Reticulated ray tank ideas

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M

mifishguy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 18, 2010
7
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Michigan
Hey guys, new to MFK and have a question for all the raykeepers out there!

I know reticulated stingrays have a reputation of being an advanced ray because they can be hard to get to eat, but I'd like to give it a shot!

What does everyone think of having reticulated stingrays in a 48x48x17 tank, roughly 170 gallons? Will a tank that size support only 1 ray or possibly more?

or...

Will a 36x36x16 (90 gallons) support a single ray?

I'm new to rays but I've been keeping discus for a while now so I'm used to daily water changes! My plan is to keep it as a species only show tank with a sand substrate. Any opinions or ideas are appreciated. Thanks!
 
obv. the 4x4 is the better option. In the very long term you'd probably need something longer but 4x4 would probably support, say, a trio for a good while as they're not gonna be growing as quickly as most rays.
 
I had a couple years of fun with a pair of Retics that I kept in very dim lighting with as many pieces of wood and rock as possible. I added "blackwater" extract to really darken the water and let the tannins do the rest. I kept many, many tetras with the pair. They were 8-9 inches long (snout to tail) at best. Just worked out, maybe I was lucky.

Forgot to mention this was a 33 gallon, long tank. Loads of fun. Traded the rays for some equipment.

The larger the tank the better your chances and the greater flexibility for you i the future. -FM
 
Thanks for the responses! Ok, so 2-3 rays in the 4x4. I'm thinking it might be better to go with a pair rather than 3. Anyone else think with 3 there might be some aggression to the odd man out?
 
mifishguy, I wouldn't say they're advance rays. My first ray was a retic, I still have him and he's one of my most active rays. The problem with retic is getting them to eat other foods. It seems that they'll only really eat one thing and thats that. Mine wouldn't eat for about a week when I got him. I treated him with prazi pro and 3 days later he started eating black worms, then blood worms, night crawlers and ghost shrimp. I eventually was able to get him to eat shrimp by soaking it with the black worms over night. I soaked the shrimp less and less and eventually he was eating shrimp. 170 gallon would be more than enough. Make sure your tank is setup right and you should be more than ready to go.
 
Ok, so for tank setup, what kind of filtration system is best for rays? HOBs or canister filters? Do they prefer a strong current or calmer water? Also looking for advice on which heaters are best for keeping rays.

Thanks!
 
A canister filter could suffice, a HOB would do as well but if you want to go for the gusto, try a Wet-Dry -or- a HOB plumbed into a Fluidized Sand Filter.

2-3 rays will be fine. Diversity is always the best policy.

Try to achieve volume over velocity when filtering. If you take a close look at the column of water in a river you will see that the greatest velocity is found in the very center of the water column. The sides, top and bottom tend to be a little "slower" with eddys (turbulence) and slack water areas. If you deflect the returning water against the sides of the tank or against some other structure you can better achieve volume over velocity and mimic a rivers habits.

Respectfully,
FireMedic.
 
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