callmesethro;3257632; said:
ill have to ask when he gets his shipment in im not too sure i r uneducated on rays
You're in Okinawa! I was there for 2 years; loved it so much! Stickies are always a good place to look for info, but just for a simple run-down I'll give you my opinion here.
Tank Size:
Get a large, wide tank (~220 gallon for a baby, but depending on the type of ray you may have to upgrade to something as big as a 600 gallon, or more). The smaller species of ray (
Potamotrygon hystrix, P. scobina, or P. reticulata) can be housed for life in something as small as a 360 gallon tank, as long as it is wide (8'long x 3'wide x 2'high). If you are sure that you are going to upgrade, and you are only temporarily hurting for space/money, I hesitantly recommend a 125 gallon wide tank for a nursery, as long as they get moved when they outgrow it.
Substrate:
It is simplest to go with a bare bottom tank with no substrate. Simple, easy to clean, and no worries involved. I recommend this for larger rays, or for the busy ray-keeper who would rather not bother having to vac the sand/gravel every few days.
Fine sand can also be used, and it gives the rays something to bury themselves in. Some types of sand have nasty chemicals in it, so you might want to check that first. Sand also can get sucked up into the filter and cause impeller damage, and there have been cases of
sand that was too deep and caused possible health problems with rays.
When it comes to gravel, it seems like a safe bet as long as there are not places where the waste would build up (i.e. around decorations, rocks, etc). Gravel looks great, gives the rays something to hide in / hunt in, and it poses minimal health risks. It also provides surface area for beneficial bacteria, and is my recommendation for smaller rays as long as you gravel vac it once or twice a week.
Water conditions:
The cleaner the better. Make sure your tank is properly cycled, and have sufficient filtration. For filtering tanks in the 125-300 gallon range, I would recommend something like a
large canister filter or a
sump. If you are a starter, the canister filter may be right for you. I use canister filters, fluidized bed filters (a bit more of a headache, but worth it for some large/high-waste aquariums) and sump filters. Just make sure that you get some mechanical and some biological filtration, and chemical filtration is also a good idea.
You can do a bout a 20% water change / vacuuming, twice a week. Simply dose Prime to the water and add it to the tank. This step is very important, and will keep your rays happy and healthy.
Lighting:
This is very simple. At first, or when the rays are having troubles, keep the tank dark. After they adjust and are in good health, use whatever lighting that you want. You would be doing it for your own enjoyment, as rays require minimal lighting.
Feeding:As for food, I always feed the rays California black worms at first. It is easy to get them eating them, and it is the most readily accepted food for rays. To keep the rays healthy, it is a good idea to eventually move on to chopped night crawlers (yes, the same thing as fishing bait), whole night crawlers, raw market shrimp, tilapia, ghost shrimp, etc. I would shy away from too many live feeders, as they can carry diseases and are not a good sole source of nutrition for rays.
That's it for your questions, I think. If you have any others, just post here or PM me and my wife and I will do our best to help.
