Main | Polka Dot | Motoro | Hystrix | F/W stingray Gallery
Care:
First of all, keep in mind that
I am merely an amateur aquarist. Most of the information provided
are based mainly on my experience and a few books with very
little data. I know some of you have searched far and wide on any
info regarding freshwater rays. A majority of f/w enthusiasts
have never seen or heard about f/w rays and are still amazed that
they do exist. I will try my best to be as detailed as possible.
The best I can do is to share my experience in keeping f/w
stingrays. Don’t forget, I’m just a beginner like most
of you.
There are currently 3 divisions
of f/w (river) stingrays from So. America:
| Potamotrygon |
| Plesiotrygon |
| Paratrygon
(antenna rays) |
Here is how I care for my rays:
- 25% - 35% water change
every 4 to 5 days or 2x a week. Clean water is a major
key in raising f/w rays. I do recommend investing on high
capacity biological filtration such as wet/dry filters,
bio-wheels and fluidized bed filters. Rainbow’s
LifeGard Fluidized bed filters work best for me.
- My f/w ray’s diet
consists of:
Shrimps - The main diet for my rays and
easily obtained from the local supermarket for a relatively
low price. I do de-shell the shrimps but I also leave a small
portion of shells for added nutrition. Occasionally, I stuff
the shrimps with pellets; however, the shrimp w/shell do
contain enough nutrition as it is. Rays do have an unusual
way of removing the shells by grasping the shrimp’s
shell and thrash/shake about until the shell comes loose. Do
siphon or net out uneaten shrimps since it can easily foul
the water in a short period of time.
Earthworms - A delicacy which no carnivorous
fish can resist. Easily obtained from your local bait shops.
Cut Fish - I came across this by accident.
My neighbor handed me some fresh salmon fish which he could
not fit in his tightly packed freezer. I cut a few fish
strips in hopes that my arowanas will easily accept it; which
surprisingly they did not. My P. Motoros went right after it
with no hesitation. Once again; siphon and net out uneaten
cut fish.
- Temp. 79 - 82 F. Water
temp. goes as high as 88 during the hot summer time. This
does not seem to affect the rays except for the increased
appetite.
- pH? This may come as a
shock to some of you; pH is 8.2 and a hardness of over
250ppm. What do you expect from So. California water? Its
so hard that I practically have to wear a helmet just to
take shower! (LoL!) and yet my rays are doing great. My
pictures alone tells more than a thousand words. Of
course f/w rays come from the soft acidic waters of So.
America; however, I find that f/w rays are just as hardy
as other Amazon fish. Surprisingly , I have no success in
keeping cardinal tetras for a long period of time.
That is all there is to it in
raising my f/w rays. So far I have not encountered any problems
in raising f/w rays. Just keep in mind that clean water and a
varied diet makes a HaPpY Stingray.
Other information regarding f/w
rays:
F/w stingrays are wild caught.
Juvenile f/w rays less than 5" in disc diameter that I have
seen are relatively thin and sensitive. Nevertheless, small f/w
stingrays look very adorable. Most inexperienced aquarist
purchase these fish will little or No information regarding its
requirements. But before you purchase one of nature’s
oddballs, here are a few things you should know: Some rays do get
large! At least a maximum disc diameter of at least a meter or
more. While some avg. of about 16" to 18" disc
diameter. F/w Stingrays are polymorphous which makes it so
difficult to classify. The "P" numbering system is used
to label f/w rays. The same method used to label various kinds of
Plecos (the "L" system). All f/w rays are
ovoviviparous; which means they reproduce by copulation and give
birth to live young. Indigenous people fear the f/w stingray more
than piranhas because of its deadly venomous spine.
How to sex f/w rays?
Piece of Cake! Just like their infamous cousins the
sharks, males have claspers while females do not. Even at a
very young age, claspers on juvenile rays are small but
easily recognizable.
F/w stingrays do possess a poisonous spine! So
take extra precautions moving/handling f/w rays; especially
during hand feeding. As much as they are peaceful , SHIT HAPPENS!
If you want to learn more on the lethal spine of f/w rays, here
is an interesting article by STEVE GRENARD (Aqua Vet/Data). Spines are
replaced every 4 to 6 months.
Bare bottom? Sand or Gravel?
I have used fine gravel and
bare bottom with no problems. In my opinion, it's mainly a matter
of personal choice.
| Bare
tank: |
 |
| Advantages: |
Easier to
clean, rays can easily locate/sense food. F/W
rays do use their ventral fins to maneuver;
to walk or to trot. With a bare bottom,
traction is hindered.
|
| Disadvantage: |
unattractive
to some.
|
| Gravel: |
 |
Advantage:
|
 Much more appealing to
look at. F/w rays can easily maneuver and
occasionally bury themselves when frightened. My
P. Motoros spend 85% of the day digging their
mouths and sifting through the gravel. This is
probably what they do in the wild in search for
crustaceans and morsels of food on river
substrates. Gravel also houses beneficial
bacteria. If I do keep sand or gravel, its only
about 1/2" to 1" layer thick.
|
Disadvantage:
|
If gravel/substrate is too thick, fish waste
and leftover foods may be trapped and can cause
water quality problems. Rooted plants can be
easily uprooted by the constant burrowing and
sifting of rays. Large coarse (sharp) edged
gravel "may" cause slight injuries to
soft underbelly of discs. So choose well rounded
gravel. Fine sand is permissible if
siphoned/cleaned regularly.
|
Debating on a new ray?
Most of the rays I have seen in shops are in good health;
however, I have seen a few rays that were in bad condition.
Since these rays are wild caught, most of them are streessed
out and probably have not eaten in a matter days to weeks.
I've also seen a few f/w rays die in arrival; even dying out
after a few minutes after acclimation in a fish store's tank.
The best advice is I can give you is to ask your local fish
store to feed the fish. Healthy ray will eat eagerly and
adapt to its new environment fast. When I took my rays home,
they were eating within 5 to 15 min. after being introduced.
Have the tank ready and cycled before you take the ray home
is a must! Keep the temp. in the high 70's or low 80's F.
Have live foods ready. I have had a lot of success with earthworms, bloodworms,
ghost shrimps and even feeder
fish such as guppies and goldfish. Be extra careful with
feeder fish and blood worms since there is always the chance
of introducing parasites to your tank. Rays are slow hunters
during the day so it may best to impair feeder fish; which I
find cruel. Farm raised earthworms is the way to go. I
usually start introducing fresh shrimps to their diet after a
few days of arrival. Some rays will eagerly accept shrimps
while others are stubborn as hell! But once they get their
first fill in shrimps, it wont be long til' you find yourself
making frequent trips to the local supermarket.
Heaters?
Heaters can cause severe damage to a stingray's disc so
take extra precautions by placing a protective layer around
it. Whether you place your heater in a corner or on a side,
there is always a chance of your precious ray getting burned.
Rays that do get burned will eventually heal but most of the
time it will scar; which can be unattractive. On the pix
below, I used a plastic micron core from a Marineland Magnum
350 canister filter.
Tankmates?
Choose tankmates wisely. Rays are
very peaceful minding their own business at all times so
avoid any aggressive and territorial fish if you can. Just do
make sure its tankmate is not small enough to fit in a ray's
mouth. If you do keep small rays, clown loaches are a very
interesting addition if its not small enough to be swallowed.
The loaches will gather on top of the ray and swim on top of
it while the ray swims around the bottom of the tank. They
probably feel secure with its peaceful counterpart. I
currently do not have a picture of it now but will post it as
soon as I can. I got rid of my prized clown loaches of 2
years since my arowanas started to pick them off one by one.
I know some of you keep some species of plecostomus to keep
algae down, be wary since some plecos do have a knack for
sucking on the sides of wide slow moving fish. Just to name a
few are discus, angelfish and a few species of rays that have
a soft disc (ex. P. leopoldi, P. hystrix). I do keep rays
with my arowanas; Arowanas and rays do make a very impressive
scenenery since the arowana always rules the top part of the
tank while the rays hop along the bottom. Just make sure that
you have the tankspace to house both fish. It's not a smart
choice to start with since both fish can end up dead. My lil
Red Tail Golden arowana shredded the living daylights out of
one of my rays. So for those of you who keep Arowanas and fw
stingrays in a tank; THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU! See gruesome
pix below. I was fortunate enough that the ray's stinger was
trimmed probably by the wholesaler but the arowana did
sustain some minor injuries on its gill plate. Despite of
what happened, I still keep rays with my arowanas.
Stingrays and Plecos?
A Goldy Pleco hangs out with a
polka dot ray: I did have a 4" Sailfin Pleco that
had a bad habit of sucking the discs of my rays; which
gave him a one way ticket to the local fish store.
I hope you enjoyed my
site dedicated to freshwater stingrays. If you would like to
see various kinds of rays available in the market, check out
my freshwater stingray gallery.
Main | Polka Dot | Motoro | Hystrix | F/W stingray Gallery
