Stingrays.....
- Thread starter macpegg
- Start date
cichlidmaster
Fish Gatherer
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2002
- Messages
- 2,570
- Reaction score
- 2
As far as going out of their way to "sting"...no they don't!!
Most stings occur when people step on them in the water due to not seeing them. Stingrays bury themselves in the sand and can be very hard to see.
As for keeping them with other fish...the answer is yes you can. I have known people to keep arrowana's with them.
I really don't know a whole lot about stingrays, but if you do a search for them I am sure you will find a lot of helpful information on them.
CM
Most stings occur when people step on them in the water due to not seeing them. Stingrays bury themselves in the sand and can be very hard to see.
As for keeping them with other fish...the answer is yes you can. I have known people to keep arrowana's with them.
I really don't know a whole lot about stingrays, but if you do a search for them I am sure you will find a lot of helpful information on them.
CM
I came really close to getting one last December... but I'm glad I didn't... I'm glad I spoke to the right people first. I may consider again in March...
YOU CAN NOT!!! EVER CYCLE WITH SINGRAYS! THEY WILL DIE. DON'T EVEN TRY IT. Cycle first, add them about 3 months later.
They won't sting unless provoked. I watched as my LFS guy stuck his hand in, and maneuvered the animal around so that I could see if it was a male or female (evident by the presence of claspers, the male sexual organ)
Florida Stingrays grow to be 12" in Diameter, and I've heard success stories of holding 3 in a 75 gallon, 2' by 4' by 2' tank. They are also fairly docile. Morotos are much more agressive and can grow to be THREE FEET IN DIAMETER. THINK twice about these guys... You'd need a freakin' swimming pool to keep them.
They eat frozen krill, and ghost shrimp, and the like. Crustaceans, like crayfish, and crabs, I would think would also make an excellent dinner. Keep ONLY WITH SURFACE FISH. They WILL make meals out of tank mates. I've seen Floridas kept with arrowanas before, and morotos kept with angels, I'm not sure if a Florida could be kept with angels, but it would be interesting to find out.
100% of all stingrays you will find in your LFS have been CAPTURED, and pretty recently. BE SURE you wait about a week or two (it's suggested even THREE) to make sure that any bruised and bleeding spots go away, and no diseases develop.
FREQUENT WATER CHANGES!! We're talking 25% every week, at least. I've even seen suggested that you change out every other day atleast 20%. These animals WILL NOT tolerate Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia, Temperature changes, ETC. Forget vacations, you're staying home, or make sure you have someone you can trust to care for these animals. VERY high maintenence.
Sandy bottom. This is obvious. They burrow. NO sharp/ blunt objects. Nothing course, Nothing at all that they could run into, get a gash, and introduce infection.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wet your hands before handling. Yes, shark skin (they are close relatives to sharks) is so rough it was once used as medieval armor, but the animal's skin is so sensitive to this type of thing... do NOT damage the slime coat. These animals are frequently used in feeder pools at marine parks... so they can be tamed. However, marine park animals barbs are also trimmed, I'm wondering if this can be done in the house as well... I imagine all it would take is some experience, and a pair of dog nail clippers.
These animals are extremely sensitive... and I would not trust all internet information... I would also severly doubt that which you hear from your LFS. It took me to get the manager to get a lot of my info. I recently found a 'reputable' website that said that it was impossible to sex these animals in captivity... though I, who cannot sex those fish lacking sexual dimorphism, find sexing sting rays the easiest thing in the world.
These animals are NOT for a novice. Think long and hard first. There are also several states (all coastal) that strictly prohibit keeping sting rays, due to the fact the animals can be harvested by general public, and otherwise mis-handled, or released back to the wild, possibly introducing ferral species/ diseases. Take your time on this one... don't lunge at the chance.
YOU CAN NOT!!! EVER CYCLE WITH SINGRAYS! THEY WILL DIE. DON'T EVEN TRY IT. Cycle first, add them about 3 months later.
They won't sting unless provoked. I watched as my LFS guy stuck his hand in, and maneuvered the animal around so that I could see if it was a male or female (evident by the presence of claspers, the male sexual organ)
Florida Stingrays grow to be 12" in Diameter, and I've heard success stories of holding 3 in a 75 gallon, 2' by 4' by 2' tank. They are also fairly docile. Morotos are much more agressive and can grow to be THREE FEET IN DIAMETER. THINK twice about these guys... You'd need a freakin' swimming pool to keep them.
They eat frozen krill, and ghost shrimp, and the like. Crustaceans, like crayfish, and crabs, I would think would also make an excellent dinner. Keep ONLY WITH SURFACE FISH. They WILL make meals out of tank mates. I've seen Floridas kept with arrowanas before, and morotos kept with angels, I'm not sure if a Florida could be kept with angels, but it would be interesting to find out.
100% of all stingrays you will find in your LFS have been CAPTURED, and pretty recently. BE SURE you wait about a week or two (it's suggested even THREE) to make sure that any bruised and bleeding spots go away, and no diseases develop.
FREQUENT WATER CHANGES!! We're talking 25% every week, at least. I've even seen suggested that you change out every other day atleast 20%. These animals WILL NOT tolerate Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia, Temperature changes, ETC. Forget vacations, you're staying home, or make sure you have someone you can trust to care for these animals. VERY high maintenence.
Sandy bottom. This is obvious. They burrow. NO sharp/ blunt objects. Nothing course, Nothing at all that they could run into, get a gash, and introduce infection.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wet your hands before handling. Yes, shark skin (they are close relatives to sharks) is so rough it was once used as medieval armor, but the animal's skin is so sensitive to this type of thing... do NOT damage the slime coat. These animals are frequently used in feeder pools at marine parks... so they can be tamed. However, marine park animals barbs are also trimmed, I'm wondering if this can be done in the house as well... I imagine all it would take is some experience, and a pair of dog nail clippers.
These animals are extremely sensitive... and I would not trust all internet information... I would also severly doubt that which you hear from your LFS. It took me to get the manager to get a lot of my info. I recently found a 'reputable' website that said that it was impossible to sex these animals in captivity... though I, who cannot sex those fish lacking sexual dimorphism, find sexing sting rays the easiest thing in the world.
These animals are NOT for a novice. Think long and hard first. There are also several states (all coastal) that strictly prohibit keeping sting rays, due to the fact the animals can be harvested by general public, and otherwise mis-handled, or released back to the wild, possibly introducing ferral species/ diseases. Take your time on this one... don't lunge at the chance.
Thx for the advice guys.. My lfs keeps 3 stingrays with 2 arrowanas, hey seem to get on ok. But what i`d rather do is, have a seperate larger tank to keep them o their own.. let them settle, hen decide to add fish by fish, that way they shud get used to the fish entering the tank..As everyone loves their fish, i don`t intend to put their little lives at risk.. AND MINE.. 
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
488 -
309 -
228 -
227
-
218 -
193 -
177 -
160 -
134 -
132 -
127 -
118 -
110 -
97 -
96