Damn, starting to covet a ray again...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
DaveB

DaveB

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2008
1,244
14
68
Miami
I had a few young hystrix last summer, but never ended up setting up the giant tank so I sold them. And eventually, the tank as well.

Now in my new house, I'm setting up a drip and can be 100% certain I'm able to take care of rays even if I slack off or go on vacation... but I'm limited by room and door sizes to my 86.5x24 footprint tank.

I don't powerfeed/overfeed and typically all my fish grow slower than usual.

I'm well aware of the max sizes of rays, but I guess I'm hoping someone might be able to tell me there's one that I could still realistically keep for a few years in a tank with my footprint (that isn't impossible to locate). I know that with many other types of fish, they can be kept well below the max size for a very long time.

No is not a bad answer here... I can take it. Still, I remain optimistic. It sure would be fun to have a ray or two to show off...

Final answer... can Dave finally, after all these years, have a ray?
 
Just hoping against hope, I guess. In my experience max size is not always actual size so it'd be nice to hear reports of rays that stay in the 12-15" range for a very long time, even if max is 24.

For instance I had a black arowana that took 18 months to grow from 12 to 16". It took my Uaru fry roughly that long while eating everything in sight to get to 6-8" as well.

If all rays grow predictably and steadily no matter what, then obviously it won't happen. If some have a big gap between actual size in practice vs max, I'd give it a shot. Especially since there's huge demand for big ones around here anyway if I don't move in time.
 
i dont want you to end up with a ray in a tank too small but i have a wild male motoro that hasnt grown much at all in over a year ive had him and i feed heavily (and i mean... ALOT!) and do daily water changes, sometimes twice (7000L system) others in the tank have overtaken him while he just doesnt seem to grow much i reckon he is about 9-10" across the disk. obviously u cant guarantee u will get a ray that doesnt attain over 12" unless u go for hystrix. someone on here has a just got a female leo thats 8 1/2" and been in captivity 3 years. i'd say maybe get some pups and then you should still have maybe 18months - 2 years before they need a bigger tank? id probably stay away from motoro females tho :P
 
Nothing wrong with a tank only 24" tall, you just need it to be wider. If you get one 3-4 foot
wide that will be sufficient for several years. And if it is 24" tall then it will still fit through
your doors. So go for it I say.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom