Keeping of freshwater stingray

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Potamotrygon motoro
motoro(orange spot stingray/golden spot stingray)
max size:45cm(18inches)
Ease of keeping:easy
This ray is imported in large numbers. Hardy species, makes it a good candidate for beginner to keep.

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Potamotrygon leopoldi
Polkadot stingray(black ray)
max size:60cm(24inches)
Ease of keeping:most easy
This ray is considered the most beautiful and hardiest among all rays, but becomes large. Very active, tames well, and readily eats manufactured fish food.

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Potamotrygon histrix
histrix(freshwater stingray)
max size:30cm(12inches)
Ease of keeping:easy
This ray is small among the rays. Non-aggressive, but difficult to keep. Depends on the initial condition of the ray when acquired.

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Potamotrygon sp.
Fantastic stingray(Chocorate ray)
max size:45cm(18inches)?
Ease of keeping: Moderately easy
This ray is very peculiar in color. The disk is harder and skin texture is rough compared to other rays. Not rare, but imported few.

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Potamotrygon menchacai
Tiger stingray
max size:80cm
Ease of keeking: Difficult
This ray needs a tank with a long depth (large surface area), because of its long tail. Expensive but not difficult to keep, this ray is nervous more than oother.

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Plesiotrygon iwamae
Antenna ray
max size:1M?
Ease of keeping: Very difficult
This ray lives in Peru, has a very long tail. This ray is called "Antenna stingray," because the ray rasies its long tail like an antenna. Violet in color, and has many small gray spots, which makes this ray beautiful. Keeping this ray is very difficult therefore, nobody knows the maximum size of the ray.

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Potamotrygon castexi
Pintard stingray(Otorongo,Star stingray)
max size:60cm over
Ease of keeping: Very easy
This ray has a dark brown disk and many small yellow spots which makes this ray beautiful.

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How to keep

Freshwater stingray is a fish with charm, but keeping is difficult generally.
The follows are things to take note, but I consider it to be useful, and show it.

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1.choice

What choice an specimen is most important. The first condition of the specimen decides whether it is successful afterwards.

* go up a wall
* into sand
As for ray as the above, condition is good. The ray which condition is good for looks for food and moves activate. But, some species are not active.
Specimen which gained weight is better than thinner. But, there is not a problem if can let it eat by the some food.
Injure disk or tail, a spine is broken, and there are not relation with condition of rays. But, don't reproduce the tail, disk is recovered easy, but a design isn't recoverd.

Disk border curls up like dishes, and swimming the surface is bad. So before dying.
Rays of bad condition are lifeless well in a wholesale dealer and sipper. Therefore, ray which to condition is bad for is few unexpectedly. When management of store is bad, break condition. Reconsider of buying it.

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2.Introduction(into tank)

When you put ray into the tank, need to be equal water condition by all means. When you don't to be equal water condition, ray will curl disk side by several minutes.

How to introduction
When you buy ray in a shop, given the many water. You put ray in a small tank with many water, and use air tube and put water of the main-tank in small tank a little. If small tank was met, half changes back water into main tank. Repeat this till water condition becomes equal. Probably, for 3 hours.

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3.management water condition

Freshwater stingray is very weak in a sudden change of water, aggravation generally. The temperature is 24-27, and pH is around 6.0-7.2, but must will be slowly change. But, you must not do less than 6 in any case. Even motoro breaks condition in rank turning off 5. (I think that P.motoro is strong for water aggravation, but P.motoro weaks in a fall of pH)
there is no good that pH is too high. PH may rise too much when too with a lot of coral, when such state between long terms lasts, break condition. pH will not seem to exceed 7.2 .
It isn't influenced water hardness. Keep with GH16.
Consider it to need to do pH descent measures. Offer that stock coral(sand). Regulate the quantity of coral, and pH is to become stable in around six or seven. The coral has melted while use it. pH has fallen down when has become loose. Rays are weak in NH3(ammonia) and NO2(nitrate). When ray breaks condition, a color of under disk changes red, doesn't eat food, and doesn't move. (it's said generally that ray is very weak in NO2, but I don't think so.)

You had better retire from exchanging the many water. Even If condition of ray is good, 1/2 water change is no problem. But, usually don't change water one month after introduce. Store the water once, and change 1/4 of total quantity of water once between 1 week.

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4.food

Freshwater stingray eats live fish. for small ray ,Blood worm and MEDAKA(Japanese livebearer) are general. As for ray which can be eaten a goldfish, a goldfish is good. An enzyme destroying vitamin B1 of thiaminase is contained to a goldfish. Therefore, for example, AROWANA eat only a goldfish, growth obstacle by all means. You need to avoid you give only goldfish.
When always many give foods, to be successful.

Ray may eats pelleted foods. but perseverance is necessary to eat pelleted foods. You can also offer HIKARI-CREST-CAT, but there will be it only in Japan.

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5.facility

Ray is sensitive to the water condition change. The water condition change may become slow the quantity of water many ones, too. And, an one of bigger bottom area will be advantageous. We can keep even a big specimen whether there is depth more than 60cm.
In case of small specimen, the water tank which isn't too big is advantageous. But must be careful with it more because speed of the water condition change is fast.

Rays pollute the water well. As for a device filtered, a large-scale thing is necessary. It is advantageous to use filters of system to be different if possible jointly. Many the thing which there are various types as for feces of rays, these are easy to dissolve in water, and breathed in a filter immediately, and the wool has become sludge immediately. The woolen maintenance needs to be reliable regularly. Can't keep rays both NH3 and NO2 by the state that always becomes 0.

The canister filter isn't offered because pipes are an obstacle, and maintenance being difficult to do. You can attach a sponge to suction strainer by all means when use it, and do a sponge and internal woolen maintenance regularly besides.

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6.Substrate

Think that there had better be substrate. Maintenance is easy to do it an one of bare tank, but rays is glad the side of that there was substrate.

You had better stock small sand thinly.

impression of various sand

* OOISO(small)
Good for with big ray. small rays, too.
* SANDY GOLD
It sticks to disk.
* AUSTRALIAN WHITE SAND
Very particular about, unsuitable for rays. (Can't cleaning)
* SANDY-CLEAR(sand of tropical fish)
Very good. If even white is good.
* Bright sand(ADA)

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7.tank mate

As for ray, coexistence with rays doesn't include a problem. There is a bad specimen too of character inside, and there may be the thing that other specimen is chewed. As for a male, there seems to be such tendency. The fish swimming the upper air is with a lot of that there is not a problem if food reaches ray. I looked, Pintard(Otorongo) stingray quarrelled with ASIA-AROWANA, and became like a broken parasol. I think that difficult, but let food reach ray if you keep rays with other fishs. Many a person too attacked well.

It must pay attention to you most that together a male. A male often bit other rays, and kill.
A male bites a female, and this is a courtship of sharks and rays. But, a female isn't evaded in a narrow tank when it isn't received a male. When a female is young, even the female which there is not grows with a virgin so. My female of motoro, too.

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8.Illness

Fungal infection may occur at the time have ed it injure it. In this case, paint medicine a brush and seem to get over. But, rays needs to pay attention to the density with what is very weak in a medicine.
Fungal infection will disappear soon when you do nothing.

Ray is hard to become illness in particular, but doesn't understand it well.

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A must read
You had better pay attention to a spine in tail. It doesn't sting simply.
Many stinging when throw away lifeless ray and touched it not to know with lifeless ray. The handling of lifeless ray is very danger.

The sting is strange every half year.