Motoro size, 30 inches? really?

Tor-Eriik

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So this is a pretty common question when it comes to ray keeping, the size of the rays! When i say motoro, i also mean leopoldi and other similar rays. Over the last years i have had some different motoro rays, they were all kept in pretty large tanks, 600 gallon at first and then 1200. When i read around you read about 20 inches, 25 inches, 30 inches. But really? That must be the biggest motoro ever cought? And wildcought? None of the once i have had, has reached over 17 inches, timespan i 4-5 years. Kept from they were small.. I have had a sp peru tho, that reached that size, she was huge!

So i gues the question is then, what is really the most common size for these rays? I do know when purchasing a tank, you should take hight for how big they CAN get, but still.. When i talk about size i dont count the tale.
 

Blkpiranha

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Jun 8, 2007
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My female Henlei is getting close to 20" and is almost 30" long including the tail. My old motoros that I sold look to have grown to some pretty big sizes and probably over 20" now.
 

bonesb66

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I've had a Henlei at 24", my friend has a mantilla at 28"
I've saw photos of Motoro that looked very large, although i didn't see them in person.
I think it's very possible for these fish to hit 2' disc
 

T1KARMANN

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Sep 19, 2005
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I have seen a motoro over 30"
I have see Leo or bd over 24"
P14 are meant to get to 16-18 my biggest is over 20"

It's not just about tank size food plays a big part if you are only feeding every other day and once per day they may stay smaller also the type and amount of food


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Siddons11

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Sep 19, 2012
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The shedd aquarium has some massive rays. Easily over 24". uploadfromtaptalk1410435900038.jpg

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UnstoppableJayD

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Trev just gave away a big one last year... I do not remember off the top of my head... that being said I think 30 is the exception... as we all know most fish do not reach there potential wild size in captivity.
 

wednesday13

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I dont think anyone, or very few people actually keep them alive long enough to reach substantial size or max potential. Whos got a ray over 10-15yrs old even? I also believe not many have an appropriate tank to grow a ray that size. 500-1500 gal isnt enough volume to grow a ray that big imo...thats not that much space/water when it comes down to it. 8'x4'...10-12'x4' is a fart in the wind for a 30" fish imo. Granted some members come close with 20-24" rays in those footprints but id say they limit max sizes in home aquaria. Been a large catfish keeper pretty much my whole mfk existence and u cant get a cat over 30"-36" in the footprints ive listed. 500-1000 gal is a joke for a large catfish (rtc,tsn, - typical "monster cats") reported to hit 3-4'+. Where are they all lol? Even my 24-30" cats were unhappy in a "standard" ray tank 9'x4' footprint and stopped growing all together until being placed in a 12' diamater pool. Even then ive only reached the 36" mark on fish reported to grow much much larger. You guys need to up ur ray game if u want to see larger fish sizes lol...flame away i know, but keeping 3-6 rays or more in an 8'x4' will not produce a large fish due to water quality,hormones, lack of food for them all....etc... not saying its impossible but very unlikely given the circumstances. Theres a local zoo in Akron ohio with some of the largest reported motoros in captivity over 36" so there def. Out there... nothing can beat a very large volume of water and many years of time to achieve anything close to what these animals can hit in the wild. Just my 2 cents...dont hate on me too much lol... also i imagine motoros in the 24" or larger range kinda get lost since many cannot house them properly, they get put up for free and moved alot ultimatetly leading to their own demise.... ever seen a kid kept in a closet for half its life? They dont grow lol...sick sad world but it happens.
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T1KARMANN

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Sep 19, 2005
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I dont think anyone, or very few people actually keep them alive long enough to reach substantial size or max potential. Whos got a ray over 10-15yrs old even? I also believe not many have an appropriate tank to grow a ray that size. 500-1500 gal isnt enough volume to grow a ray that big imo...thats not that much space/water when it comes down to it. 8'x4'...10-12'x4' is a fart in the wind for a 30" fish imo. Granted some members come close with 20-24" rays in those footprints but id say they limit max sizes in home aquaria. Been a large catfish keeper pretty much my whole mfk existence and u cant get a cat over 30"-36" in the footprints ive listed. 500-1000 gal is a joke for a large catfish (rtc,tsn, - typical "monster cats") reported to hit 3-4'+. Where are they all lol? Even my 24-30" cats were unhappy in a "standard" ray tank 9'x4' footprint and stopped growing all together until being placed in a 12' diamater pool. Even then ive only reached the 36" mark on fish reported to grow much much larger. You guys need to up ur ray game if u want to see larger fish sizes lol...flame away i know, but keeping 3-6 rays or more in an 8'x4' will not produce a large fish due to water quality,hormones, lack of food for them all....etc... not saying its impossible but very unlikely given the circumstances. Theres a local zoo in Akron ohio with some of the largest reported motoros in captivity over 36" so there def. Out there... nothing can beat a very large volume of water and many years of time to achieve anything close to what these animals can hit in the wild. Just my 2 cents...dont hate on me too much lol... also i imagine motoros in the 24" or larger range kinda get lost since many cannot house them properly, they get put up for free and moved alot ultimatetly leading to their own demise.... ever seen a kid kept in a closet for half its life? They dont grow lol...sick sad world but it happens.
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Interesting you should say volume of water if someone runs a drip changing 300-400 gal per day on a 600 gal does that make the water volume bigger than the tank

I have also see rays kept in a tank to small for years then when they are placed in a bigger tank they explode with growth

Fish are stunted by the size of the tank a red tail cat can live it's whole life in a 2ft tank but it's life will not be that long


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