Sting ray, what are the downsides?

[Thinslis]

What is the downside to having one of these in your tank? Do they eat corals?

[kathainbowen]

They do not eat corals, however, they are EXCEPTIONALLY difficult to keep. Water quality must be absolutely pristine. They require very large tanks with ample swimming space (ie- lots of open sand space with little rock work). They also require an ultra-fine or sugar-fine sand, otherwise their soft underbellies will get scratched up and they won't really be able to easily burrow. Many species exhibit the same sensitivity to stray voltage as sharks. They often fail to feed when initially arriving, and many new rays starve to death with keepers who have little experience with them. In addition to that, should they do well, sting rays will decimate shrimp and small fish (yum for them, expensive for us!).

Like the octopus and sharks, stingrays are FAR from beginner or newbie friendly pets.

[kathainbowen]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. To put it nicely, it's just not a good idea for a newb pet. If you're really interested in them, you should do some more research on them and set up a tank that will be ray friendly. After you've had some time to let the tank cycle, as well as get settled into the care requirements for saltwater and especially delicate saltwater specimens, then you can really decide if a ray is the right pet for you. Right now, a ray would be more of an impulse buy, which would most likely end up costing you more money and annoyance that you would expect, as well as most likely perishing within a short time frame (like, within a month or two of purchase).

I shouldn't have initially been so harsh, but rays are extremely sensitive animals which, like sharks, are often purchased by people who just have no idea what sort of a mess they're getting themselves into by committing to such an exotic and difficult to keep animal.

[virginiadiver69]

Harsh?? I thought that was a very pleasant response. I just hope your advice will be taken.

[Thinslis]

I'm not looking to purchase one, at least not anytime soon. I have at least 2-3 months before my new tank is even filled with water let alone cycled. =)

I just want to know why I never see them in anyones tank.

[Grins]

Most of us don't have big enough tanks set up just for them. My son wants one but he'll have to save up to afford a tank just for rays.

[kathainbowen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10488885#post10488885 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Thinslis
I'm not looking to purchase one, at least not anytime soon. I have at least 2-3 months before my new tank is even filled with water let alone cycled. =)

I just want to know why I never see them in anyones tank.

It can be done, but you are right. It's rarely seen. Mostly because they require such delicate care and such large tanks in general to safely and comfortably house most ray species. That, and they require ample swimming/burrowing space, cutting back vasty on the amount of corals you can have (picture a very, very large, but very spartan and almost empty looking tank). They also have a tendency to "dust" corals with the sand as they flutter it up and around them to burrow, making your choices of corals limited to those that don't mind a bit of sendiment abuse. Also, bear in mind that larger animals have a higher tendency to knock over, bump, jostle, and damage corals than smaller animals. Also, like I said, rays will just gobble up any fish or shrimp that can fit in its mouth, including our more beneficial reef friends (such as the peppermint shrimp, cleaner shrimp, blennies, etc.) And, on top of all that, larger fish have a larger biomass and produce more wastes and pollutants that are detrimental to many corals (unless, of course, we're talking about Xenia, which will love it and grow out of control =P ) It just ends up being more of a hassle to keep rays with a reef tank.

On the same token, you can keep sharks in a reef tank, and I have seen it done. That doesn't mean it's easy, nor that it's an undertaking for all reef hobbyists. The same concerns for keeping rays in a reef also go with keeping sharks in a reef.

As per benefits, I can think of very few, if any. The ray will be a cool curio, that's for sure. However, that's when it comes out! Many rays will spend their time with the bright daylights required for reef lighting, hidden and burrowed in the sand bed, with only their top ridge and eyes sticking out. Perhaps the only real reef-worthy benefit would be stirring up the sand bed and eating crustaceans as well as camel shrimp and those wonderful varieties of peppermint shrimp that eat coral as opposed to aiptasia. Aside from that, there really are NO benefits to going through all that to keep a ray in a reef. You're just better off designing a species tank and keeping coral as an after thought.

I would say that, to be honest with you, keeping a ray in general is not meant for a newbie, nor even experienced hobbyists. To be even more perfectly honest with you, I'm even woman enough to admit, with all my experience and everything I've seen/done with my home tanks and the LFS, that I would be hesitant to personally keep a ray. They're just exceptionally difficult pets and often not worth the work with them hiding all the time. A far more rewarding pet (and slightly easier, although still quite difficult) with a unique nature would be a small catshark like the epaulette shark or coral catshark.

[Jim_Leyland]

it would be neat to have a small shark, but wouldn't it eat all the fish you had?

[kathainbowen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10489440#post10489440 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jim_Leyland
it would be neat to have a small shark, but wouldn't it eat all the fish you had?

Not all. Just any it thinks it can eat, along with any shrimp it finds.

[Jim_Leyland]

catsharks get up to 3' right? i was reading somewhere than min. size was 150 or 180gallon.. isn't that still a bit small?

[kathainbowen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10489479#post10489479 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jim_Leyland
catsharks get up to 3' right? i was reading somewhere than min. size was 150 or 180gallon.. isn't that still a bit small?

Gallon size, while important, is not the more defining issue when it comes to keeping sharks of any variety. The need ample swimming space for comfortable hunting, so the larger the footprint of the tank, the better. A 2-3' long shark would have issues comfortably turning and hunting in a smaller tank like that, especially since the maximum width of most of the commercially availablea tanks you were listing is about 24". Sharks, in the end, often require custom tanks or tidepool style setups, but you should never base their minimum tank size on a gallon number.

This is one of the many reasons that I pointed out that sharks were easier than rays but still very difficult (although, I also pointed out that they'd be more rewarding since it would be slightly less effort for an animal which, although sluggishly behaved during the daytime, you would still see more of that a ray) Generally speaking, most hobbyist tanks are not really equipped for sharks OR rays, especially reef hobbyists. We have a certain knack for attempting to pack out tanks with loads of live rock and corals.

[Thinslis]

Thank you all for the information! The tank I saw the rays in was a 300g with plenty of open space! They will be well cared for that is for sure.