Question on setup for stingrays?

kyray

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 24, 2005
7
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66
Irvine, Kentucky
Hello. I have many years of fish keeping experience in both freshwater and marine. I left the hobby about the time skimmers began to catch on and get popular, so my question is, what would be the best setup, (tank size, substrate, filters, ect.,), for stingrays? I haven't decided on freshwater or marine yet either. What is the current availbility of both? Where to buy? What tankmates, if any, for them? I have had a few species of marine rays in the past, but with all the new equipment on the market today, (UV sterilizers, chillers, ect,), just not sure what would be the "best" setup. Your input is appreciated. kyray
 

rweedon

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 23, 2005
535
1
0
pullman washington
go freshwater they are easy... full size needs at least 180 gallons some would say you can jam them in a smaller... filtration is easy 4 large sponge filters with a sand substrate it would be awesome...
 

Miles

Stingray King
MFK Member
Jul 2, 2005
5,538
152
120
Spokane, WA
Freshwater Stingrays will be easier to maintan than Salt..

Filtration is up to you. I wouldn't use any sort of filter (sponges) that would take up 'surface' area on the bottom of the tank. I would go with Canisters or Hang-On backs..

Be careful of what sand substrate you use.. Many are abrasive to rays, and can irritate them and lead to sudden death.

180 is a good rough estimate on where to start for -minimum- tank size. The important part of the tank is the dimensions, not the gallonage. Although, the more gallons you work with, the more stable your environment will be..

You would want a tank that is atleast 6x2 in dimension, and height is not of concern.. Depending on what species of ray you choose, this could be a long-lived home. The smaller rays, such as Reticulata and Hystrix only grow to a disc size of 12-14", but you must include tail length. A 24" deep tank should suffice. Most other rays get a disc size of 18-24 inches, and then the tail. For these Rays (Motoros, Leos, Etc) you would want a larger tank, that is 36" deep when they are larger. The important part is to give your ray more then enough space to comfortably turn around. If you do not, it can cause 'acute' stress, which means a small amount of stress over a long period of time. This can lead to many other unwanted issues.

Hope thats a good starting point.. I am sure you will have alot of people come on here and refer you to links about 'basic' ray info.

Hasta,

Miles
 

Miles

Stingray King
MFK Member
Jul 2, 2005
5,538
152
120
Spokane, WA
o Yeah.. and perform large frequent water changes.. ;) Forget all that oldschool non-sense about water changes and adjusting pH and blah blah blah. The rays will adapt to your water source, do large water changes often. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate at 0 at all times is a must for rays ;)
 

kyray

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 24, 2005
7
0
0
66
Irvine, Kentucky
Great info! Very much appreciated. Definatly will either get or build myself a large enough tank. Would natural Atlantic beach sand be good for fresh water rays?
 

redtailfool

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Feb 17, 2005
8,397
31
62
New Jersey
a wide tank is so much better than a tall one for rays. Agree with large water changes. A wet dry filter is not essential but helps out a lot with maintaining biological filtration. Best combo ime is Wetdry + Canisters. UV should help too.

I have all 3 on my ray tanks right now and everything has been running quite some time now.
 
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