Fresh water sting rays
- Thread starter tattoo daddy
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From the chemist end of it as long as you keep up with water changes and keep the Ammonia and Nitrites down there is no reason you can't keep them. They are however from everything I've read and heard very unforgiving of keeper laxity. That's probably part of the reason the retied army soldier had so much luck. Once he decided to do water changes at a given frequency I'd bet you could set your watch by it.
To avoid paying obscene markups buy commercial zeolite and not Ammo Chips same stuff but much cheaper.
To avoid paying obscene markups buy commercial zeolite and not Ammo Chips same stuff but much cheaper.
vladfloroff;3316073; said:
Thank you... Some people just don't want to use their heads for something other than hat racks. I really think that these folks are Sabina racists
. They think the only Stingray that can be kept in captivity is a Motoro 
And Iffrat, these rays aren't migratory, they don't swim in from the ocean...they have been landlocked for generations. As a matter of fact there is scientific hypothesis backed by evidence that they have been in this river system since the Pleistocene.
This from the Smithsonian:
"D. sabina is a common inhabitant of shallow estuaries, but also strays into freshwater areas. It is broadly euryhaline. Salinity in the IRL can range from approximately 7 - 45 ppt. D. sabina tolerates this range well, showing no obvious signs of discomfort in response to changing salinity, even when subjected to rapid changes (Snelson et al. 1988). The only known permanent freshwater population of D. sabina occurs in the southern (upper) reaches of the St. John’s River, Florida, more than 350 km from the coast. The St. John's population completes its entire life cycle in freshwater, in spite of there being no physical barrier to fish migration. Many have speculated as to how this population may have come into existence. The possibility exists that the St. John's population is perhaps a remnant of the estuarine population that inhabited the area when sea level was higher, and the St. John's River basin was a brackish coastal lagoon (Amesbury and Snelson 1997). If this is indeed the case, then the St. John's population may have begun a genetic separation from the estuarine population as early as the late Pleistocene (Cook 1939; Amesbury and Snelson 1997). Johnson and Snelson (1996) have suggested that one major reason why D. sabina is able to maintain a permanent population in the St. John's River is that the surrounding river basin has a high content of Pleistocene mineral salt deposits that increase chloride levels in otherwise freshwater systems.
In comparing freshwater and marine adapted D. sabina, Piermarini and Evans (1998) noted that the salt-secreting rectal glands in the freshwater rays from the St. John's River had a gland weight to body weight ratio that was 80% lower than those found in marine D. sabina. Since there is less of a need to excrete excess salts in a fresh water environment, freshwater elasmobranchs have adapted decreased size and function in their rectal glands. Further, many freshwater elasmobranchs have serum/plasma urea levels that are 30 - 50% lower than in marine species (Piermarini and Evans 1998)."
http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Dasyat_sabina.htm
Ever heard of Sebago Salmon or Kokanee Salmon....probably not, but these salmon where cut off from the sea and are now solely freshwater and will die even in brackish.
As far as your Bullshark comment...well I'd recommend you obtain a Lake Nicargua Bullshark. They aren't as big as their saltwater cousins (5-6 ft. avg.) and have been locked in freshwater for thousands of years and they too will die if placed in saltwater.
Now once more...if you have not done it yourself, ie. kept a Sabina Ray; why not just sit back and you might learn something. I'm not going to make snarky remarks about your ability to hatch Ducklings, you being from Indiana and all, so please don't make them about a fish that I have been catching and keeping since I was a kid (over 40 years).
PS: Yes I use Zeolite, but people tend to recognize the term Ammo Chips quicker.
well personally i blame the guy in the shop that sold the rays in the first place.
your tank already looks to small to keep the rays happy sadly. as everyone else has said increase your filtration alot, do alot of water changes (personally ide be doing 20% a day) and start looking for a bigger tank now.
the fact is, if you take them back they will be sold to the next person who will kill them or die in the shop. if you are prepared to do the work then keep them and keep up the maintenance.
ive never kept this ray, but the extra effort it takes to keep normal freshwater rays compaired to other freshwater fish i dont envy you.
your tank already looks to small to keep the rays happy sadly. as everyone else has said increase your filtration alot, do alot of water changes (personally ide be doing 20% a day) and start looking for a bigger tank now.
the fact is, if you take them back they will be sold to the next person who will kill them or die in the shop. if you are prepared to do the work then keep them and keep up the maintenance.
ive never kept this ray, but the extra effort it takes to keep normal freshwater rays compaired to other freshwater fish i dont envy you.
T1KARMANN;3316965; said:
I suspect this depends very heavily on where you get them. The fish from the St. Johns river are likely biologically different the a D. Sabina collected from a coastal estuary. If the individual ray spent it's whole life in fresh water it may have adapted to that and will be fine in your tank. Since we don't know where tattoo's ray comes form we can't predict it's life span.
http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Dasyat_sabina.htm
Look at IV. Physical Tolerances.
TheRealMacDaddy;3316795; said:
last time i checked indiana was known more for corn the ducks .. but what do i know .. im just a stupid duck breeder .... and i will stick to my guns... 90% of the people on this site would say its a no go.. and just because one person says you can do it does not mean its 100% doable .. i see people who have a beta comunity tank with many males in the same tank .. does that mean that it can be done by everyone/anyone? how about people who keep 200 inches worth of fish in a 100 gal tank .. is that something everyone/anyone should go out and do??
there will always be exceptions to every rule .. and you pulled it off .. congrats .. but just because jesus walked on water does not mean im going to try to walk accross lake michigan ..
Here is an abstract from that goes into one possible difference.
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/515973?journalCode=pbz
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/515973?journalCode=pbz
I have only kept motoro rays and they are in a 320g tank that I do 30% water changes 2-3 times a week. For filtration I have a 60g sump with pot scrubbers, an XP3 (for backup) and an UltimaII 1000 pond filter. I would recommend the UltimaII 1000 for your tank as it works very well and is rated for ponds up to 1000g. When it comes to filtration you can't have too much. I would avoid wc of over 50% at a time as the swings in water quality would stress the rays too much.
What are you feeding the rays? My fw rays eat mostly market shrimp but also eat worms and silver sides. If they are not eating anything yet you could try live black worms though your rays are a little big for them.
I keep my water at about 82 degrees and always use prime water conditioner with water changes (with temp matched water). I also aerate the tank as rays need a lot of oxygen.
These conditions seem to work for me as the rays have bred three times so far and are continuing to grow. My tank has a footprint of 6' x 3' which is kind of small for rays, you will have to probably upgrade when they get a little larger.
Good luck with your rays, they really are great fish.
What are you feeding the rays? My fw rays eat mostly market shrimp but also eat worms and silver sides. If they are not eating anything yet you could try live black worms though your rays are a little big for them.
I keep my water at about 82 degrees and always use prime water conditioner with water changes (with temp matched water). I also aerate the tank as rays need a lot of oxygen.
These conditions seem to work for me as the rays have bred three times so far and are continuing to grow. My tank has a footprint of 6' x 3' which is kind of small for rays, you will have to probably upgrade when they get a little larger.
Good luck with your rays, they really are great fish.
CarCrazy,
Thank you for a post with good advice. I think Tattoo will be happy hearing some positive input.
Iffrat,
Iowa grows more corn than Indiana, but Indiana produces more Duck than any other State in the U.S. and exports nearly 10% of the world's consumption. And just because 99% of the people here who have never kept a Sabina Ray say it can't be done, really doesn't mean doodly-squat does it? I say they are just to lazy to provide proper husbandry for a moderately difficult species to keep.
Thank you for a post with good advice. I think Tattoo will be happy hearing some positive input.
Iffrat,
Iowa grows more corn than Indiana, but Indiana produces more Duck than any other State in the U.S. and exports nearly 10% of the world's consumption. And just because 99% of the people here who have never kept a Sabina Ray say it can't be done, really doesn't mean doodly-squat does it? I say they are just to lazy to provide proper husbandry for a moderately difficult species to keep.
