Discus with Stingrays?

[679x]

So in the past few months I've been trying to decide between getting freshwater stingrays, or getting a saltwater tank. Right now I'm doing more reading about stingrays.

The stingray tank would be 6x3 feet and I don't know what kind of filtration that requires yet.

I know many people have asked about whether discus make good tankmates for stingrays. But I never really found a definite yes or no... there are many different opinions and reasons for those opinions.

I want a fish that will occupy the areas in the water column where the stingrays won't go (the top). I really like discus and thought they'd be a perfect addition to a stingray tank, but didn't really know how well they'd get along. Which is why I'm making this thread.

Do you guys think it would be a good idea to mix discus with stingrays (motoro, leopoldi) in a 6x3' tank?

 

[Bigfishnut]

flukekiller keeps rays and discus together. He could probably give you some insight. I don't think it would work with my rays...I dropped a large angelfish in with mine to see what would happen...they promptly killed it. I've had great luck with an arowana and a datnoid as tank mates. 6 × 3 wouldn't be big enough for a silver aro though. Motoros and leos will more than fill that tank as it is. Look into building a large sump and go with K1 for your filtration.

 

[MariaS]

We kept discus with stingrays about 4 years ago
At first, it was all great as the stingrays were pups and the discus were all about 12cm
As time went and the stingrays got bigger and bigger we started noticing that the discus were not happy and would keep to themselves on one side and we realized they were now intimidated by the rays which had become rather big
Rays don't just sit quietly at the bottom of the tank like many people think (or at least mine don't).. they everywhere.. up down the glass, play in the spray bars, etc so when they get up to all their gimmicks at the top, the discus were scarred
We were In the process of setting up another tank and Ray, the male mantilla killed two of the discus before we could move them...
So.. didn't work for us...

 

[fishguy306]

I've seen this combo end badly several times. It works for some, but most seem to have their rays kill the discus.

 

[679x]

This is what I feared. I've seen a lot of discus+stingray videos but none of them ever say how the combination worked long-term.

I'll have to think about what else I can put with the stingrays, or maybe I won't put anything with them at all, and get a tank that is more like a pond (viewable from the top). That would be pretty cool too.

 

[fishguy306]

It is a great looking combo for sure, but I've seen it go badly enough that I wouldn't try it. At the end of the day rays are predators, even if they can't eat a fish they'll try and take chunks out. I had a motoro years ago, she would pounce on anything, a silver dollar ended up losing both eyes because she pinned it down and sucked them out. A Bala shark lost it's head completely. Recently I had some 10-11" across P14s go after a 13" dat. They obviously couldn't do anything to it, but they certainly tried.

I have mixed feelings on ponds myself. I had one, 8' in diameter, about 1200 gallons in it. I hated it, I just took it down. Problem after problem in it, hard to really monitor the fish. It is a bit cheaper, but it is worth it to spend the extra and do it right with a tank in my opinion.

 

[Just Toby]

Agree with above, some people have def kept them but large flat sided fish will most likely get pinned down by the rays and squished.

I had ancistrus with my rays for a bit and all looked well but eventually they got smushed.

 

[679x]

I have mixed feelings on ponds myself. I had one, 8' in diameter, about 1200 gallons in it. I hated it, I just took it down. Problem after problem in it, hard to really monitor the fish. It is a bit cheaper, but it is worth it to spend the extra and do it right with a tank in my opinion.

Interesting. Why'd you hate it? What kind of problems did you have?

I like the idea of a pond-style tank, probably still a glass-sided tank but very shallow so the main viewing point is from the top. I'd make it look modern so that it will look nice and be the feature of the room that it'd be going in. I'd put plants in it to give it some 'depth' and make it look more interesting and beautiful.

I do still think it'd be cool if I could keep other fish with rays but can't figure out what I would put that would have a good chance of working long-term. Severums? Geophagus? An arowana (which would require a lid which I don't really want)? And how deep would the tank need to be for any of these fish to be in the same tank as rays?

I am interested in hearing why you didn't like your pond, fishguy306. Because if I do a pond-style tank (shallow, viewable from the top, as i said before) then there may be things that I have to do differently so that I don't run into problems or so I don't hate it lol

 

[fishguy306]

If you are going to have a glass window that will make a big difference. I didn't have that. My pond was nearly 3' deep, so it was difficult to see the rays at the bottom. And surface movement and they were just a blur. Without getting into the pond it was impossible to access the far side of it, which made maintenance difficult. All these combined really made me hate my pond.

As far as fish go, anything that is big and mellow usually works. I keep mine with pbass. I had a dat for a while which worked well. I've kept aros with them, but they do need lids. Something to consider, rays have jumped out of tanks before, at the very least your pond will need a lip around it. Mine had a full lid on it. Humidity was still high with it covered.

 

[Just Toby]

I think viewing rays only from the top would mean you miss most of the rays behaviour and personality, a glass viewing window is essential. Good aeration needs surface movement which means the ripples stop you seeing the fish.
Depending on your climate, humidity, heating etc a pond is inefficient and likely to smell a bit without cover, evaporation could be bad, I know a chap who lasted under a week before his walls were black with mould.

I love the concept but think it would be better as a raised tank, the pond would need a big filter somewhere...what would you use?, maybe a big pond filter gravity feeding back to pond or maybe one beside?