Freshwater Teacup Stingrays

[freshwaterfishlover]

So my dream always has been to keep Freshwater Stingrays. I eventually want to keep Freshwater Teacup Stingrays in my apartment. I would be housing them in a 120 gallon. I would like to go bigger then a 120 gallon but, anything over 120 gallons goes from 4 feet to 6 feet and don't have that space in a apartment.
I mostly would just be keeping 2 Teacup Stingrays in the Aquarium. I did a search and did not find my answers to my 2 Questions.

1 what decor can I keep in a tank with Stingrays? I know plants will not work.
2 can I House a Mexican Orange Dwarf Crayfish with Stingrays?

 

[Wills]

Tea Cup Rays are just a term used by shops to try and sell them. Making them sound like they are small ones.... but they are no thtey will still grow to about a foot minimum in disk and will need a large tank.
 
Ideally for these you want a tank that is minimum 6 foot long and 30 inches front to back.
 
The cray fish is a bad idea, it will either be eaten or could damage the rays.
 
Wills

 

[leighton_87]

Unfortunately freshwater stingrays are difficult to keep in a standard tank.

The width of the tank should be at least twice the disk size of an adult stingray to allow then to turn And I would think you would want a length of at least 6 times the length especially if you want to keep them in a group.

The maximum disk size of a reticulated stingray is 12-14 inches so your looking at a tank of 6 foot by 2 foot minimum

You MAY be ok with a single adult stingray in a 4 foot by 2 foot tank but I wouldn't recommend it.

The problem for most people is giving them a two foot wide tank to give them space to turn around in.

Edit - I see Wills beat me to it

 

[Mikey1]

sand substrate is pretty much a must.....
 
and no to the crayfish, they will become a nice meal for the ray sooner or later

 

[freshwaterfishlover]

I plan to use sand.

 

[MBOU]

Definately not imo!
 
I kept a pair of 'teacup stingrays' in a 6x2x2 and went out and had to get an 8x3x2 for them...
 
Even as pups in a 5x2x2 they used ALL of the space! They are incredibly active scooting along the floor, exploring smooth pebbles, up the glass and often swimming midwater...
 
My female was just under 30cm disc and almost same again in tail length! This meant that front of ray to tip of tail, she was nearly 2 foot! At 2 years old (maybe 2.5 tops) To a point that kept in a 2ft wide tank, she was damaging her tail when she turned... IMO the tank HAS to be 3ft front to back to give rays space to turn.
 
I found that a deep sand bed (few inches) with as little obstructive decor as possible was important. Had two 'patches' of smooth cobbles either end of the tank as they loved to try and get food out from between the cobbles, kept them amused for hours and they loved having an expanse of sand to scoot over and bury in. Did use a few robust plastic plants (made by sydeco) that the rays knocked about and used golf balls (or any ball too big to be eaten and sinks) for them to play with, they loved rolling them about.

 

[Wills]

Great tips from Mbou They really are a special fish and it is such a shame they are so readily available now. Just got to make sure what ever you do is right for them and right for you! If your not ready for the commitment then maybe its time to think again...
 
Wills