Stingray

[300bowler]

Has anyone ever kept a stingray in a reef tank.

I am now intrigued after going to buy corals from a guy locally who had one in his 300 gallon display. He said it was a Cortez stingray and that he had got it a couple month ago. I have always wanted to set up a lagoon style tank for rays and sharks but never thought of putting one in my reef tank. Has anyone ever seen or attempted this????

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

It would be difficult considering how much waste they create, and how they could either knock over corals or tear their bellies on corals.

 

[cameronh]

Unless you find a way to keep the ray from getting near the corals..........

 

[locito277]

I saw David Sax y had one in his full
Blown SPS. Wish I knew what steps he took to make it feasible. You can see it on his YouTube video

 

[Bbaz123456]

I see it everyday! But it's not easy. As mentioned, they love to poop and can be destructive. To me it is all worth it though. A 300 gallon reef would likely be to small, even for a Cortez, unless it is designed for him. The need a lot of open swimming room and open soft sand to play in. The typical reef with tons of rock would not be an ideal home.

 

[locito277]

True Saxbys aquarium is like 1500 gallons

 

[300bowler]

Unless you find a way to keep the ray from getting near the corals..........

That's kind of what I was thinking when I saw it. He had mostly softies and lps. Not sure if that would help considering it would be harder for the Ray to hurt itself or if it still would hurt itself on the lps skeletons.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

A 300 gallon reef would likely be to small, even for a Cortez...

Correct. Their disc gets over 12" quickly if cared for properly, meaning an open footprint of 8' x 4' should be afforded. I've seen them kept in smaller systems, but I would never recommend it.

With that said they're an amazing animal, I bred them for a few years in the early 2000's. If you have the space and a great filtration system, you will not be disappointed Do your research, ensure they can thrive in your system.

 

[Bbaz123456]

Rip Bob, he unfortunately passed a few months ago after 5 years. Marv is still kicking and doing well, going on 7 years now. They are/were in a 1500 reef with lots of open space.

 

[300bowler]

Correct. Their disc gets over 12" quickly if cared for properly, meaning an open footprint of 8' x 4' should be afforded. I've seen them kept in smaller systems, but I would never recommend it.

With that said they're an amazing animal, I bred them for a few years in the early 2000's. If you have the space and a great filtration system, you will not be disappointed Do your research, ensure they can thrive in your system.

I am not planning on getting one any time soon and if I do I would set up a lagoon style reef that was designed just for them. I was just curious after seeing one in a local reefers tank.

 

[300bowler]

Rip Bob, he unfortunately passed a few months ago after 5 years. Marv is still kicking and doing well, going on 7 years now. They are/were in a 1500 reef with lots of open space.

They are beautiful and look happy and healthy. How big are they in the picture? Disc diameter?

 

[Bbaz123456]

They are beautiful and look happy and healthy. How big are they in the picture? Disc diameter?

Thanks!
He was 15.5" across and she's probably 12-13"
As mentioned by stunreefer, they are awesome pets and very well worth the time and effort that is needed for them if you are willing to put it in.
Also, as he said, do lots of research and then some more. In your research, you will read over and over again to not attempt a blue spot ribbontail and I tend to agree for the most part. But I have proven to myself that after you get them to eat, they are pretty hardy.

 

[LadAShark]

Thanks!
He was 15.5" across and she's probably 12-13"
As mentioned by stunreefer, they are awesome pets and very well worth the time and effort that is needed for them if you are willing to put it in.
Also, as he said, do lots of research and then some more. In your research, you will read over and over again to not attempt a blue spot ribbontail and I tend to agree for the most part. But I have proven to myself that after you get them to eat, they are pretty hardy.

There were two blue spotted ribbontails at an lfs near me. I asked them to feed them for me and... THE STINGRAYS ATE LIKE CRAZY. I really wanted to grab one, but unfortunately I didn't have a system for it at the time. Price was $200

 

[Matnil78]

Do you have any tips to get a blue spot ribbontail to eat? And what do you feed? I think it's hard to find anything about them except that they are difficult mainly because them refuse to eat....

 

[Bbaz123456]

Number one most important thing would be the proper habitat. They need to be happy to be healthy. That means a very large tank with a very large footprint and a nice Sandy bottom with lots of open space. Good circulation with excellent filtration. I would recommend a bare minimum of 40 square feet of Sandy bottom for one ray.
Without a proper environment it probably doesn't matter what you try to feed. From my experience, they are very emotional animals and need to be happy before starting to eat.
My best advice on actual foods would be to go to the lfs and grab a pack of everything they have frozen and a few of any live feed options they might have, then stop at the seafood market and grab some more. Also pick up a few long acrylic rods for feeding sticks.
Then about every hour try a different type of food on the stick until one of them works.