considering a stingray: could use some help.

[cro117]

ok, so firstly the tank is 8'x2'x2', i really wish it where wider, but it's not. so obviously if im going to get a ray it has to be as small as possible. i was considering a california round ray as they only get about 10 inches or so, but i'm not sure how well they do in warmer tanks so im leaning towards one of the freshwater species- probably scobian, hystrix, or reticulatus.

so basically right now im looking for opinions on my tank size, and possibly looking for breeders.

 

[festaedan]

Hey man, with a tank that size I would recommend a male marble. As long as your filtration is great, the ray should be fine. Central ohio discus sells very nice marble pups. Make sure to get a male, males have 2 little pointy "fins" near the base of the tail on the bottom of their disc.
I would not recommend reticulatus because they are one of the more sensitive rays and they are very hard to get to eat. Scobina and Hystrix are going to be very hard to find (assuming you are in the US). If you find a male hystrix though, it'll work. I dont recommend a florida round ray since they are a "converted ray" meaning they come from saltwater and are acclimated to fresh. These rays dont usually live very long in fresh water.

 

[mscamp02]

Hystrix would be a good fit for your tank size and are not overly expensive as long as you can find them for sale. Retics would work as well and are cheap but are generally less hardy and some people have had issues with fresh wc specimens and health (no personal experience).

As far as Scobina, I haven't seen any for sale in a long time but I also havent been looking.

Another type of ray to consider are Marble Motoros as long as you find some that are considered "mini" because they do tend to stay significantly smaller than regular motoro rays.

 

[cro117]

i do like the look of the marbles. the impression i got from my preliminary research was that there wasn't a consensus of their actual size.

i supose it's mostly going to come down to what might be available as far as hystrix, marbles, or retics. if there are any breeders out there please contact me. i could buy one at any time really, as i have a fully cycled 100 gal, but i'm thinking it would be better to wait a few months for the big tank to cycle and maybe grow a bit of a shrimp population first. however i would like to find a breeder ASAP so i can better plan.

also, as far as the tank setup i didnt include any detail because its still being planned at the moment, hell, last week i was considering going saltwater. in fact, i regrettably even purchased some live rock, lol. anyway, the only thing im pretty sure about will be the lighting, which will be on the strong side, but im not too concerned about it because its easy to shade, especially since im sure i'll have plenty of floating plants. i also have the substrate planned already which will be 4-6" of sand.

 

[cro117]

should i maybe start a new WTB thread or anything?