Decision on Rays

[dougefresh]

In mid-July I am going to get a new tank for my birthday....my parents are buying it.......it will be within the 100gal.- 135gal. range.......i REALLY want a stingray.......i have been gettin information from online and books for the past couple of months just for this whole thing........the big question is does anyone think this will be big enough for rays? a lot of the lfs around here sell teacups and that is what i am looking for.......will this be a big enough tank for life or no.......i'm looking towards gettin a hystrix or retic...........any suggestions would be great.............

[FishHeadSoup]

its my understanding that with teacups its a gamble what you are actually getting...

i also think that a 180g in best for rays. a 135 MIGHT work with SUPER filtration and no other tankmates, just my opinion...

[dougefresh]

yea sorry i didnt put that either......they'll be by themselves with 2-3 40% water changes a week........im looking on glasscages.com.....their 130gal. square doesnt look half bad for teacups 48 x 48 x 13..........

[FishHeadSoup]

since you are so close to a 180 would it be possible just to save for a month or two and get that instead?

just pay the difference to your parents perhaps?

[dougefresh]

possibly i dunno...........but i'll make the right choice when it comes to it.......i won't just go out and buy the rays........i guess i'll have to see when the time comes...........

[JD7.62]

You say you will do 3-4 40% water changes a week. Well once your parents see your water bill and after you get tired of it after a couple weeks I really think youll continue with that. Get the 180 with good filtration and weekly 30% water changes should be enough for a retic IMO. No other fish though!

[rallysman]

You say you will do 3-4 40% water changes a week. Well once your parents see your water bill and after you get tired of it after a couple weeks I really think youll continue with that. Get the 180 with good filtration and weekly 30% water changes should be enough for a retic IMO. No other fish though!
the water bill wont increase that much :grinno:

I change several hundred gallons a week and it has gone up MAYBE 5 bucks.
That being said, I agree with getting tired of doing water changes...thats where a drip system comes in handy:D

[Oddball]

Bear this in mind when your folks go looking for someone to blame for the utility costs. Delaware just had an across the board 3.5% water/sewer rate increase. Plus, another new increase of 2.5% was approved and starts this month. Delaware charges per cubic foot of use. With every other utility spiking right now, they may be hunting for a scapegoat.

[dougefresh]

You say you will do 3-4 40% water changes a week. Well once your parents see your water bill and after you get tired of it after a couple weeks I really think youll continue with that. Get the 180 with good filtration and weekly 30% water changes should be enough for a retic IMO. No other fish though!

na it shouldnt go up that much at all ........i would have to pay for it so it doesnt.........but yea thanks for the recommendations.......i still don't know what im going to do yet.....but thanks everyone.................

[rayman45]

i 6 foot 125 gal. would be great for 2-3 6-8" motoros.... they are your best bet for frist ray.. cheap.. and active.. and i think are beautiful...

as for a filter... get the tank drilled and go with a wet dry..... your best bet..

[Gman91]

the only trouble i would see with going from a 125 to a 180 is the price jump. I think its around a 150 dfference. I am about to order there 120 ( 4x2x2) or my teacup/ chcilids.

[Eric L]

I would think that a 48 by 48 tank would be awsome for any smaller disk rays. I keep a motoro and a histrix in a 180 gallon and I have trouble keeping the nitrates in check even with 2 large water changes a week. Electrity is the biggest utility cost for a large tank though. I calculated the cost for electricity for one all my aquariums, 2 180 gallons and a 125 gallon and it costs me about $1000 per year to heat and filter those things.

I just checked glasscages.com man and I dont know what kind of space you have man but a 96x24x24 240 gallon tank from them is only $20 more than a 48 x 48 x 13. I dont know what kind of space you have but if you want to keep small species of rays I think that tank would be better and you could keep more, maybe 2 or 3.

[dougefresh]

I just checked glasscages.com man and I dont know what kind of space you have man but a 96x24x24 240 gallon tank from them is only $20 more than a 48 x 48 x 13. I dont know what kind of space you have but if you want to keep small species of rays I think that tank would be better and you could keep more, maybe 2 or 3.

yea i've been looking for a while on glasscages......i absolutely don't have room for the 240 right now...........maybe in the next year or two......im not really looking for that many rays either though.....one maybe two if i have the room.....but whatever i do end up doing i wont do the dumb thing and get rays with too small of a tank.......ill keep you guys updated with what i end up doing..............

[tyson]

Hi there

You want to get a ray which has better resale value & pleasing on the eyes.

If stocks are available & within your price range, get a PDR / Black ray

[rayman45]

Hi there

You want to get a ray which has better resale value & pleasing on the eyes.

If stocks are available & within your price range, get a PDR / Black ray

HA pearls and black rays are almost unheard of in the us now :(

[Pangong_ilong]

Agreed. Pearls and black rays are unheard off here in the US. Go get a 125g THey're almist the same width as the 180g. Less water needed.