Tips and advice on first rays

[Landon Werner]

Hey I'm just receiving my first pair of motoro stingrays and just looking for tips and advice on do's and donts on keeping and acclimating them. I'll be receiving a male and female, both about 6" disc, and here's my set up

125gallon wide 4x2x2
6 silver dollars
1 red belly pacu
1 8" tiger shovelnose
1 ornate bichir
1 endichliri

All fish are currently in the running set up and here's test results, steady for 2 weeks at
O nitrite
0 nitrate
6.5 ph
Alk 70
GH 160

And let me know about the current stock, working on selling the two bichirs as they might end up to busy on the bottom with the rays. But tank only has 2 large pieces of driftwood that take up more mid water column and very little on the footprint with 2" of white sand

 

[MHDevelopments]

First and foremost above anything else you are going to need a much bigger tank sadly and very soon.
I would pull the wood out of the 4x2'.
The tiger shovel nose will rapidly outgrow that tank as will the pacu.

You should be doing very regular water changes, couple times a week I'd suggest.

What's your filtration?

For now, thin out your stock asap and lose just about everything. The 4x2' can only be looked at as a short term home. Read as many threads as you can, there are loads of stickies with all the info you need.

 

[SandNukka15]

Get rid of the rays, tigershovelnose and pacu and Ull be fine with a 120.....I'm going to tell you now that u need a minimum footprint of 8x4 for the pair of motoros....as far as the pacu and tigershovelnose goes you will need a way bigger tank.

 

[Jesseliu13]

Get rid of the rays, tigershovelnose and pacu and Ull be fine with a 120.....I'm going to tell you now that u need a minimum footprint of 8x4 for the pair of motoros....as far as the pacu and tigershovelnose goes you will need a way bigger tank.

every ray police is gonna be on your ass if you think you can put a pair of motoros in a 4x2x2 without a plan of upgrading to a later tank. I will tell you right now, sandy here aint wrong. I had a pair of motoros, grew quick. Sell every piece of fish you got. keep the SDs, and then MAYBE you can get 1 ray. if you get 2, get ready to upgrade asap. motoros grow quite big as they are the basically Common pleco of the pleco world. they are cheap but they grow huge. 8x4 is suggested. you can get away with a 8x3. and you better have a filtration system big as ours. I had tons of experience with this. And i all advice turned on deaf ears to me when everyone gave it to me. Lost a few rays, but i learned my lesson. get a bigger tank. now.

 

[Ihsnshaik]

Hey instead of the Rays maybe you should invest in a bigger tank. A pacu will need much bigger tank so will the shovel nose min 500 gallon for both together.

 

[Raynado]

Is your tank cycled? You should be showing a sign of nitrate

 

[murray8698]

Oh man those rays are doomed, I don't think you've done much research my friend.

 

[Landon Werner]

Oh man those rays are doomed, I don't think you've done much research my friend.

Hey everyone, I get the small tank attack, seen it on every thread ever posted ever. And yes, lease is up in june and my own fish room is a must for the new place so a bigger tank is no problem. Also my filtration right now is an fx6 and a cascade 1000, and I have another marineland canister I could use too just not currently. Pacu can be sold no issue, but almost every ray tank I've seen they have tankmates? Is everyone telling me to see figs due to aggressiveness towards/from the rays or because of bio load? .

 

[Landon Werner]

Hey everyone, I get the small tank attack, seen it on every thread ever posted ever. And yes, lease is up in june and my own fish room is a must for the new place so a bigger tank is no problem. Also my filtration right now is an fx6 and a cascade 1000, and I have another marineland canister I could use too just not currently. Pacu can be sold no issue, but almost every ray tank I've seen they have tankmates? Is everyone telling me to see figs due to aggressiveness towards/from the rays or because of bio load? .

And yes I've done hours of research, and so far this thread hasnt given me any real help other than tank size, I knew, and tankmates, which I also listed I was working on selling. Any acclimation, feeding, or any other tips?

 

[slippery slimecoat]

If you need to move in June, I'd wait until you've moved and have the appropriate sized tank before purchasing more fish. That way you don't have to worry about transporting and re-acclimating them at the new place. Slow and steady wins the race..