Hardiness of teacup stingrays

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

thatonegirl

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 24, 2006
364
1
0
One more block to the South of Dick's Automotive
I keep playing with temptation, and when I had water parameters of neutral pH, GH 7 and KH 3, I would have loved to get a couple of teacups for my 125. Now that my water is much harder, I wonder if it is even possible (or ethical) to try teacups in my hard, hard water. My GH is 25 and my KH is about 13, with my pH leveling out at around 8.5. I'd be surprised but excited to hear any knowledgeable person say it was possible to get stingrays. If not, just give me a slap upside the head to shake the idea completely out.
 
agree with both comments but your tank is not big enough for them... plus teacups(retics) are not good starter rays... motoros would be a better starter ray but when cared for properly they would out grow that tank very quick
 
That settles that, then. I thought a 125 would be big enough but if you say no, then so will I. Thanks for the info. I am surprised that they can adapt up like that. I really didn't think they would be so hardy, and that's why I asked.

It's also interesting to me to hear that motoros would make better beginner rays than teacups. I never would have imagined. I had heard that they are much more "personable."

Out of curiousity (not that I would with my water), but what is the recommended minimum tank size for retics?
 
180gallon 6x2x2
 
thatonegirl;1264394; said:
That settles that, then. I thought a 125 would be big enough but if you say no, then so will I. Thanks for the info. I am surprised that they can adapt up like that. I really didn't think they would be so hardy, and that's why I asked.

It's also interesting to me to hear that motoros would make better beginner rays than teacups. I never would have imagined. I had heard that they are much more "personable."

Out of curiousity (not that I would with my water), but what is the recommended minimum tank size for retics?
Click to expand...

'Teacup' ray is a broad term for a juvenile ray.. It could be a number of difference species, with maximum disc sizes ranging from 15-30"..

'Teacup' Rays are usually the least hardy of individuals offered, because the mis-labeling of their name shows that the importer, wholesaler, and LFS have all neglected the thought of properly ID'ing the ray. This means that all 3 of those parties treat a 'teacup ray' like any other fish.. Most of them don't have any clue what they are doing, and likely you would be 'saving' an undersized, skinny, half-dead parasite riddled stingray.

Read the Guide to Prevention in my Signature.. hopefully it will give you some ideas...
 
Teacups are usaulally retics. I would disagree with retics being a very hard ray to keep, I would actually recomend it as a beginer ray. The price of these rays are fairly cheap and they dont take up much room. The only problem is that it is hard to get them to eat, so dont buy a ray if you dont see it eat first. I started out with teacups (retics) and mine are thriving. Ive even been told they could breed in a standard 90 gallon. I have a 150 and they have more than enough room to move around and swim. I personaly think that your 125 gallon would be fine for retics and as long as you do atleat weekly water changes (would be better if you did it every 3 days) they should be fine.
 
retics can get 18" + a 125 or 150 is not sufficient for life... for any stingray you should get atleast a 180 but a 300 should be considered a minimum
 
:iagree:

AJ's retics DID breed in a 90g tank.. When the female was 10" across. When rays put out pups, you have water quality issues. Water changes in smaller tanks are a much more frequent thing with rays.

That same female is now 15" across and 30" total in length.. I don't think that is okay for a 90-150g tank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom