Sand or Bare

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
i prefer sand than bare i find the rays find it easier to move on the sand than they do on just glass and i personaly think it looks more natural and less clinical and i enjoy watching my rays search for food in it.
 
Sand! its selfish to use anything else. You put some wood infront of the intakes, never had a problem here. The area around is the intakes are not rayable :)
 
Yeah, its like their natural habbitat. Or not? When you deside to put an aquarium in your livingroom, you deside to take in a piece of natura, and ive never seen BB in nature..Like said earlyer, lazy fishkeepers. But still, i cant see how sand is work, ive never done anything with mine.
 
Although I've never kept a bare bottom tank, I do like the minimalist and clean, sterile look of it. However, with a ray, I can't see keeping it in anything other than sand. Not for aesthetics, but purely for watching and maintaining the natural defensive burying instincts. It's like taking a fish that prefers cover and putting him in a tank without cover. Sure, the fish may adapt, but do you want a fish with adapted instincts or instincts found in the fish in the wild? I think if you were to provide the ray with conditions closest to it's natural habitat, the lifespan would increase solely on being less stressed living a more 'natural' life...IMO.

I've never had sand either, but read a thread not too long ago about keeping sand out of the filter. A few people in the thread mentioned using sponge covers over their intakes that were lower to the tank's bottom. Hope this helps some. Good luck.
 
i dont understand how you can keep rays without sand period. there would be nothing for them to do in such a tank. i would venture to guess that they would get depressed or stressed. my rays move sand and rocks all day long. that's just what they normally in the wild.
most animals kept in unnatural surrounding usually display abnormal behaviors. elephants sway back and forth, big cats pase, large parrots pull their own feathers out. i dont know if this also applies to rays, but i would not be surprised
 
Use sand. Use pool filter sand. If you go bare bottom your taking away from the natural behavior of the stingray to barry themselves.
 
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