I live in Florida and would love to have a motoro for my tank, but from what I have heard, they do not allow people to keep them here (unless you get a special permit) because of the govenments concern about enviromental protection. Now I have heard about people catching freshwater stingrays in the local river, just wanted to know if anyone knew about these rays, type, potential size, diet, water conditions needed, etc. Also if I was able to get my hands on a motoro ray, what the consequences (sp.) would be if I was to get caught keeping one.
Florida Stingrays
- Thread starter maynardwix
- Start date
use the search feature on the atlantic stingray on this forum.... I think miles posted a thread with a lot of good info on them....
There a tough ray to keep. Might need some salt for better health. These stay on the smaller side of rays, If it helps
We have 2 Atlantic Rays here currently and they have been here for almost 2 months. We get them in regularly and have yet to have problems with them. We convert all of them to complete freshwater. We find the key is filtration. We over filter the pond they are kept in and clean the uneaten food out of the pond. Our Amonia is 0, Nitrite 0 and nitrate 0.
You do have to have a permit to have the S.A. River Rays. If you are a hobbyist you wil not get one. It took us 4 months to get ours and we are watched like a hawk by FWC. If you are caught without a permit they can fine you and if you ship them across sate lines without a permit, it is a felony.
You do have to have a permit to have the S.A. River Rays. If you are a hobbyist you wil not get one. It took us 4 months to get ours and we are watched like a hawk by FWC. If you are caught without a permit they can fine you and if you ship them across sate lines without a permit, it is a felony.
Nic;1444218; said:
I did the search. I am not to sure if the ray in my area is the same as the Atlantic stingray. I live on the Gulf Coast, very far south from the St. Johns River. Thanks for the input though, I did find a site that would ship Potamotrygon hystrix stingrays, just don't know a lot about them yet, I need to research them first a bit, but the site will ship them to Forida.
Fish Room Plus;1444226; said:
Your probably right, they probably would need some salt to thrive, I want to make sure to do the research needed before tyring to keep them, plus I want to make sure they are compatable with the fish I have and be ok in the size tank I have also.
they will eat small fish. They just dont have any "personality" Like there S.A cousins. Yeh, there are plenty of vendors that will ship you a ray. Seriously dought they have a real Hystrix tho
N-E Cichlids;1444280; said:
Thanks for the great info, I did find Potamotrygon hystrix stingrays on a site, they said they would not ship to California or Texas, but said nothing about Florida. Made me think that they might not be a problem, yet they are from S.A., so I'm not to sure. I would really like to have one for my tank, but do not want one that gets to big, I would not want to run into the problem of it outgrowing the tank. The rays that I have heard about being caught around me are in the Myakka River, this is in Sarasota county, but the area where I am hearing them being caught is only about 15 - 20 miles upstream, so don't know if this is the Atlantic ray, or if it is a saltwater ray that has moved up into this brackish water. I really don't know the salinity of the water in the river that far up. Either way, I'm just looking into this now, I'm thinking that it isn't going to work though.
Fish Room Plus;1444355; said:
I don't know if it is a real Hystrix or not, I am just toying with the idea recently. Here is the site they are on though.
http://www.petsolutions.com/Hystrix-Stingray+I67020+C79.aspx
Not a true Histrix.. btw.
Atlantic Rays are likely the rays people are collecting from the Myakka River, as well.. These rays have an amazing ability to compromise their osmoregulation system in order to adapt to freshwater. In order to create this adaptation, their osmosis system compensates by massive fluid exchanges, creating immense amounts of ammonia and urea. The lower the dissolved solids(salt) in the water are, the more intense this compensation is.. They would do best in a heavily salted tank, brackish, or like nature intended, marine. I believe they migrate into freshwater as they find that feeding and food sources are easier to come by, and it's a less competitive environment than the ocean.
Like NECichlids said, The key is large water volume and lots of filtration.. and from what I've said, they are a bit boring in comparison to river rays.
Atlantic Rays are likely the rays people are collecting from the Myakka River, as well.. These rays have an amazing ability to compromise their osmoregulation system in order to adapt to freshwater. In order to create this adaptation, their osmosis system compensates by massive fluid exchanges, creating immense amounts of ammonia and urea. The lower the dissolved solids(salt) in the water are, the more intense this compensation is.. They would do best in a heavily salted tank, brackish, or like nature intended, marine. I believe they migrate into freshwater as they find that feeding and food sources are easier to come by, and it's a less competitive environment than the ocean.
Like NECichlids said, The key is large water volume and lots of filtration.. and from what I've said, they are a bit boring in comparison to river rays.
Miles;1444542; said:
Thank you for your informative responce. At the beginning when you said not a true Hystrix, were you refering to the link I posted from Pet solutions?
Thanks for the info on the Atlantic Stingrays, you definatly made up my mind on trying to keep them. I guess this will just have to remain a dream to keep the South Amercan river stingrays, unless I move to a state that permits it, which is not happening since I love living here. I used to live in Seattle, but the weather here is so much better, you can't beat it.