In the tank

Before you go to look for a stingray you should ask yourself, "Is my tank suitable for stingrays?" As I said before, width is more important then height, try to get as big a tank as possible. This is important because rays spend 95% of their time on the bottom surface of your tank. Young, small rays,  8" or less in size, can be kept in a 45" x 20" x 20". This should only be temporary, a bigger tank must be provided when the rays get larger. Even the smallest ray, the Potamotrygon scobina, is still going to get as big as 12" not counting the tail. So a tank with the dimensions 63" x 32" x 20" is the minimum size for a adult breeding group, or a pair.

A layer of sand is also appreciated, they love to lay on it. A thick or a small layer, it doesn't matter, the rays will put the sand where they want it. Look a the picture beneath.

Further more it is important to have a lot of free bottom space. You can put some pieces of wood on the bottom, but it is best to arrange it so that a minimum of space is taken up. ( The picture explains what I mean )

People often ask if you can keep plants with rays. And the answer is always yes, but for how long I don't know. In my attempts, floating plants were caught on the surface and eaten on the bottom. Plants in a basket surrounded with big rocks, within just 3 days were eaten to the roots. People also ask me, "Why not stick them very deep in the bottom substrate?" Rays search food all the time by blowing in the sand so plants are dislodged from the substrate after only a few hours. Some people managed to bind some plants on wood with good results (lasted 5 days with my Leopoldies). So I recommend trying it and let's see what happens.

Naturally we have to provide a very good filtration system to maintain the excellent water quality required by our rays. We don't want any nitrate in our water, this is deadly for a ray. I personally swear by a biological filter system, often called a wet/dry or sump. Canister filters or mechanical filters will also do a marvelous job but in my opinion can't keep up with a biological filter system. Especially with big tanks, this type of filtration provides the most stable water quality.

Rays love water with a lot of oxygen in it. I provide this by letting the water fall 2" in my sump, this works fine. If you use a canister filter you can attach an diffuser on the outlet off you pump, this provides a constant air flow in your tank. You can also use an air pump with a bubbler attached to it.

Nine times out of ten, rays are transported in styrene boxes. Inside there are 2 plastic bags with the ray inside. The two bags provide extra safety. This is the way they are transported around the world. Most of the time, especially freshly imported rays, the stinger is protected with a piece of plastic tubing. This tube is to prevent the ray sticking his stinger through the plastic bag. The tubing will fall of when the ray sheds his stinger.

Before my rays go in my main tank I always put them in quarantine. The only exception I make is when I buy a ray from a private person who has had the animal for more then a half year. The risk of bringing a parasite or something else in the tank is minimal this way. Freshly imported rays always go in quarantine. In the quarantine tank (a 100 gallon) the water parameters are set to match the place the ray comes from, most of the time this is Brazil. So a low pH ( 6 ) and a high water temperature of 91 degrees Fahrenheit.

The temperature is decreased in 3 weeks time to the temperature of the main tank (approximately 81/82 degrees Fahrenheit). At this time I will watch the ray closely if he is showing strange behavior. In these 3 weeks I slowly bring the water parameters to the same levels as my main tank. The last water change before moving the ray is with water from the main tank. This way changing tanks is done in matter of seconds.

When you buy a ray and bring him home, the ray has to slowly get used to the new water parameters in your tank. This can be achieved with the dripping method. Put an air hose in your main tank and through the hose let water drip in the transport box. When this is done for a while, you can catch the ray with a fishnet, and slowly let it glide in the main tank. Watch out for the stinger. And a word of good advise, always keep a pair of scissors in reach in the chance that the ray gets caught with his stinger in the net. You won't be the first and definitely not the last.

With big adult stingrays (not freshly imported) there is another way. You put them in the tank still in the transport bag. Every few minutes you put some water in the bag, to let it adjust to his new environment. You can see this in the pictures below. Big rays, big boxes, and a big tank. And the other picture shows the floating tiger rays which came out of these boxes. These animals were 18 to 21 inches in disk diameter and had a total length of 40".

When the rays are first in the new tank they will bury themselves most of the time, especially the little ones. From this position, he can safely look around in his new environment and get adjusted. When the rays were bought from a private keeper or in a LFS where the rays have been for a longer time, you won't see this behavior much; these animals are adjusted to living in a tank. Most of the time these animals are eating the same evening. It can happen that an animal refuses to eat, most of the time after a few days it will come around. Don't forget the ray is stressed out from catching, transport, and the new environment. When he is well adjusted you will rarely see him hiding beneath the sand. As a matter of fact, when he hides beneath the sand something is going on. He was frightened or is just not feeling well. When mine are hiding I keep an eye on them.