clean water good food...

[charles]

A couple of people asked me this question, why won't you sell me a stingray.

I am not trying to be offensive or in any way saying you are not capable to keep a fish at all nor I dislike the smell of money. But I do care about my customer service. I want my customers to enjoy keeping fish, instead of worrying about fish. Stingray is not your everyday fish like your cichlids. They do require a much cleaner water and good flow. Any trace of anmonia or nitrite will result in a fish that will not eat eventhough it is feeding well in my tanks. You can buy a fish rather it is wild or tankbreed, worm eating only or pellet trained, the result will be the same. If you don't have clean water and good flow, after the transfer, it will most likely go for a hungry strike.

A fish is in some way, like us. If you are not sick, it is very hard to go for a long period of time without eating food when food is presented for you. I would ask a question like what is your ph, anmonia and nitrite level, and type of tankmate in your tank. Almost always, it is water quality... and the rest of the time, the more stable tankmates ate everything before your new fish has a chance.

A test kit is very inexpensive and very good investment for your hobby. The amount of $ of your fish in your tank far exceed the cost of a test kit. It is very difficult to tell by looking at your tank or smelling your tank to detect any trace of anmonia and nitrite. But a test kit will review the result in minutes and very easy to do.

That leads to a second question, why would the older fish in the tank won't get affected if there is trace of anmonia or nitrite in the tank? It is what we refer to as OTS, or old tank symptoms. Your fish has used to the tank with subpar condition. But as soon as you add new and more sensitive fish, almost always result in dying of the new fish.

And this doesn't always a guideline for stingray. It is a general guideline for any fish and adding any fish. I just use stingray as an example as they are one of those more sensitive fish.

I hope this little bit of my experience will help you.

[2wheelsx2]

Good info, Charles, and I think useful for plecos as well as rays. Many people think bottom feeding fish inherently can tolerate subpar water conditions, which is the furthest thing from the truth.

[Illbuyourcatfish]

I might add that it is indeed a lot of work to for me to 50% WC of my 180 grow out every 3 days and with 3 fx5's it isn't cheap either. But if you can afford the time and cost keeping stingrays is a remarkable and VERY rewarding experience!

PS, Charles the two you sold to me in December have been doing fantastic, always hungry!