Freshwater Stingray?
- Thread starter born2lovefish
- Start date
- Status
Oh my goodness gracious, such hysterics. Makes one fear an outbreak of the vapors.
There is a difference of opinion out there as to whether a 75, or 125, is the minimum size. I chalk that up to the overkill school of hypercaution that pervades the past decade or two, in general.
As for "oh no, you MUST have water changes!", that's sheer nonsense.
With a ray, he's probably going to have sand. I wouldn't be surprised if he planted his tank, too.
If the particles are small, or the sand deep, and/or the tank is well-planted, he may be able to forgo regular water changes entirely. This would be a good thing.
You DO realize that water changes stress both fish and the tank ecosystem, right? They are, at best, a necessary evil, and therefore when not necessary, are simply harmful.
The anoxic conditions underlying a mud/sand bed, for example, can consume nitrates far more rapidly than they are produced, especially with the help of plants.
Because of the stingray's special body type and behavior, therefore, his ideal situation would be a planted sand/mud bed, and NO water changes except when special conditions called for it.
I've never seen one in a fish store that I'm willing to by fish from.
I don't know how far you're willing to drive, but Greentree Pet Center in Clarksville, IN, down by Louisville, might have them. I saw them there both times I went to that store. I have no clue how much they cost. But, keep my very first statement in mind if you decide to go there.
I don't know how far you're willing to drive, but Greentree Pet Center in Clarksville, IN, down by Louisville, might have them. I saw them there both times I went to that store. I have no clue how much they cost. But, keep my very first statement in mind if you decide to go there.
Oh wow! Did I ever miss something. I know you said you kept a ray before but don't take this the wrong way....This is B-A-D!
(5) clown loaches and a Motoro in a 75g. Way not cool.
I'm not bashing ya but here's just some friendly advice from one ray lover to another:
Minimum Footprint for a Retic: 6x2x2
Minimum Footprint for a Motoro: 6x3x2
Water must be kept in prestine condition with frequent and large water changes. The tank should not have decorations and either bare bottom or a nice layer of sand. Sand is much preferred.
As you know from your last ray...feeding can be real tricky at first. Over time, they can get used to hand feeding which is really, really cool.
To reiterate:
No, water changes are only called for if there is a chemical problem that cannot be treated any other way. Otherwise, they're more harm than good.
He is definitely using a large amount of sand; I suspect that he will have, in effect, a freshwater deep sand bed. Therefore, systematic water changes are very bad advice.
Kaz...are you serious? Again, don't take this the wrong way, but this is obviously spoken from someone with 0 experience or knowledge of the world of stingrays. My apologies if that offends anyone.
Best thing I will say to this is no comment. But please do much more research on this. There are many other knowledgable people that can lend friendly advice as well. So just don't take my word for it.
Also check out ]v[onsterFishKeepers.com. You'll find great info there as well.
Rays are wonderfull and majestic creatures. It takes a lot of care to properly house one.
Yes, but precisely what it requires is not set in stone, it's an approximation.
Frequent water changes as gospel are, eventually, going to go the way of under-gravel filters and crushed coral. If the sand in one's tank is deep enough, it will set up anoxic conditions that will allow specialized bacteria to consume nitrates so rapidly that they will be undetectable in the tank.
For now, the whole "water change" thing has run so amok that people seriously do advocate changes at a certain interval, as if there were no down-side from doing so, instead of under specific conditions, which was always the only real standard.
You don't change the water in a tank every day, or week, or whatever; you change it when condition X is occurring, that is identified as having no alternative solution to a water change.
At one time, high nitrates were considered nearly insoluble, outside of water changes, but that's no longer the case.
kj5kb
KEEPER OF CATS, FISH AND CATFISHES
Hey guys....TEN posts to a thread that's almost four years old?
I think he's already got the ray by now.
Oops...I guess this makes 11....
I think he's already got the ray by now.
Oops...I guess this makes 11....
- Status
