new stingray owner & possible tank mates

2songbirds

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2009
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After many years of begging hubby, I've finally convinced him to let me get my first stingray. She's about 6" in diameter, a motoro, already eating. Now, things didn't go as planned in the tank she was intended for until the catfish grows out of the 125g or the ray grows big enough to go back into the 125g. So, for now, she's awaiting to be moved into the 75g later today hubby's getting out of storage, but she's safe in a temp home by herself. I'll be of course using the water from the 125g of course and dumping the filter media from one of those filters into the newly set up one (FX5)...now, I've 2 smaller tanks set up upstairs with small possible mates and need ideas of who I can put with the ray, and also who the ray won't eat.

In the 20g with the biggest HOB aquaclear filter I have
3 4" hoplo catfish
1 4" albino polypterus (over 4 years old, got as a tiny baby, never ate any fish, slow slow grower but real fat).
1 2" yellow and brown banded pleco (can't remember the name or number right now, but he's killed much bigger plecos and whiptails)
5" Leopirinus (? spelling?) he did only pick on a dojo loach when much younger...
5" Geo Cichlid-earthdigger, very peaceful, but mistakeningly found out eats little fish like the neons, thus the 5g tank
2 blood parrot fish
whiptail
2 Clown loaches...will NOT do well in sand. Had a group of 10, all died but one. PH got too high from sand, need gravel to keep ph lower.

In 5g elipse-
9 neons
4 red tetras
1 lime green big tetra
live freshwater clams

My idea is to combine fish so I can combine this combination...I have a combination of 5 running tanks, and setting the 75g back up makes 6 tanks!! Again, my hybrid catfish in the 125g was always calm over the years, and achara x tsn...but I guess he has a curiousity for rays. A curiousity I won't let him fulfill. Any insight on which fish I can keep with the rays would be appreciated! And, I did my homework before getting her!!!! I will of course HAVE to post a new thread, with pics of the setup later tonights exclaiming my new arrival as I'm soooo exited, but for now, I really need help please...
 

DIDYSIS

Mantilla Stingray
MFK Member
Feb 9, 2012
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West Jordan Utah
Congrats on the ray. Tank mates is always a guess some people have great luck others don't have any luck at all. You might know already but a 125 will not be a good tank for a female for very long. Your going to need a much much larger tank soon. Something in the monster category. Do you know how large a female motoro will get? With tank mates you have to watch out for them biting the stingrays tail. If I see it happen I move the fish out of there. Stingrays need a low stress environment. I have frontosas and geos with my rays and they are great. I would not keep tetras or anything like that as at night if they are on the bottom the ray might just snack on them. The fish need to have hiding area but you need to have a very very open bottom so the ray has lots of room. Clown loaches do well with sand and rays.

Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

2songbirds

Gambusia
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Jan 31, 2009
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yea, she was intended to go into the 125g as it's the "peaceful" tank that's growing out the larger fish to go into the 265g, but against the breeder's warnings, I misjudged the achara x tsn temperment as I've had him for 3/4 years now without too many incidents. We also have a 265g tank with the 2 cats in my sig and are in the making of building an indoor tank/pond for those bigger cats-still have to post the thread on that as hubby's done with the blueprints as it's going to be quite a bit bigger (won't spoil the fun here!) and is getting the materials-I thought the 265g was breaking down, turns out it needed a little bit of maintenance work, some silicone and I was able to walk into one of my LFS and compare the workmanship of another 265g of the silicone "job"...mine was almost perfect compared to that one! But, as for the ray, she's going into the 75g today as she's still a pup.

But, yes, thanks for the concern-I do know the motoro is the bigger species, that she's hardier, but will get 3 1/2 feet big roughly. I also read she's a great choice for beginners, thus more expensive as well. I *almost* went for hystrix, but went against my better judgement and walked out of the LFS, went on CL and found a local breeder who had a motoro. Plans are for using the tanks we have now as a "grow" out for her, like we did with the redtail and the achara cats...later can use the indoor pond for the ray, which will have dividers siliconed into the tank before we even fill it.

I know this is redundant, I appologize-I've read neons and tetras, and most of what I have in the smaller fish are a hit or miss. Leopirinus cichlid (long elagated body with yellow and black bands)? Small albino polypterus might get eaten being so small....The neons/tetras are my kids' fishes, amongst a couple others. Don't think they would forgive me, but they think the ray is beyond awesome!!

The school of my old loaches did awesome and thrived for years in the 125g that had gravel first, then later sand. I moved them into the 75g that had black sand. They started dying one by one. I assumed it was the sand causing the ph levels to changed as it was off the charts blue, only in the tanks with the sand. The 2 remaining loaches are small, 2-3", too small for this ray I fear...
 

2songbirds

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2009
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ok, well, she's settled in the 75g-used water from the 125g along with tap, we also used the FX5 from the FX5 since that was established bacteria load and put the FX5 from storage onto the 125g (have an fluval 404 already on the 125g). The stingray's tank shouldn't have any problem cycling since I basically borrowed everything from a bigger tank...As I'm on here right now, needing a break from bucket loads and helping my hubby move the tank out of storage, I'm getting ready to move other inhabitants into the tank now. It looks like an empty tank!!

I've decided I'm putting in there as tankmates for the stingray the Geo Cichlid, Leopurinus Cichlid, all 3 hoplos, albino polypterus (hoping he won't get eaten by the stingray) and the blood parrot cichlids...we'll see...
 
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2songbirds

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2009
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Honestly, I"ve no idea what the Leorinus was, cichlid didn't sound right, but couldn't remember. We had him since I thought he was gonna get sucked up in the Fluval 404, years ago. He only picked on the old dojo loach. Now, he just chills, but I said that about my hybrid cat in the 125g. As I'm in route of catching the guys and checking this forum while doing so, I"ll leave him in the 20g for now. Can't get rid of him as that's one of hubby's favorite fish too. I just really wanna tear down one tank, or at least downsize a filter upstairs, something. 6 tanks for me to care for, while hubby building one seems a bit much...keep in mind we've 3 guinea pigs, 2 dogs, oh yeah, 3 kids, lol...but, I've got my stingray!!!!!!
 

2songbirds

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2009
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Update- as I personally love them. Well, I transferred the fish from the 20g like I said I would from the 20g. One by one they went back to the 20g. 1st to go were the blood parrots. The last to go was the Geo cichlid. I felt like I had to trick the bleeper as he was staying close to the ray, who was under the sand. I shut off the light, then it happened. The Geo pecked at the ray's eyes. OUT he went. Ray is amazingly unharmed as I was there during the entire time with net in hand, but all the fish-both blood parrots, albino polypterus/bichir and Geo cichlid all attacked the stingray's eyes! Not the tail or anywhere else. The leopurinus just relentlessly went after the Geo, which he doesn't do in the 20g (?). Took him out as a precaution. All that's left in the tank with the ray are 3 hoplo catfish, busy lil cleaners, but not bothering the ray at all, although the ray keeps playing tag with them. I really wanted to try putting something in the tank from our stock of many, many fish, but I never thought that the fish would've went after the ray's eyes!! For anyone walking into the room, it looks like we just have 3 small catfish swimming around with 2 plants. I didn't put any caves in there yet as one side of the tank is shallow with sand, the other side is deeper, around 4" for her to burrow in-so much I can't find her at times. I also have 2 hoods on the tank. One hood is the one it came with, the other is a "nightlight" like I use with all the tanks, it's a hood from a 10g tank, so it allows just enough lighting for us to see her in, but not blinding for her.
 
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