# Are Stingray and Oscars Compatible



## Phillyb

i was at petsmart and felt bad for the lil oscar... so hes in my 130g tank hes about 2-3 inches i just want to make sure he will be fine to live with a stingray.



thanks philly


----------



## AWW

Big no no. IMO. It can be done, but matinence HAS to be done. The oscar raises the bio-load and steals all the food. 

If your prepaired to do extra matinence, and hand feed your ray, It can be done. I did it for over 5 months


----------



## Phillyb

hey yeah i think i found a way to help with the bio-load i just have the smaller fish eat the excess food well not smaller but smaller mouthed fish  i always wanted to get like those pincher things so i can feed a stingray! but thinking of it now will rubber eels be fine with the ray? the eels are about a foot long....


----------



## Death's Sting

Stingrays should never be put with Cichlids.. period. I have had first hand worst case scenarios. So I personally will never do it.. again..


----------



## Phillyb

hummm is there anything cool that can be a replacement for an oscar that has alitle colour??


----------



## Death's Sting

Phillyb said:


> hummm is there anything cool that can be a replacement for an oscar that has alitle colour??


If the stingray in the tank alone aren't enough to satisfy you, there may be a chance Stingrays aren't for you. 
Perhaps Discus?

Stingrays are different from other fish, they have special needs and require a lot of dedication. Its not necessary or beneficial to add anything else, other then another ray of an opposite sex


----------



## AWW

Datnoids, arowanas, and flagtails are the most common. What size is your tank?


----------



## Death's Sting

AWW said:


> What size is your tank?


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



Phillyb said:


> so hes in my 130g tank


----------



## Phillyb

Death's Sting said:


> If the stingray in the tank alone aren't enough to satisfy you, there may be a chance Stingrays aren't for you.
> Perhaps Discus?
> 
> Stingrays are different from other fish, they have special needs and require a lot of dedication. Its not necessary or beneficial to add anything else, other then another ray of an opposite sex


to let you know my gf saw the oscar and wanted to house it seeing it in the small tank at petsmart... then my mom started to like the little guy so i was going to shoot for something they might enjoy. but to say i should go discus ain't cool even if they're cool looking fish... i've wanted a stingray for over 2 years, just never had enough space. i am planning on moving soon so it will have a bigger tank within the year. i gave 110% dedication with time and care to my arowana so i would do the same with the stingray and all my other fish  i do enjoy their special quality that rays have and cant wait to sit down and watch it for hrs <3 i'd like to ask a few questions so i will send you a pm soon


----------



## Death's Sting

Phillyb said:


> i'd like to ask a few questions so i will send you a pm soon


Feel free to ask them here, the public may benefit from it.


----------



## -DC-

Oscars get big , can have a attitude to match.

With that said not all fish are alike, some are less aggressive, your setup/feeding routine/water quality/stocking can all effect an oscar's mood and some time it works.

My oscar who's is ~14-15" is currently housed with with a RTG, Spotted gar, 6 bichir's and an indo dat and will eventually be housed with ray's as well, all in one big community tank. I was going to ad them last week but didnt get them out in time and the male knocked up the female so they wont be moved from their current owner until after the birth of the pup's. All the other fish range from 13-20" and never have any issues with the Oscar.

IF you decide to do they the mix my biggest tips are double your filtration (triple ect more the better) keep them well fed, and add dithers (I find without other free swimming fish the Oscars get bored and pick on bottom dwellers.

I think most overly aggressive Oscars are either

a)hungry , 
or 
b) bored, 

Which makes sence if you stuck me in a small room with nothing to and with minimal meals and I’d be mean and greedy with food as well!

but it is a risk


----------



## m_class2g

if your ray is big enough to go with the oscar, its fine. then again its case by case basis. some cichlids do get rather aggressive. i have kept rays with a bunch of big fish and all are fine. i have a big 2 foot rtg and a 16 inch dat. my rays currently are only 5 inch disc! i just keep everyone well fed and all are fine!


----------



## Phillyb

-dc- if you mind can you pm me price you paid for the rays?
yeah my friend has 2 oscars iv watched grow massive over a year now but i dont wana chance it for the ray.. since it was more planned but one day il have a tank for oscars :

Death's sting- have you ever been stung? how do you rate quality of the ray from looks?what are signs of a healthy looking ray? is there flaws to look for when purchasing a ray?can the rays mate even if there from the same mother?how often do rays breed?what kind of stingray do you recomend? last but not least where to find some rays


----------



## Death's Sting

Phillyb said:


> Death's sting- have you ever been stung? how do you rate quality of the ray from looks?what are signs of a healthy looking ray? is there flaws to look for when purchasing a ray?can the rays mate even if there from the same mother?how often do rays breed?what kind of stingray do you recomend? last but not least where to find some rays


I have never been stung! 

A sign to look for is visible pelvic bones on the dorsal side near the base of the tail. It will almost look as if the ray has 2 little horns underneath its skin, right before the tail on either side. This is a sign that the ray is malnourished and has not eaten in a very long time.

Another bad sign is if you see a white film peeling off the ray. This is its slime coat, its protection! Its slime coat may peel off if sucked on by other fish or it could even peel off due to huge amounts of stress.

A good sign to look for is color. Bright vibrant dorsal color is a good sign. However, the lateral disc should have no blotches of red. Don't get confused with young rays thin tissue. Young rays tend to be pink, heres an example of my ray when it was young and healthy and an example of a ray with ammonia burn/abrasion.

My old pup with the typical thin pink tissue










Someones ray with Ammonia burn/abrasion










Ask to see the ray eat. If the ray takes the food eagerly that is a great sign!

Yes, rays can inbreed. Dad is gonna be pissed!:lol:

The frequency of rays breeding really depends on the ray and the conditions they are in. In prime conditions you can expect them to breed every 90-100 days. This is how long pregnancy lasts.

Buy your rays from Charles at Canadian Aquatics, he has some of the nicest and healthiest rays I have ever seen in the retail market. And at good price. Your looking to spend about $200 for a Semi-mature Motoro(8''-12'').

If its your first time keeping rays I suggest a Motoro, they are the most forgiving of their owners errors. Also, get a male they stay much smaller! Please feel to ask any questions there's a lot to learn!


----------



## -DC-

Buy your rays from Charles at Canadian Aquatics, he has some of the nicest and healthiest rays I have ever seen in the retail market. And at good price. Your looking to spend about $200 for a Semi-mature Motoro(8''-12'').

If its your first time keeping rays I suggest a Motoro, they are the most forgiving of their owners errors. Also, get a male they stay much smaller! Please feel to ask any questions there's a lot to learn![/QUOTE]

Agreed with everything said above! As for my future pair, they are still in their old home until the after pup's are born, Not easy to find ANYTHING in the Maritimes so our prices can be a bit different. I don't share what i pay but the above price is very fair.


----------



## charles

If you are doing oscar with ray, a few things you have to be careful with... aggression is your least problem...

1) water issue. Oscar has a big bio-load. So is a ray. If you have a tank with just your oscar, your bio-load is only good for your oscar, doing everything you do as normal but adding a ray (good size one in there) will double your bio-load. So I would cut the feeding in half, monitor your parameter every day or every other day to ensure everything is in check.

2) feeding. A eating ray doesn't always mean it will eat after a transfer. There are many reason. A recent example, someone bought a ray from me, eating prefect in my tank in front of the customer, a few days I received a phone call that the ray did not eat at all, I did a water testing and the water in the customer's tank shows nitrite and not cycle properly. Another common reason, other tankmates eat everything before the ray. And lastly, feeding under bright light. Although rays can get used to bright light, but they are most active during dust and dawn. And I try to follow their natural behavior.

3) filtration, adding 10 filters doesn't mean you don't have to change water. I am just trying to make a point across. But you do need good filtration, usually a sump is better, but a couple of Eheim 2080 or some people prefer 2 x FX5 for tank size like a 180 with fully loaded bio-media will do the trick. But you still have to change water.

4) Water movement, they love current. So a circlation powerhead is almost a must.

5) Heater guard. Get one. KingEd sells it. If you are in Surrey, Roger Aquatic sells it too.

6) lastly, sand. Many people ask me if it is necessary. It is up to you. Bare tank is easy to clean. But I do like to keep thing as natural as possible. They like to bury themselves if they get frighten. I don't recommand a thick layer. A thin layer will do the trick. It is like the ray's comfort branket.

I hope this help.


----------



## Illbuyourcatfish

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this but...Wont even a small ray be able to eat a 2-3" oscar? My female killed a 13" wolf fish when she herself was under 10". She also caught and killed a 5" flagtail. I'm not sure you would have to worry about oscar aggression or bioload because I'm not sure it would go that far...


----------



## Death's Sting

Illbuyourcatfish said:


> I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this but...Wont even a small ray be able to eat a 2-3" oscar? My female killed a 13" wolf fish when she herself was under 10". She also caught and killed a 5" flagtail. I'm not sure you would have to worry about oscar aggression or bioload because I'm not sure it would go that far...


I would still be more worried about the ray. :bigsmile:
I say this from experience. Oscars love ray eyes and so do most cichlids. I have had a 1'' convict tear apart a 6'' ray. They just swoop down and peck and peck and peck until the ray just dies of stress and its injuries.

However, my old flagtail was killed by my ray as well. The flagtail was about 4'' and the ray was about 14''..... The ray basically ripped its face off. Keep in mind flagtails are 10X more docile in comparison to an Oscar. This is key!


----------



## Illbuyourcatfish

and wolf fish are 20x more aggressive than oscar...


----------



## Phillyb

Haha I was Gona get rid of the Oscar after I Hurd the firt 2 posts buts it's funny you say the ray would eat the oscar.. cause my aro went for it a few nites ago..so he's going back back to petsmart tomorrow for a safer home Lol thanks everyone for tips if Anyones got more tips and videos let's see them


----------



## Death's Sting

Phillyb said:


> if Anyones got more tips and videos let's see them


One important tip to help you right off the bat before you even buy the ray.

Its a wise choice to cycle the tank with pure ammonia as apposed to goldfish/small cichlids/tetras. The reason why is when you cycle a tank with little fish, you only cycle the tank to handle those little buggers. A couple of rays will have a much larger bio load in comparison to the little fish your using to cycle the tank. Pure ammonia is also faster since it skips the step of fish waste breaking down into ammonia. Your getting the eggs without having to buy the chicken.


----------



## Phillyb

the tank has had fish in it for about 4+ months already.also the oscar is back at petsmart safe and sound


----------



## Death's Sting

Phillyb said:


> the tank has had fish in it for about 4+ months already.also the Oscar is back at petsmart safe and sound


Had being the key word. As soon as you subtract fish from the tank; the amount of beneficial bacteria slowly begin to die off to match the amounts ammonia available to them.

If you have less fish then your tank will be cycled to match just that. With the Oscar gone a big source of the bacterias food source is missing. Therefore, when a ray is introduce there is a great chance of an ammonia spike, due to the fact the bacteria needs to colonize again to handle the huge bioload of the ray.

There must be a source of ammonia greater then or equal to that of a ray, that is already present in the tank before the ray is even introduced. You merely due water changes prior to ray introduction to avoid contact with the ammonia.

Be cautious.


----------



## Phillyb

i don't think a 3inch oscar did that much to the bio load to make up for the stingray i have a 22 inch arowana +other fish in the tank so i don't think it should spike like crazy..

YouTube - Monster Fish


----------

