saltwater sting rays

[jrwagner]

I live in South Florida and all the local pet stores sell what they call blue spotted sting ray. Everyone that I talk to around in my area say that they are very hard to keep because they refuse to eat. Does anyone have any light they can shed on this matter. I bought a tank just for a sting ray but i want to ensure that i can keep it alive once I get one.

[Zoodiver]

You've heard right. They are hard to keep. I've tried a few over the years and never had what I would call 'success' with one. They won't eat 99% of the time once they are in captivity. I think space is also an issue, but have never been able to prove it. They move a lot in the wild, more than most bottom dwelling rays. Like most rays, the more bottom area they have, the better....but even more so.

The ones I did get to eat would only eat squid tenticles for some reason.

[Oddball]

Zoodiver nailed it. The blue-spot is one of the most sensitive rays to keep in captivity. They tolerate no free-floating bacteria in the water column which is difficult to duplicate in an aquarium without good UV. They also don't ship well due to a higher DO requirement. You have a chance of keeping one successfully if you can meet the DO and UV requirements. And, have an already well-established system to put them in. Putting one of these rays into a new setup is just asking for the worst.

[jrwagner]

So, what you are saying is that if I am confident that the water quality is good there is a super huge risk that they still wont eat? Is there another sting ray that is more hardy that can be optained for aquaruims?

[Zoodiver]

I would say almost any of the smaller rays will do better for you in captivity.

[Konrade]

You could try a freshwater stingray, they are cool.

[Princley]

You could try a freshwater stingray, they are cool.
yes doing a fresh water ray would be a great start move onward from there, all ray need lots of good loving

[prm]

Theres two different rays with blue spots. Dasyatis Kuhlii(Bluespot stingray) which is easier to keep than Taeniura lymma(Bluespot ribbontail stingray)

[Ornatapinnis]

THis topic was covered a few months ago. I would strongly suggest against trying to keep a blue spotted stingray. They simply do not do well in captivity and should be left in the ocean.

THere are many other species of stingray that are fairly easy to keep. If you live near the ocean there are at least two species you could catch for free and keep alive in your aquarium. The common atlantic is fairly easy to find and pretty easy to keep. If you can catch a small southern you could keep it for a while but would need to release it after a while because of how big they get. Another good one from down that way is the yellow ray. These are attractive stingrays that don't get huge. I don't know if these occour where you live but any decent saltwater shop can get them at a fair price. THere are west coast rays like the california or the cortex ray that are great little guys to keep but they might not tolorate how warm your aquarium water could get down in south florida. If you can keep it under 78 or so you might be ok with them.

Also, all stingrays are water quality sensitive. Your aquarium will need to be fully established and stable before adding a ray. THey get picked on very easily too so choose your tank mates carfully. THe acclimation process needs to be slow and gentile. Slowly adding water from your aquarium to the container you brought the ray home in is very important so you don't shock it.

If you need additional info, I'm happy to help. I have many years experiance with saltwater skates and rays (pm me)


Joel