Marina’s stingray is only known from the Maroni, Grand Inini, French Guyana. make sure angelfish are adult, as I’ve seen rays swallowing small angelfish at night. They are to be found in a wide area of South America occupying the large waterways that run through countries such as Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Peru where they can survive in large numbers thriving on the excellent conditions that these waters provide for them. Breeding is definitely possible with Potamotrygon motoro but as with the housekeeping should not be attempted unless you have the means to care for any offspring properly.

These are exciting days, for sure. Document last modified: 2016-02-13 17:14:52, © 2005 - 2020 Aqua-Fish.Net, property of Jan Hvizdak, see our privacy policy to understand how we handle your data. The largest specimen I have collected was a Discus ray, Paratrygon aiereba, almost 1.2m/3.9’ in disc width and about 50 kg/110 lb in weight, but I saw larger ones. Some are endemic to a single river basin. Why hybridise? As mentioned in the section above these fish can grow large and develop a large diameter to their disc, as a result the minimum aquarium size for these fish should be at least 8 feet (240cm) in length, they will also require room to turn around so the width of the aquarium should be at least 3 feet (90cm). While they were allowed to catch and sell them they had an income. They loved to be petted too.

In the aquarium the disc size will be slightly smaller but as you can see small aquariums are totally out of the question for this fish. Younger specimens are fine if they are fed on the usual live or frozen foods such as blood worms, artemia or tubifex but they do have a ravenous appetite and will need feeding a couple of times per day. Potamotrygon marinae,* Deynat, 2006. Some victims use as ‘medicine’ the Amazonian liana called be`ju´co, which is a climbing woody vine. If cut it bleeds a beige liquid which, if applied to the wound, heals it fast. Page has been saved, refresh it now, please!

Potamotrygon ocellata (Engelhardt, 1912) pictured above: The Red-blotched river stingray is only known from Amapá in Pará, Brazil.

Potamotrygon henlei (Castelnau, 1855): The Bigtooth river stingray is only known from the Tocantins river basin, Brazil.

If you enjoyed this article, why not take out a subscription to Practical Fishkeeping magazine? Some morphologically different species can display almost identical patterns and, to make identification even more difficult, there’s a degree of hybridisation among sympatric species. During the rainy season they also move into flooded forests. Click here to recover it! Up to three smaller litters can be produced during one year and there could be a break of one or more years before the next. The depth is not as crucial dependant on which tank mates they have, a depth of 2.5 - 3 feet (76 - 92cm) is sufficient but as you can see these are not cheap fish to keep so make sure that you have the means to supply them with a proper home before you purchase one. Check out our latest subscription offer. Now the rays are ‘protected’ the locals see no reason to catch and sell them any more. The “caboclos riberinhos” fish to live and hate all stingrays. The water temperature should be set between 24 - 26°C (75 - 80°F) and the pH of the water should be slightly acidic although they will tolerate a neutral pH level.

They spend some time buried under sand or mud with just their eyes protruding, so sand in any aquarium is a must. In nature it is hardly above 50-75 µS/cm, but tank-bred rays are often used to 200 µS/cm and higher. Nature has found a way of feeding the offspring while inside the mother fish, when first hatched the young will feed off the yolk sac but for further nourishment she has developed glands in her uterus that supplies milk to feed up the pup. The wound may bleed freely and the patient fall unconscious, experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive sweating, muscle cramps and spasms, abdominal pain, seizures or low blood pressure.

Maintenance of the aquarium can be hard work, large water changes are required each week, regular water changes of 10% weekly is not enough for these fish, make sure that at least half of the water is changed weekly to keep the quality high. If you have a good filter system and good flow give them 20-30% weekly water changes and feed well.

Even though I’m stuck at home, I’m still meeting people— thanks, Internet!

When first introduced to the aquarium they may be a bit shy of feeding but they do need to eat as soon as possible to keep their health in top form. They are often sold as juveniles but they do grow to a large size, adult males can reach a body diameter of up to 36 inches (~92cm) in the wild.

Thanks a lot for understanding!

The Motoro ray is a very active fish so keeping the aquarium as plain as possible may be the best option, this will also make keeping the aquarium clean much easier. Sign up to the free PFK E-Newsletter and get the latest news, reviews and competitions delivered straight into your inbox! They feast mainly on shrimps, fish, crabs and molluscs, but instead of ripping and tearing they suck the prey in and crush it against their hard toothplates, as they have no real teeth. Make sure your email address is valid, please!

Potamotrygon falkneri,* Castex and Maciel, 1963: The Large spot river stingray type is from the middle Río Paraná, Entre Ríos in Argentina and its distribution is limited to the Paraná-Paraguay river basin in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. As mentioned above their markings can vary a great deal and this will include some slight colour variations, in recent years more variations are appearing as commercial breeding is producing some slightly hybrid specimens so always check where your stingray originates from and it may be best to purchase from a specialised breeder. Possibly the one from Venezuela should be the type. They are very active and can burn off their food very quickly. Thanks a lot! You have been logged out successfully! The greatest threat potamotrygonids face is not removal and export by collectors.

Here I’m looking at Potamotrygonidae, also called river stingrays which belong to the order Myliobatiformes. Some of these unfortunates may have been cut as juveniles to look like a butterfly monster. I’m keeping that trend up for next month, too, with a whole heap of new writers coming to PFK for the first time ever. Stingrays breathe by drawing water through a small hole behind the eye and expelling it through gill slits on the underside of the disc. Have you forgotten your password or username? Freshwater stingrays live in all those continents and they belong to two families: Potamotrygonidae and Dasyatidae. Breed farmers want to produce as many as possible and/or they are unable to get males in numbers.

Password must be at least 6 characters long!

This usually happens when bad handling of the stingray is performed. Stingrays are polychromatic, so body patterns and colours are extremely variable, making positive identification using pattern and coloration alone very difficult. Really delete this page from the database? Keep the lighting to a medium level, when first added to the aquarium it may be wise to dim the lighting until they settle in. Captive reproduction of river stingrays only started seriously in the late 1990s and worldwide only during the last ten years or so, as for some years Brazil prohibited their capture and trade. A tight fitting lid will need to be used as they are known to come out of the water when feeding. Driftwood can also be used to soften the water which is better for the stingrays. Immerse the affected area in the hottest water tolerated or apply a heat pack. More mature specimens will obviously require larger feeds, a good method is to offer cockles, mussels, whitebait or prawns. Click here to close this box. Heat rapidly decreases the pain, directly affecting the poison.

Use sand for the substrate and supply a decent depth as they do like to bury themselves occasionally. The reason why no discussion is allowed here is this page is too general. In order to recover your password fill in your username or continue below, please, In case you don't remember your login, fill your email address below. The upper surfaces of river stingrays are covered with denticles — sharp tooth-like structures — and although close relatives of sharks, they have a completely different feeding manner.

Buybuy Baby, Asda Nintendo Switch Games, Communities For A Better Environment Staff, Us Against The World Lyrics Westlife, Spellbinder Season 2 - Episode 1 With Sinhala Subtitles, Houses For Rent Irvine, Ca, A Silent Voice 2, Bore Synonyms,