Bare bottom tank- ray keepers

[jeffers]

i started with sand and was just like toby on this thinking that i didnt want to take away from their natural behavior. after having rays for a time i got tired of the black sand showing everything so went with a brown more natural look. and i really didnt like the sand i went to... loved the color and look but this sand was alot finer and got into filters and always stuck to the rays. so i switched again this time with carrib sea peace river. i really like the gravel as it wont go into the filter and since ive had the rays for a long time they dont burry themselves any more and if so its very rare. they sift through the gravel and that is fun to watch but unlike pete i do seem to get small stuff in the gravel so am vacuming it out every week. not a big deal but im setting up my new tank and went with tile as its alot deeper and dont feel like using a snorkel to vac out the tank. i really like the tiled look as it looks better than bb and is still easy to clean like bb.
so to sum that up toby i see where you are coming from but you will find out that they barely bury themselves after a time so its not bad going bb or tiled. and gravel looks good and its fun to watch them sift but on deeper tanks will be a pain to clean. bb is easy to clean and maintain. but tile is easy to clean maintain, cheap, and looks great. just know that there are more options than just bb.
sorry for the long post just thought i would let you know what i went through to get where im at though.

 

[T1KARMANN]

to tell the truth if your rays are healthy and your filters are good then the sand should never get dirty if you have the right amount

the rays will dig kicking up all the dirt if your filters are good they should pick up all the dirt

my tank has been set up now for 3 months and the sand is still clean all i do is flat the sand out again every 2 weeks with a garden rake

i have not needed to vac it

 

[Novaman1967]

I am also new to rays, but after extensive research and talking to my good freind who owns a local pet shop. i decided to go with sand bottom. It is a sandy colour and is also very fine. I have about 2 inches on the bottom right now.

My motoro when i put him in hid a lot in the sand and only came out when he was hungry.

I decided to put a timer on my lighting system, and only have it come for a few hours a day, enough for the tank to get light and for the live plants.

Now he comes out a lot, will hide for like seems like hours but he does come out and is quite comfortable now.

He swims around going up the side of the tank and comes out a lot now. I have had him since May 3rd of this year,so coming up on just 2 months.

I think having a BB tank takes away what they are naturally used to in the wild which is their natural way in life.

When he does hide in the sand, if i put the light on for someone to see, like last nite when my motherinlaw wanted to see him, i put in a few nightcrawlers and he came out within seconds and went wild for them.

Just some thoughts for you.

Lots of luck with the new ray. I will be getting a female for my male in the next few weeks.

Regards Novaman

 

[Just Toby]

on a different light...how about this, what if the ray was captive bred, and never experienced sand, would it be like : wtf is this thing under me!

My friend has a ray that was sort of like this, he had the sand, and the ray would actually make an empty patch where he would rest or sleep (?) on. Instead of burying itself, it would make that patch and stay there.

So he decided to remove the sand (he told me it was a grueling endeavor) and when he finished doing that, the ray became alot more active, constantly moving around the tank.

The question is though; why is it moving....is it looking for the sand?

Mine are Captive Bred on Bare Bottom and they knew what to do with the sand the MOMENT they touched it.

Mine do clear patches through activity but that keeps it stirred up well.

 

[jeffers]

to tell the truth if your rays are healthy and your filters are good then the sand should never get dirty if you have the right amount

the rays will dig kicking up all the dirt if your filters are good they should pick up all the dirt

my tank has been set up now for 3 months and the sand is still clean all i do is flat the sand out again every 2 weeks with a garden rake

i have not needed to vac it

black sand shows everything the moment it touches and didnt like to wait for the rays to stir it up.

 

[T1KARMANN]

black sand shows everything the moment it touches and didn't like to wait for the rays to stir it up.

i have never liked black sand it makes the tank to dark shows up all the dirt like you say and doesn't look natural at all you may as well have multi coloured gravel and a ship wreck in the tank