Stingray in a reef tank??

Millimylilly · Sep 16, 2019

Hey everyone, here is my stingray, Ray. I’ve had her (I think it’s a her) for about 4 months now. I feed her diced up seafood by hand every day. She’s very smart and has quite the personality. I’m wondering why more people don’t have rays in their tank?? She hasn’t eaten anyone that I know of...

Jvesche20 · Sep 16, 2019

I dont know a whole lot about them in the tank but when I lived in florida I would catch them for bait when fishing. They would be buried in the sand most of the time when finding them. I could see their eyes glowing. With that being said I dont have enough room for a stingray to burry in the sand. I have too much rockwork

Hemmdog · Sep 16, 2019

Very cool. I’d love to have one but you need such a massive tank and it needs to be circular in shape, it’s hard to find space for such a tank. The oolite sand needed for sharks/rays also blows around a ton in reefs with wavemakers. They also eat a ton so it’s very difficult to keep nutrients down. Thanks for sharing though!

Waterislife · Sep 16, 2019

I'm not sure of variety, name, I believe they get about 2 feet across. One of my LFS as a huge one, eats anything it can fit in it's mouth, they say...

Jvesche20 · Sep 16, 2019

What does your entire tank look like?

JoshH · Sep 16, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Very cool. I’d love to have one but you need such a massive tank and it needs to be circular in shape, it’s hard to find space for such a tank. The oolite sand needed for sharks/rays also blows around a ton in reefs with wavemakers. They also eat a ton so it’s very difficult to keep nutrients down. Thanks for sharing though!

That's the first I've heard of Ray's needing a round tank...

Hemmdog · Sep 16, 2019

JoshH said:
That's the first I've heard of Ray's needing a round tank...

Round edges, racetrack works too.

Millimylilly · Sep 16, 2019

Right now I have a 150 gallon cube tank with minimal rock work and bare bottom. Originally I was going to keep her in the 150 stock tank sump but she seems to like the sides of the display. I’ll try to get a shot of her swimming

JoshH · Sep 16, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Round edges, racetrack works too.

Interesting, I wonder if that's for all Ray's? My LFS has had a pair of Ray's in a very large L shaped tank for many many years without issue... now it's very likely they have just been housing them wrong lol I'm just curious with the reasoning behind it.

Millimylilly · Sep 16, 2019

She’s full now so she’s resting

Hemmdog · Sep 16, 2019

JoshH said:
Interesting, I wonder if that's for all Ray's? My LFS has had a pair of Ray's in a very large L shaped tank for many many years without issue... now it's very likely they have just been housing them wrong lol I'm just curious with the reasoning behind it.

It depends on the size of the tank, if it is wide enough that it can turn around without rubbing it’s “nose” on the glass and twisting it’s body in weird ways to turn then it’s fine. If their nose gets rubbed raw it can cause bad bacterial infections that can be fatal. The rounded corners is a safety precaution so they don’t rub their “nose” raw when turning around doing laps all day.
If it’s a very passive shark/ray that sits on the bottom it’s also usually not an issue. Some rays swim a lot though.

Coralreefer1 · Sep 16, 2019

Blue Spots and Yellow Rays are the best bet for an aquarium life and easiest to locate. They are difficult to maintain however, due to having the necessary filtration, size tank and sand bed for them to retreat.
I had a Blue Spot, but unfortunately I was careless and didn’t have enough filtration for it.
They are fascinating and beautiful animals.
I would also put the Cat and Bamboo Sharks in this category...

JoshH · Sep 16, 2019

Hemmdog said:
It depends on the size of the tank, if it is wide enough that it can turn around without rubbing it’s “nose” on the glass and twisting it’s body in weird ways to turn then it’s fine. If their nose gets rubbed raw it can cause bad bacterial infections that can be fatal. The rounded corners is a safety precaution so they don’t rub their “nose” raw when turning around doing laps all day.
If it’s a very passive shark/ray that sits on the bottom it’s also usually not an issue. Some rays swim a lot though.

That might be the difference, the tank they are in is a massive tank.

Matt1997 · Sep 16, 2019

I used to have and breed freshwater rays. Haven’t done anything yet with saltwater rays but I will eventually. The aquascape in my opinion needs to be fairly open with minimal rock work. Bare bottom preferred to keep good water quality. The tank does not need to be rounded unless you keep a continuous swimming ray such as the bat ray. Photo of my old male breeder.

Jacked Reefer · Sep 16, 2019

If saltwater rays are anything like freshwater rays the don't need a racetrack tank, Just a couple thousand gallon system with a footprint of at least 4 ft by 8 ft. (for the smaller kinds), Impeccable water quality, and insane amounts of food. Good luck with these fascinating fish!