what type of ray for 125 gallon?
- Thread starter Lepomis
- Start date
You will want to stay with smaller rays, say a retic or humerosa. They generally don't get too large....maybe 12" disc width. However, a larger tank would still be better. Say a 180 at the minimum (72x24x24) for the smaller rays. Motoros are great starter rays (usually very hearty) but they get larger and grow fast. I've heard they can reach 24" in disc width, but I think that is uncommon. RVRRAYS (on this site) has lots of expirence with rays and i think the largest motoro he has in about 17" across and is 7 years old. Your 125, if 72x18, or even 48x24, would be ok for smaller rays, and even for a young motoro, but I would still consider a larger system. The 125 will not be ok for a full grown motoro. If you don't want to get a bigger system, stick with the small rays, and only put one or maybe two in the tank. I think the retics stay the smallest, but they are not the hardiest. As for where to get them, I'm not familar with georgia....being from michigan. Also, I've no expirence with online ordering. If you go to you local fish stores, there are things to look for to see if the ray is healthy. Baron's has a good book on freshwater rays and there is another by Richard Ross that would be good reading. (there are two richard ross ray books, the cheaper and shorter one is about caring for rays, the other deals with taxonomy). Hope this helps.....you're welcome to PM me if you have other questions...though my 2 years with rays is not near as much expirence as others on the site. Good luck.
Motoros and leopoldi will not be able to live in a tank with a 2' x 6' footprint for life. My female motoro is around 19" in diameter and my male is a solid 15" in diameter. He was in my 220 recently due to some issues and he did not look ridiculous but, it was cramped for him.
Motoros and leopoldi can get as big as 24" in diameter and the leopoldi can get larger (especially in large aquarium settings).
Scobina, histrix and retics are the best options for smaller tanks. The bulk of my experience with these rays has been with histrix. They grow slowly, have great personalities, have a unique body shape and they are not nearly as hard to find as scobina.
Histrix are my recommendation for anyone that does not want a pond or a tank they have to remove a wall for.
Colin
Motoros and leopoldi can get as big as 24" in diameter and the leopoldi can get larger (especially in large aquarium settings).
Scobina, histrix and retics are the best options for smaller tanks. The bulk of my experience with these rays has been with histrix. They grow slowly, have great personalities, have a unique body shape and they are not nearly as hard to find as scobina.
Histrix are my recommendation for anyone that does not want a pond or a tank they have to remove a wall for.
Colin
A 125 would not be good for life for any ray. If your 220 is a 72x24x30 then smaller rays will work.