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Over the 40 yrs or so in this great hobby I have kept many many species of fishes. I have always wanted to keep rays but never been in a position to do so due to tank requirements, cost and the demands of my busy life.
3 weeks ago I came across an ad on Craigslist with a guy selling a trio of designer hybrid rays. A huge investment, but the trio was priced at what these rays cost as 5” juveniles and are 3 yrs old, just reaching breeding age/size. After many weeks of trying to work it out financially, my wife and I got the funds together, and this past weekend I spent 13 hours Sat tearing down my 500gal completely to prepare it for the rays. Sunday after church I drove from Cincinnati to Chicago to pick them up.
I now am the nervous, but proud owner of a 13” black diamond hybrid male (swirly gold markings in vid), 15” black diamond hybrid female (gold dots), and a 16” “super” hybrid female. Super hybrids have the genetics of a minimum of 3 strains crossed together.
As you will see in the video below, the super hybrid female has bite marks on her disc that are as a result of breeding attempts by the male. I have to keep a close eye on them in case the male inflicts too much damage in the pursuit of love. Lol!
They like 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and can tolerate nitrates in the 40-80 range, though when I tested the water they were in in the previous owners indoor pond, the nitrates were 160!! They were still very active, but their activity level increased quite dramatically as I slowly acclimated them from ph 6.6 to my ph of 8.4, into water with nitrates of 20-40. Unfortunately, my tap water is 20-40 right put of the tap. This also means I won't be growing out discus again anytime soon
They are feeding on massivore 8mm pellets, and will get night crawlers & raw shrimp supplemented in their diet.
Female rays once sexually mature (2.5*3 yrs of age) can have 1-8 pups, depending on the size of the female, every 4 months or so. I would be so stoked for this trio produce the goods!
I’ll keep this journal thread updated with my experiences, hopefully including the birth of baby rays!
Please excuse the cloudy water. These guys stir up the new washed and introduced sand so I imagine it will take several days to fully clear up.
3 weeks ago I came across an ad on Craigslist with a guy selling a trio of designer hybrid rays. A huge investment, but the trio was priced at what these rays cost as 5” juveniles and are 3 yrs old, just reaching breeding age/size. After many weeks of trying to work it out financially, my wife and I got the funds together, and this past weekend I spent 13 hours Sat tearing down my 500gal completely to prepare it for the rays. Sunday after church I drove from Cincinnati to Chicago to pick them up.
I now am the nervous, but proud owner of a 13” black diamond hybrid male (swirly gold markings in vid), 15” black diamond hybrid female (gold dots), and a 16” “super” hybrid female. Super hybrids have the genetics of a minimum of 3 strains crossed together.
As you will see in the video below, the super hybrid female has bite marks on her disc that are as a result of breeding attempts by the male. I have to keep a close eye on them in case the male inflicts too much damage in the pursuit of love. Lol!
They like 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and can tolerate nitrates in the 40-80 range, though when I tested the water they were in in the previous owners indoor pond, the nitrates were 160!! They were still very active, but their activity level increased quite dramatically as I slowly acclimated them from ph 6.6 to my ph of 8.4, into water with nitrates of 20-40. Unfortunately, my tap water is 20-40 right put of the tap. This also means I won't be growing out discus again anytime soon
They are feeding on massivore 8mm pellets, and will get night crawlers & raw shrimp supplemented in their diet.
Female rays once sexually mature (2.5*3 yrs of age) can have 1-8 pups, depending on the size of the female, every 4 months or so. I would be so stoked for this trio produce the goods!
I’ll keep this journal thread updated with my experiences, hopefully including the birth of baby rays!
Please excuse the cloudy water. These guys stir up the new washed and introduced sand so I imagine it will take several days to fully clear up.
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