blue spotted ray

hey guys im in the process of building an aquarium for a blue spotted sting ray and i would appreciate some advice, i have been reading about them for the past two months and am willing to dedicate4 a lot of time to the survival of this animal. i have thought it through and i have made the decision. But would still like any imformation you might have available.

 

How big of a tank are you thinking for for it?

 

umm was thinking 5ft long, 2.5ft deep and 2 ft high.

 

That's a tiny bit small but will do for quite a few years assuming you buy a young one. They need sugar fine sand Vs. regular aragonite sand and you'll want a large sump because that is where you'll want to put most of your live rock Vs. in the display tank.

 

the sand i have in mind is very very fine sand, and i was planning on a 3ft sump. with approx 40 kg of LR in the entire system with most being in the sump. my plan is to have approximately 8 to 9 square feet of just plain sand with a rock shelf at one end. i do intend to have a few tank mates but am still deciding. I am planning on tank mates but im still deciding as to which.

 

You make me smile because you clearly have done your research. Karma to you for researching their needs BEFORE purchasing them.

 

thank you for the advice, i really want the best for my animal so i am planning ahead. are there any fish that should be avoided as a tank mate?

 

Every fish is an individual but puffers and triggers often eat their eyes. It's not a malicious thing, they are just sticking out of the sand and might be food so they nip at it.

(I once jumped into an 850 gallon or 3200 liter system and punched a wobbygong shark that was trying to eat one so I wouldn't recommend those either. He spit out that blue spotted ray and that ray still lives to this day. So does that shark for that matter.)

 

haha very lucky ray, lucky you caught the shark in the act, i was thinking small tank mates, i would like to move most of the stock out of my red sea max. i would like to keep the rsm predominately for corals and inverts and the. so possible tank mates would include, a yellow tang, coral beauty, bi colour blenny.

 

All of those should be fine except there is a slight chance your bi-color blenny might disappear one day (but probably not).