Are they reef safe? I've kept my eye on one at the fish store for some time now. I would love to put the little guy in a 600 gallon reef tank. What do you all know about these things. I respect the LFS's opinion, but I'd like yours too. I know he's talked some people of buying it because of the size of their tanks. He said it would do okay in mine.
Sting rays
- Thread starter AWD
- Start date
Are you talking about Blue Dot Stingrays? They are invert eaters and are not really reef safe. Scott Michael's book mentions that they may eat small fish as well (none of the rays I can think of are reef safe). Rays need a lot of open area on the substrate (which is usually not found in reef tanks).
I think you should get a copy of Scott W Michael's book "Aquarium Sharks and Rays". Some rays are completely suitable for large home aquariums such as yours, while others fare terribly in captivity. Do you know what species it is? The ray I see most often is Taenimura lymna (sp?), the Blue Dotted stingray. It feeds solely on polychaetes and other sand infauna, if I remember correctly, and thus is a teribble choice for reef tanks and captivity in general.
Usually what we see here in the midwest are common pacific rays. Cute little buggers, and tons of personality. I used to have a small one in a 125 for awhile. They need a fine grade substrate and LOTS of open room. I think I had 3 rocks (each a bit smaller than a volleyball) in the 125. Most of the filtration was external--fluidized bed sand filter. He ate prawn shrimp by the handful. hehe Don't think I'd put one in a reef though.
Interesting thing, with the pacific ray I had, I kept the tank with a very fine black volcanic substrate. He loved it. But after about 6 months in the tank, he started to darken! Guess his natural defences were trying to adjust and make his body darker.
Interesting thing, with the pacific ray I had, I kept the tank with a very fine black volcanic substrate. He loved it. But after about 6 months in the tank, he started to darken! Guess his natural defences were trying to adjust and make his body darker.
Well, if it's eating silversides then it's probably not the one I was thinking of. The only way to know for sure is to get a proper ID. Some of the smaller ones stay the size of a dinner plate and would probably do OK in your tank. They definitely won't munch on corals, but they'll probably knock them over. I don't know if I'd trust them with snails, small fish, or shrimp either. The bioload they add to a reef tank is another concern.
Matt_Wandell":ifdr01eh said:
Agreed. The one described sounds a lot like the one I had. He was relatively small (disc a bit smaller than a dinnerplate), and ate like a horse. He'd go through 4-5 3" prawn a day and was still always begging. He sure wasn't skinny, though! 8O
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