Calling all Ray owners!

jtt

jtt

Member
Hey guys
So I have been considering upgrading to a much larger tank, and unfortunately the only thing I know how to handle is a 12g nano with a pair of picasso clowns. Ive been fascinated by stingrays and have been considering getting a large tank with a pair of rays, but honestly I know NOTHING about them. Then I was at my lfs today and saw she had a ray, and she let me hand feed it, and it was awesome. I fell in love with it. Now, I dont intend on jumping into it and getting a tank and everything without doing my research, so before I get started, Im beginning my research here.
Are there any good books out there about keeping rays?
What species of rays are there that are suitable for the home aquarium?
How big of a tank should you have to keep rays? 65g? 125? 300?
How thick of a sand bed should you have?
How fine should the sand be?
What are suitable tank mates for rays?
How hardy are rays?
Should i get the tank going with all the other tank mates first and then add in the rays much later?
What is a good clean up crew for a ray tank?
Can you keep corals in a ray tank?
Are you happy with your ray tank?
When acquiring a ray, how do you transport it?
Are there any light requirements when keeping rays?
What are some mistakes you made when you set up your ray tank?
What would you have done differently when setting up your ray tank?
Thanks for the info!
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by JTT
http:///forum/post/3080615
Hey guys
So I have been considering upgrading to a much larger tank, and unfortunately the only thing I know how to handle is a 12g nano with a pair of picasso clowns. Ive been fascinated by stingrays and have been considering getting a large tank with a pair of rays, but honestly I know NOTHING about them. Then I was at my lfs today and saw she had a ray, and she let me hand feed it, and it was awesome. I fell in love with it. Now, I dont intend on jumping into it and getting a tank and everything without doing my research, so before I get started, Im beginning my research here.
Are there any good books out there about keeping rays?Don't Know
What species of rays are there that are suitable for the home aquarium? I personally have a Cortez Ray
How big of a tank should you have to keep rays? 65g? 125? 300?300
How thick of a sand bed should you have? I personally have 4"
How fine should the sand be?Mine is medium...aragonite
What are suitable tank mates for rays?I have tangs, angels, clowns...etc...nothing that will try to eat it...LOL
How hardy are rays?I am sure that depends on YOU
Should i get the tank going with all the other tank mates first and then add in the rays much later?Don't know if that matters
What is a good clean up crew for a ray tank?They eat shrimp and crab...LOL...snails are good, conch, sandsifter goby
Can you keep corals in a ray tank?YES, BUT you must glue them down
Are you happy with your ray tank?I love my ray
When acquiring a ray, how do you transport it?Same as a fish
Are there any light requirements when keeping rays?NOPE
What are some mistakes you made when you set up your ray tank?IDK
What would you have done differently when setting up your ray tank?not bought the shrimp it ate..LOL
Thanks for the info!
This is mine...although she is much bigger now
Attachment 227684
Attachment 227685

 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Are there any good books out there about keeping rays?
Scott W. Michael has a Shark and Ray book that a good read/useful
What species of rays are there that are suitable for the home aquarium?
The three basic rays are the California Ray Urobatis halleri, The Cortez Ray, Urobatis maculatus, and the Yellow, aka Atlantic Ray, Urobatis jamaicensis. There is a fourth ray, but it's a tricky one, the Blue Spotted Ray. You need to be able to find the origin the ray was shipped from. Most Blue Spotted rays are shipped from the generic "Indo-Pacific" and are Taeniura lymma, which have a dismal survival rate. Blue Spotted rays collected and shipped from Australia are Dasyatis chrysonota, which do better. Some physical differences are that D. chrysonota will have a pointed nose, vs the round nose of the T. lymma, little to no blue spots on the head, and a brown tail, opposed to the blue'ish tail.
How big of a tank should you have to keep rays? 65g? 125? 300?
The bigger the better. They have about the same requires as most sharks we keep. 6 feet long and 2 feet wide (180gal) is the minimum for small. juvi rays. As the ray grows they will obviously need a larger tank.
How thick of a sand bed should you have?
2"-3"
How fine should the sand be?
0.5mm - 2.0mm
What are suitable tank mates for rays?
Tangs and other larger predators tend to make the best tankmates, Snappers, Sharks, Eels, Hogfish, etc. The fish to avoid are the ones that would pick at the ray, Angelfish, Puffers, and Triggerfish.
How hardy are rays?
Scale 0-10, about a 4. They aren't very disease resistant and can't be treated with copper. Their bellies are easily irritated, and they don't tolerate high nitrate levels.
Should i get the tank going with all the other tank mates first and then add in the rays much later?
Doesn't really matter. A ray will put quite the load on a tank, and the older the tank is, the better.
What is a good clean up crew for a ray tank?
Your hands and arms
Can you keep corals in a ray tank?
Sure. I would keep hardier corals that won't mind having sand tossed on them repeatedly or being knocked around by the ray.
When acquiring a ray, how do you transport it?
Like any other large fish. If it's small enough to fit into a bag, or a larger cooler will do.
Are there any light requirements when keeping rays?
No
 
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