We'll be adding guitarfish once I get my hands on some. Probably not sharks or inverts. Sharks will be the next big project display going in. Expect a thread mid Summer showing that.
Mike - I'd love to do a Monster Amazon tank here... but EVERYTHING is saltwater at the park. Other than a single Pacific coral tank, everything is also Atlantic Ocean based.
I had a couple of PMs asking a great question, so I figured I'd address it in the thread for all to see.
Question - How to do you make sure they don't jump out at night? We all know rays are jumpers, and the water level is pretty close to the top of the exhibit edge.
Answer - An imagination, some PVC and netting. We put up these retaining nets every night, and remove them in the AM. If the nets are off, there is a staff member standing there watching the area.
Hi, sorry if this has been asked or is too basic nobody is asking it, don't salt water rays have barbs? From the pictures I can't see the barbs though. Isn't there a danger of children or adults for that matter getting stung?
Yes, they naturally have barbs. We trim them back. Ray barbs are made (more or less) of the same material your finger nails are made of. It's very easy to keep them trimmed back so they aren't a threat to guests. We check them weekly to stay ahead of the growing back issue.
Here are some pictures taken during the trimming process. This is a Southern ray pup. When done correctly, it's very safe for both ray and person. (Not something I'd suggest for most people with rays.)
I also have a few of my yellow rays trimmed back so I can take them off site and do media work with them. There's a thread going in the FW ray section with pics of my little TV star. (Good for a laugh if you're bored.)
Do you make everyone wash their hands before dipping in the tank? If not what about people with a lot of perfume or soap residue? Does the massive volume of water pretty much negate any worries along with what I can only assume is giant filtration?
Sorry if you answered this already, I kind of skimmed the thread.