Anybody else have a Blue Spotted Stingray or know anything about them?

k-dawg

Member
Anybody else have a Blue Spotted Stingray or know anything about them? I have one and know quite bit about them but still I love to learn anything and everything I can about my animals to better care for them. It seems hardest to find info about the Ray more than anything else I've ever tired to look up info on even in libraries and other places like that. If anyone has personal expriance with them or any other rays please let me know anything you know of them that you might find worth noteing, I would apriciate it. Thanks
 

cbshark

Member
I purchased one and he croaked in four days. Wouldn't eat and seemed stressed as can be. It was absolutely horrible to see the suffering he went through. He would convulse and flip upside down. After I bought him I called a few shops to see what he would eat as nothing I tried (squid,silver sides,scallops etc.) worked. Each one told me he wouldn't make it. They said that they have never had much luck keeping them for very long. I know some have had success with them, but I would never try one again. I wish you good luck as they are absolutely beautiful fish.
 

polarpooch

Active Member
Mine just died last week. I'm still very sad about it. She seemed to be doing so well, and was on the rebound after an infection.
She lived about a year in my 180. She ate anything I gave her...shrimp, squid, silverslides, ghost shrimp, swordfish, tuna....
If you haven't already, get a copy of Aquarium Sharks and Rays by Scott Michael. Good resource there. I've looked all over for info on these animals, too, but had limited success.
I wish you luck with yours.
 

k-dawg

Member
Will, she's not convulsing or flipping over or anything like that. She eats, not well though. She shows interest in food and will chew on it but I don't believe it eats nearly enough. She'll swim over it and blow on it over and over again and thing chew on it and spit it out and swim away and ignore it for a few minutes and then return to chew on it again, but never eats more or even as much as 25% of what I offer it which is already a small cut anyways. I know it has to be capable of eating more because I cut off a small piece to feed a small moray eel and my brittle star stole it from the eel and devoured it all within seconds and the brittle star is no were near the size of the ray. I mean she does show interest in food and at least eats some of it but it has to be able to eat more right!
I have and still offer it squid, octopus, scallop, crab, shrimp, live ghost shrimp, and live guppies and still this is the best it eats. She does become very active at night towards the last few hours of the light cycle and will do a lot of swimming in the middle of the tank at this time but still I don't take that as a good sign because I still know it needs to eat more. Even if it's eating enough to sustain itself I know it can't be enough to maintain good health. Besides Garlic extract what could I do to encourage it to eat more?
 

flynbow

New Member
I was looking into getting a Blue Spotted Ray for my 250 gal tank. But with what you guys are saying I need to ask. Just how long has anyone kept this type of ray happy/healthy/ and alive in a tank? Is this just a string of bad luck or has anyone out there been able to do it successfully? What's the key to keeping them happy?
 

polarpooch

Active Member
According to "experts", bluespots have dismal luck in aquariums. I couldn't believe mine lived almost a year. I think the fighting the infection might have worn her down too much? No idea, really, why she died.
Here's something to consider when you're setting up a ray tank, though (besides the obvious--tank size, soft sand, no sharp rocks, lots of bottom space, near perfect water) is to keep your ray out of traffic areas. I really think mine responded to the quiet of her home. She was almost immediately willing to feed when I moved her to her 180 in my bedroom. She barely ate when she was in the living area. I also kept lights off most of the time, and turned them on 2 hours before I fed her at night. The bright lights of the aquarium seemed to stress her out.
I also fed her food soaked in Selcon and sometimes Zoe.
She's dead now, of course, so disregard if you wish, but she hung in there a fair amount longer than most stories I've heard.
 

tony detroit

Active Member
that is a stingray best left in the ocean. i have never heard of any hobbyist successfully keeping one. Some stingrays you might try that are very hearty are the round/california stingray, and the yellow stingray. both come around seasonally it seems, i have a round stingray that gives me no problems at all and have had him for seven months as of last week. try feeding it squid on the end of rigid air tubing. if your stingray is fasting, mine did as well for some ten days before accepting food so don't worry too much.
 

k-dawg

Member
Desiray's still not eating. She still does the same thing. Will show interest in food hovering over it blowing on it chewing a little but not really taking much of anything in. What should I do? I have noticed very often it seems like it's searching through the sand for food. I've thought about buringing food in the sand to see if it will eat it if it finds it but I don't know if that will work as it doesn't really eat the food that it is giving and it does realize it's food. The only thing I could think because it does seem interested in feeding, is to use this, what seems to be a natural feeding behavior and place some kind of live food in the sand for it to find but I don't know what. I don't want to place squid and clam pieces in the sand as it is not really eating them now and I don't want dead matter in there just making the water bad. But what else could I do? Any ideas?
 
I

irenicus

Guest
Blue spots have a very horrible record in captivity. Don't know anyone that has successfully kept them over a year.
 

.357

Member
Have you tried red worms or earth worms? I had freshwater rays for a long time and all of the food you guys are talking about is what I was told to feed. Then someone told me about worms. They love them. They suck those things right up. You also want to make sure that you pull out what ever is not eaten. They are very sensitive and left over food will make them sick.
 

Tanner Smith

New Member
This is an extremely old post but for anyone who finds this and is looking for help with their ray or is interested in getting one, i have a black goldspotted ray thats been in captivity for over 4 years now. I believe the reason why most people have problems keeping rays is due to 2 factors. 1st they do not understand the full extent of the care needed and 2nd they did not pick out a healthy specimen. To keep a healthy ray it is most important that you have made the propper planning to ensure you have a large enough tank with plenty of swimming space with sand only. Most rays need 500g+ but i own a small adult female that is doing perfectly in my 180. When i got her i bought her from a store that i trust and made sure she had been quarantined for over a month and watched her eat before i bought her. She eats silversides and shelless clam strips. I cannot stress this enough that BEFORE anyone should purchase a ray they need to research the symptoms of an unhealthy ray because you will find yourself in the situation that these people found themselves in.
 
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