Stingray Capacity for a 360 Gallon tank.

[DB junkie]

I would say 2. There are a BUNCH of variables that when looked at from different angles can get you different answers. I'de say if you want trouble free I'de personally do 2... Problem is until those things are full grown that is going to be one empty tank......

You have to look at the big picture.... Rays live for MANY MANY years. Ask around on here how long it takes to grow a Motoro to 2 feet.... See what you get for answers. Do you plan on living in that apartment for ther next 5 years? 10? 15? My point is you may be able to throw 6 in there and they may not need a pond for 3-5 years..... By that time maybe you could provide them there pond and get a new set of pups for the tank.......

Keep in mind that there are many different opinions on such a general question.

If I had a 360 wide I'de probobly throw 6 in there.... But like I said I'de just use a tank to grow them, and a pond to keep them.

I have a ray now that's 5 years old and honestly, I see no reason why I couldn't house her in a 180. She's only 15-16 inches across and has a fairly short tail.

Do you see where I'm going with this? It's going to be more up to YOU and how you want to treat YOUR fish. I don't know if there is such a thing as a definite right or wrong answer..... It's all a matter of opinion and personal prefrence.

Some prefer to give thier animals LOTS of room like a pond.... I house 5 rays the biggest being 15-16 in a 8 by 8 pond. Some have a half dozen of the same size or larger in a 450 gallon........

And there are some that say if you can see tank bottom in between rays you could add another..... Pending water quality any of these may be an acceptable answer.

 

[FishDog]

I agree with DB, there are so many different opinions out there on what to do and what not to do. The main thing I preach is over size your filter. Rays can live in smaller tanks if the filter can handle the high waste the rays produce. You will have to consider how much time you want to spend in maintenance. Do you want to do a 25% water change every 3 days or do a 50% everyday. Like DB said you might have your rays up to 5 years before they get to big or they still might be small enough. That is were your water quality comes into play. The cleaner the water the faster they grow. Personally I would max out the filter on that tank and put about 8 rays in it and grow them out. Rays change from pups to adults so if you get more and then grow them out you can select the ones with better patterns for breeding. Then again in 5 years you might have 3 kids and have zero rays so just have fun with it.

 

[abortedsoul]

I would say 2. There are a BUNCH of variables that when looked at from different angles can get you different answers. I'de say if you want trouble free I'de personally do 2... Problem is until those things are full grown that is going to be one empty tank......

I agree. The tank would be rather empty.

You have to look at the big picture.... Rays live for MANY MANY years. Ask around on here how long it takes to grow a Motoro to 2 feet.... See what you get for answers. Do you plan on living in that apartment for ther next 5 years? 10? 15?

That is an incredible point! I actually never thought about it like that. We will only be here for 4 years, so we might be able to get away with 6 rays!

My point is you may be able to throw 6 in there and they may not need a pond for 3-5 years..... By that time maybe you could provide them there pond and get a new set of pups for the tank.......

Keep in mind that there are many different opinions on such a general question.

If I had a 360 wide I'de probobly throw 6 in there.... But like I said I'de just use a tank to grow them, and a pond to keep them.

I have a ray now that's 5 years old and honestly, I see no reason why I couldn't house her in a 180. She's only 15-16 inches across and has a fairly short tail.

Do you see where I'm going with this? It's going to be more up to YOU and how you want to treat YOUR fish. I don't know if there is such a thing as a definite right or wrong answer..... It's all a matter of opinion and personal prefrence.

Some prefer to give thier animals LOTS of room like a pond.... I house 5 rays the biggest being 15-16 in a 8 by 8 pond. Some have a half dozen of the same size or larger in a 450 gallon........

And there are some that say if you can see tank bottom in between rays you could add another..... Pending water quality any of these may be an acceptable answer.

I think that was some very good and insightful advice. That is a lot to think about, and thank you very much for responding!

 

[abortedsoul]

Then again in 5 years you might have 3 kids and have zero rays so just have fun with it.

Yeah right! More like 3 kids and 6(+?) rays! Good advice, though. I want to give them a good home, and we hope to have a ton of fun with it!

 

[Nic]

I read through the forums, talked to Miles, and it seemed a 300 gallon (wide) would adequately house motoros. I was only wondering exactly how many adult rays I could keep in it comfortably.

my friend has a 20+" motoro female.... that ray looks to be to big for the 4' wide pond she is in.... motoro needs bigger than 36" for life... there was rumors going around marbleds stay smaller but i have yet to see proof of them and was sent a picture of a 18" marbled wich again should be in bigger than a 36" wide tank...

 

[abortedsoul]

my friend has a 20+" motoro female.... that ray looks to be to big for the 4' wide pond she is in.... motoro needs bigger than 36" for life... there was rumors going around marbleds stay smaller but i have yet to see proof of them and was sent a picture of a 18" marbled wich again should be in bigger than a 36" wide tank...

36" might not be big enough for the adult? Boo.

I might just have to come to the dark side and eventually get a pond!

 

[Miles]

I still haven't found a pic of a Motoro over 24"...


Still makes me wonder if there are absolute maximum sizes (ie: Shaq) and there are isolated minimum sizes (ie: Spud Webb), but in general most Motoros have more of an 'average' size.. which makes me contemplate if 36" width would be good enough and for how long?

It's really up to you

 

[nitrofish1]

I still haven't found a pic of a Motoro over 24"...


Still makes me wonder if there are absolute maximum sizes (ie: Shaq) and there are isolated minimum sizes (ie: Spud Webb), but in general most Motoros have more of an 'average' size.. which makes me contemplate if 36" width would be good enough and for how long?

It's really up to you

the profiles page says that 30+", but i think your right miles, a ray of that size would be quite large.... i was gonna do 4 marbled motoro in a 480 (96x48) for life, but more likely three becuase of the cost of marbled motoro

 

[Zoodiver]

I still haven't found a pic of a Motoro over 24"...


Still makes me wonder if there are absolute maximum sizes (ie: Shaq) and there are isolated minimum sizes (ie: Spud Webb), but in general most Motoros have more of an 'average' size.. which makes me contemplate if 36" width would be good enough and for how long?

It's really up to you

Really!? Never over 24"..... I'm gonna do some digging through old pics today for you!

 

[abortedsoul]

I still haven't found a pic of a Motoro over 24"...


Still makes me wonder if there are absolute maximum sizes (ie: Shaq) and there are isolated minimum sizes (ie: Spud Webb), but in general most Motoros have more of an 'average' size.. which makes me contemplate if 36" width would be good enough and for how long?

It's really up to you

I went for 36" because it was just about as big as the beautiful woman I live with would allow (or that I could afford). I hope that, after three years or so, we can pick up maybe a 400 or 500 gallon aquarium. Failing that, maybe (just maybe!) we will be living in a place where I can have a basement or outdoor pond.