How difficult are rays to keep?

[loconorc]

How much do you think one would spend on a single motoro per month? I'm trying to get one as well, but I'm a little scared of the food costs.

 

[stingray man]

and how old are these rays.... from most ive talked too there growth does slow down and they do keep growing but slower...ive seen pictures of some very old rays that are well over 30" disk... so the few in the states that are maybe 6 or 7 years old may only be 20-24" disk...something to think about there... for 3 motoro adults i would recomend 6' round pond 24-36"deep 0r 8'x5'

I have seen 30" rays also...but at a zoo. When ever anyone post those "who has the biggest motoro" the bigest is lik 24" or 3' in zoos. JMO but then agian i cant speak from first hand exprience.

 

[nitrofish1]

does anyone here feed their ray massivore delight or what do you feed them that makes the food costs so high? or maybe it is the massivore thats expensive idk....

 

[Nic]

does anyone here feed their ray massivore delight or what do you feed them that makes the food costs so high? or maybe it is the massivore thats expensive idk....

pellets add up.. but its the amount of food and types etc... rays eat alot so cost adds up....

 

[nitrofish1]

ah

 

[Kolossus]

does anyone here feed their ray massivore delight or what do you feed them that makes the food costs so high? or maybe it is the massivore thats expensive idk....

pellets add up.. but its the amount of food and types etc... rays eat alot so cost adds up....

So...though I've fed my rays a variety of diet and honestly lose count of how much I spend on their food, I do have a pretty inexpensive way to feed them though some may disagree with it.

I visited the local zoo about two years ago and their motoros were huge in their amazon display. I was completely astonished when I asked the fishkeeper their age and he said two. These rays were a good 25+ inches. I asked him what he fed his rays and he said "crappie minnows" and earthworms.

So, I started purchasing crappies from the local bait shop. They are 12 for a dollar and when I ask for five or more dozen ($5 or more), they give me a whole bucket full of crappies. I usually freeze half (In a large ziplock freezer bag placed flat so they make a sheet of frozen fish), and put the other half in my feeder tank (cold water tank) and feed them high quality fish food.

Consequently, my rays (and my other predatory fish) have learned to eat both the frozen (kinda like silversides) and the live crappie minnows (which have been enriched by eating the high quality fish food). Its super cheap to feed this way and you weed out them possibly carrying a disease by freezing them, or quarantining them wherein the unhealthy ones die within a day or two while awaiting their fate in the feeder tank, and the process of freezing kills off possible disease or parasites.

Now, I still feed them a variety of food including: shrimp, night crawlers, bloodworms and blackworms (I usually mix the two to stretch the blackworms), raw fish slices, and pellets. But the crappies make the food stretch for a long time. And my rays started growing like weeds...waayyyy faster than before!

Sorry for the long post. Just my 8 cents

 

[nitrofish1]

i believe that the common pick is feeder guppies or goldies after quarantine for a while..... which i think i am going to do.

 

[abortedsoul]

So, I started purchasing crappies from the local bait shop. They are 12 for a dollar and when I ask for five or more dozen ($5 or more), they give me a whole bucket full of crappies. I usually freeze half (In a large ziplock freezer bag placed flat so they make a sheet of frozen fish), and put the other half in my feeder tank (cold water tank) and feed them high quality fish food.

Consequently, my rays (and my other predatory fish) have learned to eat both the frozen (kinda like silversides) and the live crappie minnows (which have been enriched by eating the high quality fish food). Its super cheap to feed this way and you weed out them possibly carrying a disease by freezing them, or quarantining them wherein the unhealthy ones die within a day or two while awaiting their fate in the feeder tank, and the process of freezing kills off possible disease or parasites.

Now, I still feed them a variety of food including: shrimp, night crawlers, bloodworms and blackworms (I usually mix the two to stretch the blackworms), raw fish slices, and pellets. But the crappies make the food stretch for a long time. And my rays started growing like weeds...waayyyy faster than before!

This seems like a great idea! Is it ok to feed the younger rays this kind of diet? I am going to try to start with a pair of Motoros in about two weeks and I was really curious about this, as I am not the wealthiest mofo around.

 

[mick11]

I just feed my motoro the massivore pellets. Keep water parameters in check. Do weekly water changes. The ray is very healthy and active. it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be.

 

[nitrofish1]

i read that the massivore delight is quite expensive, but like all the carnivorous fish treat it as a delight ive also seen people buy raw shrimp and thaw it out, or if your like me, you can plan on buying a big party ring of shrimp to use. but massivore delight seems to be the ticket these days, though there is rumor that hikari is raising prices on it.