. will post some more info later
good luck with your ray. ooh and that link patolco posted should be helpful.
after reading above most this info is posted. as said above MAKE SURE TO COVER THE HEATER. ooh ya the hystirx ray gets a disc size of about 12" to 14"
good luck with your ray. ooh and that link patolco posted should be helpful.
after reading above most this info is posted. as said above MAKE SURE TO COVER THE HEATER. ooh ya the hystirx ray gets a disc size of about 12" to 14"
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