What are good tank mates for a freshwater sting ray?

Question

We just bought a tea cup sting ray and we are wondering what typs of fish would be compatible as a tank mate for him? I have looked at several wbsites but am still unsure of what is suitable. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Any type of "Fresh water" stingray needs a little brackish water (slightly salted, freashwater salt can be found at your local walmart). They are VERY high maintenance so be careful about how you introduce other tank mates.
They WILL EAT anything small enough to fit into it's mouth so I would suggest a medium to large Pleco (with driftwood, reasons will follow) and / or something that is definitely a TOP dweller.
But I would mostly recommend .... nothing else.
Tea Cups are definitely a solitary fish.
Pleco's are bottom feeders but love to gnaw on driftwood. Tea Cups need soft sandy substrates and can and most often get stressed when other bottom dwellers "compete for food".

Answer 2

Stingray Pleco

Answer 3

Any moderately sized surface dwelling fish will be fine. An Arowana would be ideal.

Answer 4

www.myfishtank.net ask around there were experts on that, they need alot of waterand well there sting rays what can I say?

Answer 5

http://fwfanatics.proboards80.com/index.cgi

Answer 6

How about a Steve Irwin!!!

Answer 7

First off:
Aquarium keeping (aquascaping, specific needs, tank mates). Rays to be kept in aquarium should be chosen from already quarantined (and YET feeding) specimens. Dealing with newly arrived wild collected specimens may result in being a tricky matter. Never forget that rays are scaleless fishes, and treating them properly is neither easy nor "simple". Under given circumstances, rays have to get an antibiotic (or other drug) by injection (simply think about drug’s quantity to inject!). The second point to consider when it comes to dealing with rays is THINK BIG, as big as you can … and then go a step further! Some specimens such as "Otorongo Ray" are reported to attain up to one meter in disc size. Growth rate is related to food supply, to a certain degree, but correctly kept rays are said to be fierce feeders and fast growers! When dealing with small/medium sized rays aquascaping in the tank could be in the "Amazon River" fashion but, then, when it comes to dealing with adult (and possibly large) specimens, their size and strength has to be, as a matter of fact, taken into due consideration! Tank mates have to be, then, chosen (beyond other rays) among Amazon heavyweights such as Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus), Arowana, and more; even if there are reports of rays happily going on with Discus and Angels (P. scalare/P. altum) and even "big sized" characins in their quarters! Housing sucker mouth catfishes with rays can be a risky matter, despite the fact they come from the same biotope, since most of the former fishes (catfish) have, or could have, the bad habit of "sucking" the slime coat from the ray and this habit could result, in the end, in bleeding wounds likely to end as infection "start-center". BTW, most feared are said to be "common plecos" (hypostomus sp.). I’m aware of a good compatibility between rays of different kinds, even with a fair difference in size, and aggressiveness is almost always at low levels! One of the habits shown by rays to declare their own higher lever in tank’s hierarchy (against other conspecifics) is known as " topping": the dominant specimens simply tops (swim over him and the rest) another one: A bit far from cichlid’s habits, isn’t it?

Aquarium keeping (Technical supply, water chemistry, feeding). When dealing with those fishes filters (always use more than one unit: better safe than sorry!), they are always, no matter how hard you try, undersized. When aquascaping the tank, special care should to be put in place to avoid contact between rays and heater(s) unit especially if of high power (in terms of applied watts): FW ray get burnt EASILY! And their recovery is said to be anything but easy! These wonderful creatures are extremely sensitive to high (well below cichlids average, FYI!) levels of nitrite/nitrates. Warning: when readings go beyond certain limits over extended periods – no sure level is reported – this may result in a sort of irreversible poisoning ending with the death of the animal. Hence, frequent water changes are a must, with suggestions ranging from 20% every two weeks up to 30/50% (and more!) weekly, depending on the ray(s) size, tank size, and filters in use. Water chemistry should be kept on the acidic/neutral side, with water temperature neither below 22° C, nor exceeding 30° C. Whenever something goes wrong with water chemistry, FW rays show their dislike by stopping to get food and/or showing a lethargic behaviour. Feed them with HEALTHY feeder fishes (this could trigger them to start chasing smaller tank mates; be conservative!), fish’s fillets, shrimps/prawn, earthworms, mealworms, and alike. They should refuse, as a rule, "canned" food.

Aquarium keeping (Rays requiring special cares): Rays such as the one commonly known as "Antenna Ray" because of their extremely long, and at the same extent, fragile, tail DO need special dedicated tanks, and should be elected for a solo tank, unless looking for possible husbandry, allowing them to move freely and gently. Same story, but for a completely a different reason, is with rays such the "Otorongo Ray" reaching up to one meter (3 feet) in disc size once fully grown up!

Keeping rays in the aquarium: handling VENOMOUS (Kind of risk: venomous stinger) animals. Rays ARE venomous (either marine or f/w), or better yet, the stinger hidden in their tail is venomous. Beyond the fact that the f/w ray’s venom, like almost all animals living in water, is of protein origin, there’s very little known (or at least on what ALL scientists agree!). Fatalities are extremely rare, mostly occurring in the wild, (i.e.: kids playing in shallow water and/or fishermen removing ray from their nets, and mostly refer to injuries to abdomen or "big" veins), but even though the risks are low You can’t avoid considering them. As far as science knows (or BETTER, as far as I know), real risk comes from "residual of organic matter" remaining in the wound (i.e. stinger’s parts, the stinger breaks in pieces when the ray hits). Wound are – it’s said - EXTREMELY painful, and require a very long time to heal. One of the books mentioned in bibliography reports the wounded part was numb SIX YEARS after the "shot"!!!

TIP: When setting up a tank, you’re highly advised to use all technical stuff by working OUTSIDE the tank (such as canister filters), and to avoid putting your hands in the tank as much as possible .

BEWARE: Stinger are changed, by an healthy animals, every few months and are said (if untreated) to retain their venomous capacity for a LONG LONG period when buried and lost in the sand.

Larger angle fish are good companions for your ray. Freshwater sawfish and other sharks are also good bets. The main objective is to be sure what ever you buy as a companion, be sure it is bigger than the size of your rays mouth, or at least faster than he is. Since rays are so passive, be sure you do not use an agressive fish like the chillids or foils. The pet store where you purchased him, should be able to give you the best ideas. Remember, they need room to swim so do not overload the tank.

Just for fun: Check out this picture of a 1,000 pound fresh water ray. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/photogalleries/giantcatfish/photo6.html