Dasyatis sabina -- Atlantic Rays -- Anyone keep them?
- Thread starter PinkLady
- Start date
why not just go with a S.A. ray, what is your fasination with the atlantic ray? S.A. Rays have more personality that i have noticed. Its like keeping a puppy in a tank
As stated above. With all the preparations you're making and the money involved in those preps, why not go with a pair of motoros? The motos won't outgrow your setup as quickly, you won't have to upgrade to the size tank needed for the larger atlantic rays, the maintenance won't be as intense, and the motos have (IMO) a much more interesting patterning than the more drab D. sabina.
A person does not need a 500 gal tank to keep a Sabina.
But what they do need is a heck of a lot more filtration than what you have. I'd recommend at least 12x filtration (for you 1400 gph) with heavy emphasis on chem filtration (Ammo chips) as opposed to Bio filtration.
I'm not sure why folks here are so down on keeping Sabinas. Maybe it's because they think we folks in Florida can't own Potamotrygons, we shouldn't be allowed to keep any Rays.
Well don't let the naysayers discourage you, if that's what you want, get it. You say you have a friend who has sucessfully kept Sabinas in the past, it sounds like you have a good reference to turn to.
If you decide on giving it a try, keep us posted. When you are successful maybe some folks will modify their opinions.
But I do agree with Oddball that Motos are much prettier fish.
But what they do need is a heck of a lot more filtration than what you have. I'd recommend at least 12x filtration (for you 1400 gph) with heavy emphasis on chem filtration (Ammo chips) as opposed to Bio filtration.
I'm not sure why folks here are so down on keeping Sabinas. Maybe it's because they think we folks in Florida can't own Potamotrygons, we shouldn't be allowed to keep any Rays.
Well don't let the naysayers discourage you, if that's what you want, get it. You say you have a friend who has sucessfully kept Sabinas in the past, it sounds like you have a good reference to turn to.
If you decide on giving it a try, keep us posted. When you are successful maybe some folks will modify their opinions.
But I do agree with Oddball that Motos are much prettier fish.
Not trying to upset people, but I'm a "nay sayer" based on real world experince with Atlantic rays (based on keeping them, and various research projects looking at how they adapt to life freshwater vs life in saltwater.) I'm a big fan of doing something the simple way and the right way while keeping the best interest of the animal in mind.
What attracts me to them is their activity level compared to Motoros, their different shape, and their intelligent "face" (eyes). Maybe I'm weird but I think the gray and the pearlescent underbelly is prettier than brown with spots. Maybe it just seems more oceanic? I have checked out a lot of tanks that have different species of rays and it just seems like Motoros are so boring. They just lay around all day, not doing anything. Atlantics swim around a lot and almost seem like they interact -- when people come to the tank, they swim up to the top and are ready to eat, and I SWEAR they look at you and follow your movements. They don't spook when you stand next to the tank, but the Motoros I've seen immediately jet to the other side in a poof of sand. What really sold me is being able to feed one -- she took a piece of fish right out of my hand at the top of the water. I couldn't believe it. She had no reaction of fear or nervousness, just calmly took the food and swam away. That was the decision maker.
So I picked my girl up Thursday, and she's been doing great so far. I removed the plants in the corners because she's a little bigger than the others she came in with and could use the extra space. I already have plans in the works to set up a bigger tank once I can get it up here, as my buddy in the Air Force has a pretty big 6x3x3 tank that he has no use for, it's just been sitting empty in his dining room for 2 years. So I'm going to have him bring that up here. I got the info on where she comes from, and she's actually captive bred from a breeder in Florida, not collected from the wild as I had wondered, so her and her predecessors have all been kept in 100% freshwater and have thrived. However, I did make her tank brackish to cut down on the nitrate production and with slow water integration into the box when she came home, she has adapted just fine, no signs of stress or being upset. I kept the lights off for the last 36 hours to let her settle in, only some room daylight creeps in.
Now my question is, what type of food should I offer first? I want to try something reliable, that they always like, so I don't stress her with something unfamiliar. She had been eating just regular goldfish feeders at the LFS but I would rather not go that route until my parents' pond breeders have more babies and I know where they're coming from.
Also, the damn sand is really irritating me. I have that white CaribSea Aragonite sand in there, and I rinsed it multiple times before putting it in the tank, but it still kept clouding the water with any kind of agitation. So then I rinsed it IN the tank 3 times while doing multiple water changes AND changed the filter cartridges to try to get rid of the silt (this was all in the prep stages before the ray was even ordered). BUT now that she's here, she's kicking up the silt again and it's back to being cloudy. I just cannot get it to quit doing that -- any suggestions? Would a second filter help clear it faster? What filtration system would run the best for her AND keep the sand mess to a minimum? I would like to be able to SEE my ray from time to time.
So I picked my girl up Thursday, and she's been doing great so far. I removed the plants in the corners because she's a little bigger than the others she came in with and could use the extra space. I already have plans in the works to set up a bigger tank once I can get it up here, as my buddy in the Air Force has a pretty big 6x3x3 tank that he has no use for, it's just been sitting empty in his dining room for 2 years. So I'm going to have him bring that up here. I got the info on where she comes from, and she's actually captive bred from a breeder in Florida, not collected from the wild as I had wondered, so her and her predecessors have all been kept in 100% freshwater and have thrived. However, I did make her tank brackish to cut down on the nitrate production and with slow water integration into the box when she came home, she has adapted just fine, no signs of stress or being upset. I kept the lights off for the last 36 hours to let her settle in, only some room daylight creeps in.
Now my question is, what type of food should I offer first? I want to try something reliable, that they always like, so I don't stress her with something unfamiliar. She had been eating just regular goldfish feeders at the LFS but I would rather not go that route until my parents' pond breeders have more babies and I know where they're coming from.
Also, the damn sand is really irritating me. I have that white CaribSea Aragonite sand in there, and I rinsed it multiple times before putting it in the tank, but it still kept clouding the water with any kind of agitation. So then I rinsed it IN the tank 3 times while doing multiple water changes AND changed the filter cartridges to try to get rid of the silt (this was all in the prep stages before the ray was even ordered). BUT now that she's here, she's kicking up the silt again and it's back to being cloudy. I just cannot get it to quit doing that -- any suggestions? Would a second filter help clear it faster? What filtration system would run the best for her AND keep the sand mess to a minimum? I would like to be able to SEE my ray from time to time.
Ghost (grass) shrimp, worms of just about any type...depending on the size of the ray and the size of the worms. Worms should be captive bred to decrease nematode/parasite infestations.
After she's eating well, move up to raw market shimp chunks and fresh fish in sizes easily consumed.
Keep us posted and post up some pics.
After she's eating well, move up to raw market shimp chunks and fresh fish in sizes easily consumed.
Keep us posted and post up some pics.
Any ray (once conditioned to it) will be friendly and hand feed. I'd venture to guess you haven't seen a good example of it from a motoro. Same can be said about activity. My freshwater rays are ten fold as active as most of the saltwater rays I've kept.
For food, you'll need to look at things like ghost shrimp and krill for the staples in the diet, and marine inverts, chopped clam, shrimp and squid to round it out. I'd also suggest Ocean Nutrition Shark and Ray diet. That will make sure you are accounting for vit/mineral supplement that is needed when feeding all prepared foods to an elasmobranch speices.
For food, you'll need to look at things like ghost shrimp and krill for the staples in the diet, and marine inverts, chopped clam, shrimp and squid to round it out. I'd also suggest Ocean Nutrition Shark and Ray diet. That will make sure you are accounting for vit/mineral supplement that is needed when feeding all prepared foods to an elasmobranch speices.
Awesome, thanks! I have some captive bred bait from a local bait farm in the fridge, a bunch of seriously fat earthworms, and I offered her one but she didn't want it. I'm guessing it was too big and intimidated her with all the squirming. So I got brave and cut it up into 1" pieces (freaking gross, seriously) and she ate it! I also grabbed a few young goldfish from my parents' Koi pond and she's eaten 3 out of 5, so she seems to be doing OK!
I did a partial water change to get rid of that cloudyness from the sand, but it's still present. At least I can see her now though. I also rinsed the filter cartridges again and I couldn't believe the amount of silt on them.
That sand is awful!!!
Here she is when I first brought her home, before she kicked all the sand up...
I did a partial water change to get rid of that cloudyness from the sand, but it's still present. At least I can see her now though. I also rinsed the filter cartridges again and I couldn't believe the amount of silt on them.
That sand is awful!!!Here she is when I first brought her home, before she kicked all the sand up...
