Florida stingray

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

Tworner54

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 9, 2011
212
0
0
massachusetts
Hey guys just had a few questions about my new stingray I got him from a lfs in Florida and bringing him home to my 90 gallon back home in mass he is a juvenile and I am building him a bigger tank around Christmas 2011, anyway the tank is guna b 300 gallons+ and I plan on getting a motoro juvenile to go with him in the future but the lfs said he was from the saint James river which is fully freshwater and they only have a disc size of 24 inch Idk about these guys that much and haven't found much info on the internet but my other current fish are 2 oscars 2 pleco red tail cat tiger shovelnose ornate bicher silver arrowana 2 peacock bass and a clown knife I know I'm probly guna hav to get rid of some fish wen I get back home I just don't know what please help
P.s I also hav a fire eel and none of the fish I hav exceed 6 inches except the tiger shovel nose which is 8 -10 inches and the ray and fire eel
 
The Arrowana, peacock bass. shovelnose (?? Ive never done it but know people who have them) and clown knife should be ok out of all the fish you have.
The rest in my opinon are or could be a problem.. ESP the 2 pleco's .... NO PLECO's with rays...
As for the rest, I myself wouldnt do it, but some opinions may differ..

First, you need to read all the stickys on this site.
Second, Need a bigger tank asap... 90 gallons with that ray and that many fish is NOT enough.. Rays hav alot of bio load..
Third, with putting a new ray into a tank that the fish already control, I would keep a very good eye on the ray..

Also, what filtration are you using and what substrate do you have in the tank?

Im sure others will respond with more info soon...
 
A 90 gallon tank is going to be pretty small for even a baby ray, I would try to accelerate your plans on building a bigger tank. Secondly the "Florida Rays" are not true freshwater rays, they are a salt water ray that has swam up into the freshwater rivers in florida. They are fine in freshwater when young but will need to be acclimated to a salt water tank as they get older. Also while in freshwater they put out allot more ammonia than freshwater rays normally do so make sure your filtration is up to it.

As far as the fish I can tell you from experience the clown knife, arowana, fire eel, and tiger catfish will be fine. Plecos got to go. My oscar is ok with the rays, but I have heard others had problems. Rest I don't know about.
 
Yeah I figured I would have to get rid of the plecos which is no big deal as soon as I get home I am ordering the fluval fx5 and putting sand down I would think with that filtration on a 90 gallon tank the ray would be ok for a few more months if not I got him for 40 dollars that's one of the reasons I got him in the first place and could probly bring him to my lfs back home and get a good trade or store credit if I couldn't provide the proper care I thought it was a pretty good deal for a freshwater ray I know what you are saying about them living it in saltwater but how long and how do I know when he needs saltwater and why I read online that the rays from this river spend there whole life in freshwater Idk if this is true or not I just want my fish and especially my ray to be happy
 
Alright let me help break it down for you as best as possible...i have 2 atlantic stingrays that came from florida an then got shipped to me here in texas about a month in half ago...i still have them and are doin really well in my 200 gallon...first thing is a 90 gallon isnt gonna cut it...need to upgrade as fast as u can like the other 2 people said they create a huge amount of boiload, lot of ammonia an urea , get ready to do alot of water changes,i do a 20% water change every 6 days for mine..now about the fish u have...scince ive had mine they been with my 14"arowana an my 2 peacock bass an thats it in my 200 gallon...i had to take out my tigershovel , bichirs an my clownloaches beacause stingrays dont like floor dwellers it stresses them out an the less stress the better !!! an yah plecos need togo for sure...as far as feeding try and stay away from feeder fish..i feed mine silversides,red wiggerls,night crawlers an ghost shrimp...If you any other questions just shoot me a message, i have a freind whos had his for almost 2 years now in a 400 gallon, so they can go for awhile as long as your doing everything right, read the stickys to when you get a chance if u havent already...
 
Ive been hand feeding mine silversides and kill he loves them as soon as take off the cover he starts swimming up and down the sides of the tank he is only about 8 inches from tip of nose to tip of tail my main question is can he live his whole life in freshwater some people say yes others say no eventually salt but as of now I got him about 2 weeks ago and he is doing really good in my opinion even though this is my first ray and I rarely feed any of my fish feeder fish mostly freeze dried blood worms silversides krill and night Crawlers to the eel but what is ur filtration and can I house him with other rays in the future probly wen I build the bigger tank
 
St James or St Johns River???

I'd get it into at least a 200 gallon set up as soon as you can... as in the next 2 weeks. And as posted, you'll need to switch it to saltwater shortly there after.
If you search for "Florida Stingray" or "Sebina" on here, you'll see a LOT of threads with info.
 
A 90 gallon tank with the community u have and now adding a ray wont last u even a month...As for a florida stingray I've read from past threads that once that they have reached adulthood they will need to be placed in a saltwater community....If ur looking to not spend a lot on a freshwater ray I would recommend u a motoro...
 
They need to be converted to saltwater as soon as you possibly can to be honest. Most of these florida rays aren't collected from the st john's river as the population there isn't big. Even if it was, the only way those rays are able to survive is by increasing their urea output by 10. Basically meaning if that same ray needed a 90 gallon saltwater tank, you're going to need 10 times the filtration or water volume just to keep up with the extra ammonia output in freshwater. Check around the forums, almost everyone who has tried keeping these in freshwater has had it die within short time.
 
the reason they would be able to live longer in the wild in freshwater is because it's a vast water system, not a recirculated small aquarium.
as stated, they'll need a much larger system as they grow older due to their urea output. the best option is to acclimate them into a brackish/saltwater tank where their ammonia will be more under control.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom