T1KARMANN;1694182; said:explain this one then after 2mins of birth why did my new born pups coverthem self with substrate
That would be a direct indication of instinct. Unless you think that the pups learned how to cover themselves in 2 minutes by watching their parents or by trial and error with different substrates. This example, if true, just illustrates an instinctive behavior.
Instincts are OK, the use of them does not mean that an animal is "dumb." Intelligence is a gray area, as amazongirl explained, different people will assign different attributes as indicators of intelligence. I believe, as a result of my experience with rays, that they are intelligent and therefore believe in providing them with NECESSARY stimuli such as a substrate and tank decorations.
So.... yes sand is better/best for a ray, they constantly move and inspect their environments, sand is a time-tested safe substrate for rays and should be used in any long-term ray keeping situation.
