Motoro Ray Questions

[stingray94]

Thanks for all the info. I don't know much about wetdrys, do you know of any places with detailed instructions on how to make one? I will be sure to contact miles, his stickies have already helped me a lot.

Read through some of the threads in the DIY section, everything that you need to know could be found there.

 

[Delhezi222]

Read through some of the threads in the DIY section, everything that you need to know could be found there.

Ok, I'll do that.
Thanks.

 

[Delhezi222]

You know, that I think of it, I've been pretty stupid the past few posts.
I failed to mention that the tank is pre-drilled with two bulkheads. Wouldn't that make a sump the more logical choice?

 

[bfhslilred93]

i could see keeping polys with rays for life as long as you train your rays to hand feed so you make sure they get enough food. plus it will cause the rays to recodnise you as the person who gives them food, making them like you

 

[Delhezi222]

i could see keeping polys with rays for life as long as you train your rays to hand feed so you make sure they get enough food. plus it will cause the rays to recodnise you as the person who gives them food, making them like you

That's an interesting thought. I'd love to handfeed them. I'd be keeping two so I guess that wouldn't be too hard. That's definitely something to think about.

 

[abortedsoul]

That's an interesting thought. I'd love to handfeed them. I'd be keeping two so I guess that wouldn't be too hard. That's definitely something to think about.

Just a word to the wise, check out the FW stingray safety thread! I choose to hand feed my retic, but you should at least be aware of the dangers before you start. From what I understand getting stung is not a fun experience. Incredibly rewarding to hand feed them, but just be careful.

 

[Nic]

Hey guys.
I recently became interested in FW rays, and have a few questions.
First, how long would two motoros last in a 4x2x2 tank? The reason I ask is that after tossing around some ideas, I decided to build an 8x4x2 tank this summer, so I was wondering if I could keep them in there until then.
Also, how would flourite work as a substrate?
Finally, how well would they be kept with some polys and maybe a dat or two?
Thanks!

Edit: Also, how about this substrate:
http://www.aloha-aquariums.com/servlet/the-3800/Clifford-Special-Red-25Lb/Detail
I thought it looked a little rough.
BTW, I will be getting an out-of-tank heater, so no worries as to that.

flourite would be a bad idea for a substrate... and the estes gravel in the link privided it is smooth would be fine....

If the motoros are around 6 inches then you shouldn't have a problem. Just make sure you have an over sized filter that is already established. I don't like mixing poly's with rays but that is only because I had a bad experience. They both eat off the bottom and compete for food. I keep dats with my rays.

right on about the motoros and the polys can be a gamble but most of the time you will be fine...

Thanks. I wasn't planning on having many polys, just a few.
How long could retics last in a 4x2x2?

I would only keep polys with rays if the polys were larger. I think it would kind of be hit or miss though. A motoro may try and eat them and with a retic there might be to much competition for food. 2 motoros in that tank with a lot of water changes and excellent filtration I think would be fine until summer. Retics grow really slow so you could probably have 2 of them in that tank for 2-3 years, however I have no experience with retics so you will have to ask somebody that does.

under ideal conditions this is correct and 3 years would be ok... consider one thing with the polys and dats is your bio load... rays produce alot of waste by themselves and you are on a small amount of water...

Okay. Thanks for the help with the motoros. For filtration, I will be using a large rubbermaid sump and one ac110, maybe two. Would that suffice?
Also, anyone have any info about the retics? How proficiently do retics breed? Anyone have any success with breeding them?

do a trickle area in the sump and lots of submerged media... few cases of retics breeding...

I suppose retics could last quite a while. I have a retic that is about 4" in a water system that is only slightly more than 140 gallons. 4x2 is a nice footprint to start. I believe that retics reach sexual maturity after a couple of years, so you'd probably have a few moons.

If anyone else can chime in, I'm also rather interested. What is a good tank size for a pair of adult retics (+1 silver arawana) ?

8'x3'x2'

Your best bet would be to talk to miles, he has a lot of experience raising juevinile retics and he is planning on breeding smaller rays to make healthy-smaller rays more readily available. He's definitely the guy that you want to be talking to. Retics grow to a disk size of about 14" and become sexually mature at around 6". I have heard of one case where somebody breed retics in a 90 gallon. Retics have much longer tails then every other ray so they still need a wide tank, despite their much smaller disk size in comparision to say a motoro. The sticky at the top reccommends a tank with a 6'x30" footprint. Retics grow so slow that you could probably keep one in a tank with a 4'x2' footprint for a long time. Juevinile retics can be very picky eaters and you have to start by feeding them blackworms. They are not as easy to breed as motoros, but they are not as impossible as tigers and flowers. With time and effort, I'm sure you would have a good shot at breeding them.

Oh and about the filtration, a sump would be great, a wetdry with a biotower would be much better though. A wetdry setup for bio and 2 AC110s for mechanical should be perfect.

there have been retics of 18" disk documented... what is the difference between a sump and a wet/dry with a bio tower???? they are kinda the same thing

i would do a large trickle area and lots of submerged media in the filter... instead of the ac110s you could just add a rena xp3 canister... get them real cheap online....

You know, that I think of it, I've been pretty stupid the past few posts.
I failed to mention that the tank is pre-drilled with two bulkheads. Wouldn't that make a sump the more logical choice?

yes

i could see keeping polys with rays for life as long as you train your rays to hand feed so you make sure they get enough food. plus it will cause the rays to recodnise you as the person who gives them food, making them like you

wtf??? you dont have to hand train your rays to keep them with polys and other fish.... i kept mine with ornate and endlicheri bichirs and everybody ate fine with no hand feeding...

 

[Delhezi222]

flourite would be a bad idea for a substrate... and the estes gravel in the link privided it is smooth would be fine....




right on about the motoros and the polys can be a gamble but most of the time you will be fine...





under ideal conditions this is correct and 3 years would be ok... consider one thing with the polys and dats is your bio load... rays produce alot of waste by themselves and you are on a small amount of water...



do a trickle area in the sump and lots of submerged media... few cases of retics breeding...



8'x3'x2'



there have been retics of 18" disk documented... what is the difference between a sump and a wet/dry with a bio tower???? they are kinda the same thing

i would do a large trickle area and lots of submerged media in the filter... instead of the ac110s you could just add a rena xp3 canister... get them real cheap online....



yes




wtf??? you dont have to hand train your rays to keep them with polys and other fish.... i kept mine with ornate and endlicheri bichirs and everybody ate fine with no hand feeding...

Thanks for all your help.

 

[FishDog]

You will find out with rays being such aggressive eaters that you might have to hand feed your bichirs. I use to use a long piece of thin wire that I stuck their food on the end of and dangled in front of their mouths.

 

[Delhezi222]

You will find out with rays being such aggressive eaters that you might have to hand feed your bichirs. I use to use a long piece of thin wire that I stuck their food on the end of and dangled in front of their mouths.

Whoa, really?
Are you talking about retics or motoros?