I've got a question for some of the long time ray keepers. I'd love to take my ray keeping to the next level and build a large pond and fill it with rays but with plans to move in two years, that doesn't seem like a great idea. My question is, what trends have people observed in the past as far as availability of rays of all species? I've seen old posts about bans, and then the bans being lifted, then quotas. Are we in a "golden age" of ray keeping as far as availability of various species are concerned/pricing/etc. or is this just part of a natural ebb/flow of stingrays? I know we can't see into the future, but based on what you've seen in the past, what does the future hold? Maybe I'm crazy, but it's something I've been thinking about lately. Thanks a lot.
Trends in rays
- Thread starter wheresalbany
- Start date
a lot of it really depends on the type of ray you are looking at. The more common species are more then likely stay the same, as you have people breeding them. But the more uncommon ones are the ones that will ether get better or worse, there are still those breeding them but we like to freshen the stock from time to time with wild ones and they are harder to come by at times. Things change, but I don't see them going away too soon.
I see the price steadily going up from year to year. Teacups will always be cheap and same with plain motoros. The other either go up in price or just get harder to find. A lot of the reason is most importers don't mess with bringing in pricey rays that take up a lot of tank space and eat a lot. The exporters have even went up on their prices as well. If you want a higher end ray I would suggest buying as they come available. If you wait, then they might not come back up for sale. Anymore, special order is about the only way to go.
My two cents: Someone in the Seattle area needs to start breeding leos and henleis; The only ones I've found have to be shipped into this area; Once this economy gets out of the proverbial crapper (no pun intended! I design septic systems for a living!) if I haven't found a local breeder for these I will bite the proverbial bullet and set up a 1500 or 2000 gallon setup in my detached garage/office and see what I can come up with; these are such beautiful specimens we need more!