So I Really Want A Ray...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
so you want a SW ray. :naughty:
the california stingray, u. halleri
or cortez stingray, u. maculatus
and bluespotted stingray, d. kuhlii
are some nice "starter" species.
but i have a feeling 500-600 dollars isnt going to be enough for the system that these fish need. craiglist will be a great help to you, but often the tanks for sale are meant to be used for freshwater. with slightly heavier saltwater, and a large tank, well, you want some thicker glass.
with rays that need some serious surface area, alternative tanks like stock tubs, plastic pools or fibreglass tanks have been used with great success. [you don't really need side-viewing with elasombranchs, rays especially. it really can cut costs]
doing-it-yourself [there're lots of plywood tanks and ponds around the forum] would cut costs quite a bit too but you'll have to decide whether you're equipped for that.
for your life-support system, think a big skimmer, lots of live rock in a big sump or sumps, biotower, a refugium. sand filters are sposed to be great for big SW systems as well, but i dont know much about them personally.
we've got some great elasmobranch keepers around here, can't wait to see what they advise. :)
 
Keep a LARGE saltwater tank for a year. Then look into getting a ray. There's a lot you need to have hands on time doing prior to jumping into an animal like a ray.
 
I dont think keeping saltwater setups (fish only) is any harder to keep than freshwater. I kept 10 different freshwater tanks at one time ranging from 10-150 gallons and had lots of south american and african cichlids and there were sometimes problems with them wether it be disease from stress from fighting or ick or whatever. I made the switch to saltwater 3 years ago and havent looked back and dont ever want to. You have to moniter your tank (SW) just like any other tank, water changes, additives (if you use them) cleaning filters/sumps, keeping substrate clean and on and on. You just have to keep on it and ask questions on here, and there are enough people here that know what they are talking about and can tell you their past mistakes in keeping their tanks. My biggest mistake starting off with my tanks (SW and FW) was getting to excited about getting fish in the tank before it was ready, so wait till it is fully cycled (REALLY) and then start adding a fish here and there. As far as Rays, all the research I did about them showed me that saltwater rays (some) were easier to keep than the south american ones. The waterchanges were bigger and more frequent and the water temp needed to be higher in the freshwater rays so I chose the California Round Rays and I think they are a hardy saltwater fish. I kept mine in a 5' round kiddie pool for 5 months and she had 2 pups in there till my pool was finished. To do a Ray justice you need a good size pond, tank, pool at least when they get to be adult sized, a 125 gallon tank is ok for a while but when they get to be over 5" across they need to swim around and you will find they are a great pet. :)
 
Not to sound like a downer, just trying to save you some heart ache. It sounds like you are not ready for a sw ray. You need to know how to use and maintain all the equipment needed, that it sounds like you are not familiar with. Do you know how a protein skimmer works and why you might need one? If not than continue your quest for knowledge before you plunge into a sw ray. Get your hands on a no less than 180g tank, set it up as a salt water tank and put some general salt water fish in it.
You will need a very good setup and know how to run it and diagnose and fix problems before you will be able to keep a healthy ray alive. $600 is only going to get you started.
 
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