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Blue Spotted Stingray

Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray Family: Dasyatidae

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Taeniura lymma Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The Blue Spotted Stingray or Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray are one ot the most unusual marine animals available. They have two plates in their mouth which are used for crushing the shells of crabs, prawns, and molluscs.

   This ray would take squid and shrimp from our hands so you could feel the plates in the mouth. For the first few feedings we impaled food on a long pole and placed it very near the mouth to entice the ray to eat. Once they get the idea they eat almost anything.

   The spots on the Blue Spotted Stingray or Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray are usually blue or light brown. The tail is slightly longer than the body and has a spine, the stinger, about halfway down the tail.

NOTE: Be very careful when handling these animals as a sting can be extremely painful. If you do get stung immediately soak it in hot water and call a doctor!

For more Information on keeping marine fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Marine Aquarium

Maintenance:
   Feed all kinds of large meaty foods like small pieces of fish, squid, shrimp, crabs, prawns, molluscs, and live goldfish. Best to feed small amounts several times a day. Water in the aquarium should not be from the tap due to trace amounts of copper and other contaminants. It is best to use reverse osmosis or deionized.

Habitat: Natural geographic location:
   Blue Spotted Stingray or Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray are found from East Africa to the Western Pacific. Often seen on the Great Barrier Reef resting on sandy bottoms of caves or under ledges.

Foods:
   In the wild they feed on crabs, prawns, worms, molluscs, and fishes.

Social Behaviors:
   Gets along with its own kind and other fish. Watch smaller fish as they could become lunch although they usually leave other fish alone unless they are acting sick or distressed.

Sex: Sexual differences:
   Unknown.

Light: Recommended light levels:
   No special requirements.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Unknown.

Temperature:
   No special requirements.

Length/Diameter of fish:
   Blue Spotted Stingray or Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray adults can grow to 25 cm (10 inches) not including the tail.

Minimum Tank Length/Size:
   A minimum 75 gallon aquarium is recommended.

Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong
   No special requirements.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom
   Usually found on the bottom, sifting through the sand. Will sometimes bury itself in the sand.

Availability:
   This fish is available from time to time.

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Latest Comments
Hello, my partner and I have a blue spotted ray aka Mr Ray. We have had him now for about six months and he seemed to be doing really well. We hand feed him so we know he is eating well. The last couple of days however the slit just above his tails on the pelvic fin looks swollen and last night it bubbled out from the inside. It disappeared after about 5 mins but we can't find anything on the internet that can tell us what this is and why it is happening. Any advice would be appreciated. Apart from that he is still swimming round the tank and letting us touch him. Thanks Kate 2009-08-03
If you truly loved these animals you would not keep them in aquariums. 99% of all marine species can not be bred in captivity and are thus taken from the wild where populations are dwindling and local extinctions are becoming frequently common. Furthermore, the mass mortality rate of species collected is totally unsustainable. Many of the fish and invertebrates are caught using bleach or cyanide which dessimates the reef system and kills numerous other marine species during the collection process. Please think about the impacts your hobby had on the wider environment. chris 2008-09-10
The blue spotted stingray is a great pet to keep. I keep mine with a large zebra eel, a lion fish, and a snow flake eel. Very graceful swimmer, likes to eat squid and shellfish etc, keeps the bottom of the tank clean, filters the coral sand keeping it very clean, and it is easy to keep as well. Sean 2007-07-07
i love my blue spot! its my second one, the first one i had was in my tank about 5 months and it died. im sure it was my fault though. i added some medicine to my tank to take care of a 20.00 yellow tang and ended up killing 4 of my fish! including the yellow tang. so i bought another blue spot stingray and have had it for a year now. he is doing great. what a funny fish, he eats right out of our hand. he never messes with any of the other fish. he is about 10 inches round now and about 16 or 17 inches total length. i have a 180 gallon tank so there is plenty of room for him to swim around and enjoy himself {or her} not really sure what it is. i havent been able to keep any other rays in my tank, they dont seem to live more then a few days. but at least this one is doing great. well good luck to anybody else that is gonna get one. Tom tom roberts 2007-03-28
It is the best animal in the world, but just died yesterday john smith 2007-03-21
Some of the coolest comments:
Sexing sharks and rays is extremely simple. Every ray, male or female has two anal fins at the base of the tail. Male rays also have "claspers" which are used in reproduction, and are sort of finger-shaped. The claspers are tucked up under the tail near the anal fins. When your ray comes to a rest at the bottom of the tank, sometimes it will splay out its anal fins and claspers (if it has them). If you see something poking out from under the anal fins, you've got a boy. michelle 2009-09-16
Chris your concern is noted but as a responsible aquarist and a Green Party of Canada candidate all aspects of the ecology of the ocean must be taken into account. I myself am a vegetarian as commercial fishing is what accounts for 90% of the fish deaths that occur in the ocean. The populations are dwindling because people continue to drive cars and acidify the ocean as well as place dangerous chemicals into it. The marine hobby does have an impact of course but by all estimates and calculations if 1% of the bi catch from commercial trawling was to be put into the marine aquarium trade it would be a world wide over saturation very quickly and prices would plummet very quick. Those fish are left on the decks of those comercial fishing boats where they are allowed to suffocate to death before being sorted and then thrown back in the ocean. Yes cyanide and dynamite was used in the ocean a lot in the past but laws attempt to prevent this now and it is much much less common. If we are really to take care of our oceans we must stop commercial trawling and drag nets and use methods that only catch what we want as a food source. Also reduce or eliminate the burning of fossil fuels which is causing acidification of the ocean and destroying the base of the entire food chain on the planet such as phyto-plankton. The oceans stability is the planets stability and the planets survival! Brent 2009-07-17
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
AnImaL WorLd RuLes Kim 2003-10-21

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