Stingray Curious...

[rich_one]

Next question:

Pool filter sand work as a substrate, and if so, how thick should it be?

-Rich

 

[rich_one]

I meant to say, how deep?

-Rich

 

[Zoodiver]

Depends on the type. Cheap silica sand isn't a great idea.

Depth will vary with opinion. I go with deep enough to cover the bottom without having it so deep as to create dead spots for junk to collect.

 

[rich_one]

Is there a preferred brand and color of sand?

-Rich

 

[UnstoppableJayD]

Is there a preferred brand and color of sand?

-Rich

I ve used pool sand and I am not a fan, it seemed to stick to the rays and wound up in the filters alot. thinner is better.

I like the carib sea brand sand which comes in different colors. The ray will change color depending on the substrate... so decide on a ray then color substrate

 

[rich_one]

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with either a hystrix or an aparicio. Or possibly a hybrid cross between the two.

-Rich

 

[rich_one]

Okay... so far, it'll be one gold severum, one red Oscar, and one ray (hystrix, aparicio, or hybrid of the two). Thinking about adding a female festae and a green or blue phantom pleco to round it out. All in 6 ft. 150 gallon, using caribsea sand. Thinking beige or a light color like that. Filtration will be 3 AC110s. If I have you guys blessing, that'd be great. If anyone thinks I'm making a mistake with anything, please don't hesitate to chime in. I'm really stepping outside my cichlid box with this one, and I'm getting pretty excited.

-Rich

 

[steve_b]

The festae may be a problem as it could nip the ray, and a lot of people don't recommend plecs with rays as they can suck on the slime coat

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[UnstoppableJayD]

I would ixnay the pleco... Could suck slime or it could be ray food. plus the tank bottom will need to be pretty clear as your ray needs the space. I would also consider more filtration.... It may work ( i do not use exclusively hangons on anything) but rays produce considerably more waste then the avg fish and as opposed to normal fish they are constantly excreting ammonia so it does not give the tank the chance to catch up. Basically you need signifcantly more biofilter on a ray tank.

maybe add a conister full of matrix/marinw pure?

 

[Zoodiver]

I second the motion to add more filtration. Elasmobranchs by nature are nasty when it comes to water quality. Their waste productions is exponential compared to your average fish.