Ray types, hardiness, and max sizes..

[Miles]

So I am picking up a 180g freshie tank this weekend, that has everything with it to become reef ready (wet/dry, skimmer, etc).. So I have REALLY been tossing around the idea of SW rays, as I love my FW rays.. I have a 375g to work with if the passion needs upgrading.

4 species I have narrowed it down to; Cortez, California, Yellow, and Bullseye..

Can someone help me with my choices? Max sizes? Breeding? Hardiness?

I understand the california need cooler temps, which if the max size is right, I would be willing to accomodate.. I can get cali rays for about $20/ea from a LFS near me.. although they are only 2-3", and probably very sensitive, I think I can handle saving and growing them out..

Don't some Lions prefer cooler temps? Any other cool temp tankmates? Horseshoe crabs + rays, probably not right?

I also am interested in housing lionfish with the rays. I already started a topic on this so I have a good idea of what I am going to do. The dwarf fuzzy lionfish seem small and active enough, where they will hide in LR and not cause a problem..


Any suggestions would be great.. comments welcome.

Which ray should I go with?

 

[Brenden]

Both the Cortez and the California's make great choices for the smaller set ups. Both stay small, both are very hardy, and both are great breeding candidates for the home aquaria if given the right sized system. However as you stated the Cali's need cooler water. If you can accomodate this than really its up to you. For a 180 gallon, I would not go with the Yellow or the Bullseye, however if you are willing to upgrade to the 375 when size comes into play than the Yellow would make a great candidate. All three of those rays are great choices, what it really comes down too is the size of the aquarium, and if you can or cannot supply cooler temperatures for the Californias. Hope that helped, if not let me know and I can supply more information.

 

[krj-1168]

4 species I have narrowed it down to; Cortez, California, Yellow, and Bullseye..

Can someone help me with my choices? Max sizes? Breeding? Hardiness?

Well the round rays (Urobatis) are usually consider to be among the hardiest species of SW rays that are generally available to home aquarists. IIRC all 4 species can breed in captivity. Although the larger species may require a tank/pond of at least 750 gallons - to do so. And even to breed a pair of cortez would likely require a tank/pond of about 400 gallons.

Your right, the California round ray (U. halleri), does best in water temps below 72F. They can live up to about 8 years, and reach up to 22" TL.

The Cortez (U. maculatus) is the smallest of the genus - reaching just over 16" TL . Seem to prefer water temps of 72-82F.

The Yellow (U. jamaicensis) is one of the largest members of the genus - reaching up to 26" total length. And seems to also perfer water temps in the 72-82F range.

The Bulls-eye (U. concentricus) is the 2nd largest of the genus - reaching about 24" long. And it too seems to prefer waters about 72-82F.

Hope it helps some.

 

[Miles]

Thanks guys!

This really puts it into perspective.