[Energy]

The stingray can be trained to eat the food you provide. If you provide the food they will not go after other sources. I have cleaner shrimp, small fishes and just about anything a stingray would eat in the same tank. The stingray has a set feeding time and location everyday. Since I provide food it doesn't actively hunt other prey. The animal stays full and satisfied. When I acquired the stingray it was somewhat malnurished which unfortunately is somewhat common. By looking at the area by the base of the tail a person can get a good indication of the health of the animal. If the skin is sunken and the tail is skinny the animal needs to be fattened up. My stingray has gained considerable weight since his introduction into the system. A few previous posters stated that the system was not adequate to house a stingray. I would like to agree with them. Most aquarium conditions are not appropriate for a stingray, shark or actually most of the fish we house in our systems. I would like to point out that although this not an ideal set-up I have tried to provide all the inhabitants with the best environment possible. One of the previous posts commented on the stingray's tail being damaged. I believe they stated it was due to abrasion by the corals. I was very impressed by this observation and would like to clarify the situation for others. The very end of the stingray's tail was damaged but not by the corals. This was done by a red sea sailfin tang that mistook the white tip of the tail for a piece of the food I feed the stingray. The red-sea then picked at the tail on a few other occasions creating the abrasion. This fish was promptly donated to another reefer and given a good home.