Advice on Stingrays

Thomas Jedlicka

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2020
Messages
291
Reaction score
306
Location
Connecticut
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello Everyone! I'm relatively new here and was hoping that someone could help me. I have a 270g non-reef and was looking into possibly getting a stingray. I have no experience with rays but have always wanted to get one. I have a wide variety of fish in the tank currently ranging from blennies, to eels, to tangs, to a porcupine puffer. I don't know if a ray would work because of the smaller fish in the tank or if there is just not enough room for the ray to swim. The dimensions are 6 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 3 feet in height. The tank has a lot of height but I know the footprint is the important part for the rays as they will mainly stay on the bottom. For the rock within the tank, There are four columns that build upwards in a pyramid style. I tried to keep in mind leaving space for the ray when setting up the rock and leaving decent gaps in between the columns. I don't have a photo at the moment I will add one tomorrow.

I don't plan on getting a bigger tank so I would hope to get a ray that stays relatively small. From what I researched many websites point to a blue spot ray saying they are ideal for a tank roughly the size of mine. However, my tank is very abnormal in its dimensions and at times super impractical. Every time I clean I basically have to get into the fish tank but it is what it is.

If you have any advice please let me know as it would be much appreciated and if a ray is not suitable for my tank I fully understand. I just want to know a little more about them and was hoping someone on here would be able to help.

Here is a full list of the current fish in this tank:

1 x Porcupine Puffer 8-9"
1 x Blond Naso 7-8" + 2" streamers
1 x Black Hawaiian Trigger 7"
1 x Niger Trigger 3"
1 x Valentini Puffer 2"
1 x Percula Clown 1.5"
1 x Snowy Onyx Clown 1"
1 x Cherub Angel 1"
1 x Snowflake Eel 12"
1 x Melanurus Wrasse 3"
1 x Fuzzy Dwarf Lion Fish 2.5"
1 x Red Scooter Blenny 1"
1 x Algae Blenny 2.5"
2 x Banggai Cardinals 2" each
3 x Pajama Cardinals one is 2" the other two are 1"
1 x Black Cardinal 3"
1 x One Spot Fox Face 5"
1 x Unicorn Tang 4"
1 x Clown Tang 3"
1 x Orange Spot Rabbitfish 7"
1 x Yellowtail Angel 6"
1 x Clown Trigger 1" (his name is hulk for obvious reasons)
1 x Powder Blue Tang 3.5"

I will be moving a 3" juvenile Emperor Angel and a 5" Sailfin Tang into the tank in the next few weeks. They are going through qt at the moment.
 
Last edited:

Smarkow

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 3, 2018
Messages
1,195
Reaction score
2,452
Location
Toledo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Not an expert on Rays at all, however I have read previously that some Angels, Triggers, and Puffers will pick at Rays and Benthic sharks. So some specific compatibilities from your stock list might need further investigation.

The other thing that jumps out at me is how heavily stocked you tank is. I understand Rays can be messy eaters, so hopefully your filtration is up to the task.

The pyramid rock structure sounds interesting btw, any chance you could share a photo or two?

Good luck :)
 

chipmunkofdoom2

Always Making Something
View Badges
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Messages
2,417
Reaction score
4,497
Location
Baltimore, MD
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I work with rays and skates at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The two biggest issues are likely going to be what @Smarkow alluded to, aggression from other fish and waste. Rays are relatively messy eaters and need to eat a lot. In fish-only systems with sufficient biological filtration, this is not as much of a concern. I would research each fish that you have and make sure you can't find any instances of aggression between them and rays on the forums.

Substrate is another consideration. Rays generally like more fine substrates. Coarser substrates like crushed coral can irritate their skin. Most sands should be fine.

Another consideration is foods. Some rays and sharks can be hesitant to eat when the first get introduced to captive aquaria. Be prepared with just about every meaty frozen seafood your grocery store offers, as well as a feeding pole to put food under the ray, directly by its mouth. If the ray does seem hesitant, just keep throwing different foods at it until something sticks. Once it's eating something, you can start working your way toward what would be an appropriate diet for rays.

As far a space goes, 6x2 is probably okay, but it depends on how much space your rock takes up and how large the ray will get.
 

Smarkow

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 3, 2018
Messages
1,195
Reaction score
2,452
Location
Toledo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks @chipmunkofdoom2 !! Like @Thomas Jedlicka , I’m really interested in this topic... since the mrs. wants a shark/ray tank sometime down the line. It’s such tough demands she gives me!(Choose “The Mrs.” wisely, gents)

I’ve been to your aquarium before, it’s elite! Nice of you to be slumming it on the forums with us amateurs, sharing your knowledge :). Any species you think a sufficiently prepared hobbyist should start with? Aware of any home tanks you think are successful you can point us to?

Cheers
 

chipmunkofdoom2

Always Making Something
View Badges
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Messages
2,417
Reaction score
4,497
Location
Baltimore, MD
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks @chipmunkofdoom2 !! Like @Thomas Jedlicka , I’m really interested in this topic... since the mrs. wants a shark/ray tank sometime down the line. It’s such tough demands she gives me!(Choose “The Mrs.” wisely, gents)

I’ve been to your aquarium before, it’s elite! Nice of you to be slumming it on the forums with us amateurs, sharing your knowledge :). Any species you think a sufficiently prepared hobbyist should start with? Aware of any home tanks you think are successful you can point us to?

Cheers

Lol, "slumming it." I think people would be surprised how low-tech and down to Earth everything is there :)

I'm afraid I don't have any specific species recommendations for hobbyists, or know of too many people keeping these at home. I think the main issue is these animals really need a tank to themselves or a species-specific tank. Most reefers don't have the time or space to dedicate a 200+ gallon tank to one or two animals. So there aren't a lot of hobbyists that have sharks and rays. After you get them eating though, they're really pretty easy to keep. Give them plenty of open sand bed to explore (and bury themselves, for rays), feed fresh or frozen seafood once or twice a day, and keep nitrates down.

With wild sharks and rays, the biggest obstacle to success is feeding. Most of these animals have very specific feeding behaviors in the wild. Many forage in the sand for small bivalves or crabs. The dead shrimp, lumps of crab meat and shelled clams we get from our grocery store's freezer is not even recognizable as food to these animals. I wouldn't buy a wild shark or ray from a vendor unless I saw them eating. If you'd like to take the vendor's word on it, make sure you really trust them.

As for sharks, there are some captive bred options becoming available, although the stock appears to be hit-or-miss. These animals typically won't have any of the feeding hangups that their wild counterparts do. Live Aquaria carries two captive bred sharks, an Epaulette and a Speckled Carpet, although they're both out of stock right now. They're more expensive than the wild counterparts, but this is the route I would personally choose for a shark.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 73 51.8%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 72 51.1%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 36 25.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 31 22.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.4%
Back
Top