Freshwater Stingrays
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Many people have FW rays on this forum. I have kept them too. Depending on the ray care varies but they all need large tanks with clean water and top notch filtering. Charles a vendor on this forum brings them in all the time. They are much better and cheaper than the ones you would see in a fish store.
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You will need a big tank that's for sure... in my non-expert advice at LEAST 120 gallons. On top of growing very big they are also extremely sensitive (due to lack of scales) and therefore they pollute the water quickly but are very intolerant of poor water quality.
The other things you will need to consider are that they are usually best kept alone, and therefore most likely fit too well into any community setup you currently have running. Also, they prefer live or frozen foods although there is a small chance that you may be able to train them to accept food formulated for large carnivores.
Hassle aside, they are really spectacular fish. They come in many varieties and gorgeous patterns. That being said, they are definitely not for the beginner. You oculd probably get more expert advice in the Monster Fish section.
The other things you will need to consider are that they are usually best kept alone, and therefore most likely fit too well into any community setup you currently have running. Also, they prefer live or frozen foods although there is a small chance that you may be able to train them to accept food formulated for large carnivores.
Hassle aside, they are really spectacular fish. They come in many varieties and gorgeous patterns. That being said, they are definitely not for the beginner. You oculd probably get more expert advice in the Monster Fish section.
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Stingray is actually pretty social animal. I have many occassion that I left with 1 ray, it will stop eating. Then I added new rays in the tank, the one refusing food all of a sudden becomes very lively.
It is not necessary to feed live though live seems to be a very easy way to keep them to eat. There are many keepers here be able to feed frozen quite quickly and many actually feed pellets only. So it depends if you can break the ray or it will break you first...
but they are messy. Water changes is a must and good filtration is a must.
There are a couple types of rays will stay at 12" in disc size. One example is Brazilian Hystrix which is a very very rare find. I forgot the second one. Don't forget, the total length of fish usuaully = 2 x the disc diameter size.
And they are amazing. I have a customer who kept marble with her mbu for a long time. The marble motoro was killed by a pair of breeding discus. They pecked the eye out and died of infection. Now she is keeping some 4"-5" teacups with her 12" mbu puffer.
It is not necessary to feed live though live seems to be a very easy way to keep them to eat. There are many keepers here be able to feed frozen quite quickly and many actually feed pellets only. So it depends if you can break the ray or it will break you first...
but they are messy. Water changes is a must and good filtration is a must.
There are a couple types of rays will stay at 12" in disc size. One example is Brazilian Hystrix which is a very very rare find. I forgot the second one. Don't forget, the total length of fish usuaully = 2 x the disc diameter size.
And they are amazing. I have a customer who kept marble with her mbu for a long time. The marble motoro was killed by a pair of breeding discus. They pecked the eye out and died of infection. Now she is keeping some 4"-5" teacups with her 12" mbu puffer.
FW stingrays are what got me into the hobby! they are amazing creatures, I've lost 2 stingrays over the years, and before they passed on they actually waited for me to get home, swim to the tank, and then stop breathing 
Over the years, I've had 5 stingrays in total, 3 lived for 3 or more years before i had to let them go because i had to move. With regards to tank size, i think it depends, I've had success starting them off in 10 gallon tanks, while constantly upgrading every 3 months ( i kept them in small tanks coz i was in a rush to get them as well as grow them), in retrospec, getting a bigger tank for them would be optimal cost wise, but doable in smaller tanks-----the only downside though is that WC was done everyday (if it was small) as well as u need to be bare bottom, and scoop/clean up after every feeding or pooping. IN the end i ended up with a 150 gallon tank.
In terms of rays, ironically, the hystrix (teacup) which is the smallest of the stingray group is NOT for beginners. They are probably the hardest to keep from my experience and my old group of friends experience. The motoro (brown in color) often referred as blue/orange one is probably the beginner ray for me.....with regards to disc size.....im not sure how big they get, mine got to around 20-24 inches in disc diameter. I do know though that u need around 36 in width aquariums to have them live comfortably.
This is the stingray thread in mfk:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=116
You can find all the important details below there
In terms of feeding them, I like feeding them guppies/goldfish/ghostshrimp once in a while keep them on top of their toes. But that is a bit risky unless you know where to get them, i.e. breed them urself, or have a friend who breeds them. Normally i rotate their diet during the week, and they consist of the following; scallop, shrimp or prawns, and mussels (all deshelled), as well as bloodworms. I MAY in a sense be spoiling them......haha but yeah thats' their diet. Its easy to get them to eat from your hand. On a side note though, the rule of thumb isn't "if it doesn't look like it will fit in their mouth, they can be placed with the stingray. I once got a frontosa before, and i believe that there was no chance it would fit into the ray's mouth but when i awoke the next day, the frontosa was gone, the stingray was happily burried under the sand, with a huge bump on its stomach. I think the rule is.....if it can fit under the disc...think again.
Hope this was helpful
Over the years, I've had 5 stingrays in total, 3 lived for 3 or more years before i had to let them go because i had to move. With regards to tank size, i think it depends, I've had success starting them off in 10 gallon tanks, while constantly upgrading every 3 months ( i kept them in small tanks coz i was in a rush to get them as well as grow them), in retrospec, getting a bigger tank for them would be optimal cost wise, but doable in smaller tanks-----the only downside though is that WC was done everyday (if it was small) as well as u need to be bare bottom, and scoop/clean up after every feeding or pooping. IN the end i ended up with a 150 gallon tank.
In terms of rays, ironically, the hystrix (teacup) which is the smallest of the stingray group is NOT for beginners. They are probably the hardest to keep from my experience and my old group of friends experience. The motoro (brown in color) often referred as blue/orange one is probably the beginner ray for me.....with regards to disc size.....im not sure how big they get, mine got to around 20-24 inches in disc diameter. I do know though that u need around 36 in width aquariums to have them live comfortably.
This is the stingray thread in mfk:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=116
You can find all the important details below there
In terms of feeding them, I like feeding them guppies/goldfish/ghostshrimp once in a while
keep them on top of their toes. But that is a bit risky unless you know where to get them, i.e. breed them urself, or have a friend who breeds them. Normally i rotate their diet during the week, and they consist of the following; scallop, shrimp or prawns, and mussels (all deshelled), as well as bloodworms. I MAY in a sense be spoiling them......haha but yeah thats' their diet. Its easy to get them to eat from your hand. On a side note though, the rule of thumb isn't "if it doesn't look like it will fit in their mouth, they can be placed with the stingray. I once got a frontosa before, and i believe that there was no chance it would fit into the ray's mouth but when i awoke the next day, the frontosa was gone, the stingray was happily burried under the sand, with a huge bump on its stomach. I think the rule is.....if it can fit under the disc...think again.Hope this was helpful
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So true...
Thanks again!!! So much info and it's great! You have totally motivated me to seriously consider this...but I would ideally like to start them in a bigger tank...just to be fair to the rays. Thanks for the links as well!!! You guys are so nice!
Oh ya and one more question....are any of them venomous, and if so, how harmful can they be??? Thanks again!
Oh ya and one more question....are any of them venomous, and if so, how harmful can they be??? Thanks again!
i was just wondering , what fish have you kept in the past ?
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Well its really about learn from mistake. You can also learn and keep at the same time. I keep flower horn and aro before and I do jump right into ray. There is always people here to help or site for info, the only thing is you got to be really into it, no matter what happen don't just ignore it or get rid of it right a way. Keeping is easy, feeding is the hard part.
I have a few african cichlids right now. I've also had a community tank with neons, mollies, danios, and platy's etc. It's really quite addicting and I'd just love to have a big tank with something amazing in it...plus I love animals of all kinds..lol.
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If you have the space, money and time I say go for it. Just do lots of homework beforehand and make sure you are frequenting a few commendable ray forums. Just make sure you are aware of the extra time involved for feeding live/frozen, extra water changes, etc.
And whatever you do, UNDERSTOCK until you know what you're doing! The best safety net is always understocking!!!
And whatever you do, UNDERSTOCK until you know what you're doing! The best safety net is always understocking!!!
Yes i'm definitely doing my research that's for sure, I want to know as much about them as possible before diving in. I don't want to commit to something if i'm unsure or don't think I have the experience. I have a house full of animals as well, 2 dogs, sun conure, malaysian golden geckos, fire belly newts...plus my fish...lol, so I definitely love animals of all kinds.
What's wrong with that? I don't think the stingray would mind eating those, it is true that they are bony, but you'll be sure that the stingray has a good jaw.
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