Tank Size: What is the minimum? What is the ideal?
- Too Small
75, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 125.. These tanks are all suitable for juvenile rays, for a short period of time. You must understand your filtration and water quality if you are to do so. If you understand the amount of ammonia stingrays produce, you should also understand water volume. If you work with less water, ammonia is more concentrated, thus more lethal. Higher pH, the more lethal ammonia is. If you understand how often stingrays should be fed, it makes even more sense to work with larger aquariums from the start. Make sure your 'turnover' rate is much higher then you would use for regular aquarium fish. Large feedings to an overstocked tank, combined with a small amount of water volume, might create a SUDDEN spike in ammonia, only to have your filtration system remove it through the bio-filter within a few hours. Thus, you check your ammonia levels later on, and immediately dismiss the thought of ammonia spikes. - Starting Size
Bigger is Better, in any scenario. PLEASE, purchase the biggest tank you can get before you buy a stingray. Don't buy a stingray for your 90-125g and plan to upgrade later, most beginning raykeepers struggle to keep healthy specimens in undersized tanks. It is very true that these tanks can be suitable temporary homes for stingrays, but you have to make sure you understand the needs of rays and eliminate other underlying problems before housing rays in smaller tanks. If you are novice, and want to start with less hastle and more success, try to aim for 180g or larger. Height is not as much of a concern than length and width, but extra water volume is always good. 24" wide, even for juvenile rays, helps reduce stress and increase stimulation. - Minimum Size
Everyone always asks the minimum size for lifetime. The smallest species will need 6x3, 8x3, or 8x4 depending on who you speak to. Either that, or a wide ponds atleast 6' in each direction. Please keep this in mind before purchasing your stingray, or have a good plan in place to find it a quality home. That means, within 3-5 years, you will need to purchase a 300-500 gallon tank for your new pet. Alot of people want to buy a stingray when they 'finally' upgrade to 125-150g tank, but don't keep in mind that there will be another upgrade right around the corner. Optimally, most common species of stingrays would do best in tanks with dimensions such as 8x4x4, 10x4, 12x4, and or a pond or 'mega-tank' of larger scale. This is reality folks, these are LARGE ANIMALS, not just fish.