Hey all, my first time posting.
I've admired from afar for a while but now I have a reason to post for my own.
Long story short: I want a stingray. I've been obsessed since I was a little kid, and am just now in the financial situation to feel comfortable trying. I originally looked into getting a freshwater scobina ray, but I live in Florida, so it's a no-go. Not only is the Atlantic ray the most accessible to me, but it honestly is the one I really want. My LFS has them in 400 gallon freshwater display tank. It is FILLED with other fish, so I feel bad for these guys, but they really are the cutest to me and have the best personalities.
After doing weeks' worth of obsessive internet searches, I realize that they cannot be kept in a freshwater tank for any time. As it stands, I have an empty 125 gallon tank and stand that I would like to use as a starter tank to see if I can successfully rear a ray (they are sold here at about 4-5" disk). If I can keep it alive, I would most definitely upgrade to a 225 or higher wide acrylic. I don't really care about any other fish for a tank that size, so while cost isn't the biggest issue, it would be a waste to start off that size if it doesn't survive.
I do not want to purchase the ray with a trial and error approach. I want to feel as comfortable and confident as possible before the purchase, as the life of the animal is most important to me.
Some of my questions are:
1) I have freshwater tanks that are highly successful, but I have never kept a brackish or salt tank. Should I introduce the ray to a fully cycled freshwater tank, then slowly increase the salinity to brackish and then full marine?
2) What would the best filtration system be? I have two Emperor 400's but I was told to look into canisters, something I'm not familiar with in the least.
3) I use a high volume of plant life in my other tanks and they do an incredible job with water quality. What would be some good potted plants that I could utilize in a transitional environment?
4) I've read that CaribSea's Arag-Alive is the best substrate to use, is this okay during the entire transition or only with salt?
Thanks so much in advance!
I've admired from afar for a while but now I have a reason to post for my own.
Long story short: I want a stingray. I've been obsessed since I was a little kid, and am just now in the financial situation to feel comfortable trying. I originally looked into getting a freshwater scobina ray, but I live in Florida, so it's a no-go. Not only is the Atlantic ray the most accessible to me, but it honestly is the one I really want. My LFS has them in 400 gallon freshwater display tank. It is FILLED with other fish, so I feel bad for these guys, but they really are the cutest to me and have the best personalities.
After doing weeks' worth of obsessive internet searches, I realize that they cannot be kept in a freshwater tank for any time. As it stands, I have an empty 125 gallon tank and stand that I would like to use as a starter tank to see if I can successfully rear a ray (they are sold here at about 4-5" disk). If I can keep it alive, I would most definitely upgrade to a 225 or higher wide acrylic. I don't really care about any other fish for a tank that size, so while cost isn't the biggest issue, it would be a waste to start off that size if it doesn't survive.
I do not want to purchase the ray with a trial and error approach. I want to feel as comfortable and confident as possible before the purchase, as the life of the animal is most important to me.
Some of my questions are:
1) I have freshwater tanks that are highly successful, but I have never kept a brackish or salt tank. Should I introduce the ray to a fully cycled freshwater tank, then slowly increase the salinity to brackish and then full marine?
2) What would the best filtration system be? I have two Emperor 400's but I was told to look into canisters, something I'm not familiar with in the least.
3) I use a high volume of plant life in my other tanks and they do an incredible job with water quality. What would be some good potted plants that I could utilize in a transitional environment?
4) I've read that CaribSea's Arag-Alive is the best substrate to use, is this okay during the entire transition or only with salt?
Thanks so much in advance!