Animal-World > Marine - Saltwater Fish > Sharks and Rays > Blue Spotted Stingray

Blue Spotted Stingray

Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray

Family: DasyatidaeTaeniura lymmaPhoto © 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

Geographic Distribution Taeniura lymma Data provided by FishBase.org Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Actiniform Class: Elasmobranchii Order: Rajiformes Family: Dasyatidae

Maintenance difficulty:    The Blue Spotted Stingray or Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray is fairly easy to keep once it is feeding on it's own.

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.

Lastest Comments on Blue Spotted Stingray View all 24 comments on Blue Spotted Stingray Add Your Comment

tom roberts - 2007-03-28 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 Click For Replies (1) Keith - 2012-01-04 I just got a blue spotted sting ray but he refused to eat. I have soaked the silver slider with garlic, he took it underneath him and a few minutes later, he push it away... Any suggestion on feeding him? Thanks Reply

chris - 2011-01-12 Can I put a blue spotted stingray with a marbled cat shark in a 125 gallon aquarium? Could I put a blue tang with them? A volitan lionfish? Please respond. You can email me at mistermip@gmail.com Click For Replies (1) Charlie Roche - 2011-06-11 No ---- combination won't work there. I'd read up more on the stingray and the cat shark. Reply

chris - 2008-09-10 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. Click For Replies (5) Linda - 2010-10-25 Not very many of these creatures have been taken from the wild. It is true that their population is dwindling, but you need to think outside the box a bit more. So research and know that we can love these animals and still let the public view them. Your comment is very uneducated and pointless. derek - 2010-11-17 I have a 5000 gallon reef tank with three 1000 gallon grow tanks for corals, and how i view this (what seems as a protest) is if i am using and putting in my hard earned money so people can have captive born fish or coral i think i am doing something for both the hobbyist and the protester. But see i don't do this for money or any other reason other than, i love the fish and corals so much, that i made it my life and my will to grow them. If anyone knows anything about this world of mine, would also know doing so i gain more fish and corals and in return put more back into the reefs than what one hobbyist could take from the reef. FISH FISH - 2011-01-10 99%? If you check FAO official stats you will see 55% of fish are aquacultured. Steve - 2011-01-15 Chris, many species for the aquarium hobby CAN be bred in captivity, including corals. Check out the Marine Aquarium Council's site. The MAC works with marine biologist and hobbyists. All of the dealers on the list (they are certified) sell tank raised animals, and the few animals that are taken out of the wild are done so in a sustainable manner. I will only do business with the dealers on the MAC list. aelun - 2011-06-11 YOU ARE DEFINETLY RIGHT100% Reply

Jessi - 2009-12-21 I hope someone will reply to this. How big are all of your aquariums for these rays? It looks as though a few of you have experience keeping them, and I am trying to find SOLID information on size of tank requirements. Please if you can respond to JessiEarl@gmail.com I would SO appreciate it! Jessi Click For Replies (2) John - 2010-11-17 My 265 aquarium is seven feet long and arranged specifically to accommodate my Blue Spotted Sting Ray. I think this should be the minimum sized tank for this species as he requires open space and live rock to behave as if he is in his natural habitat. It is important to note he only eats live food (shrimp). Samantha - 2011-03-01 My Fiance And I Have A 180 And A 200 Gallon And Ours Seems To Do Great We Pet Him And Hand Feed Him. Reply

Kate - 2009-08-03 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 Click For Replies (1) scientist - 2011-05-24 I'm not really a scientist but my recommendation is to call a proffesinal or call the aquarium. Look things up if you havent and see a stingray of a shark specialist. I'm so sorry if I wasted your time just tried to help...GOOD LUCK #9827; Reply

Bastiaan - 2010-02-12 To Brent, Yes commercial trawling is a major problem but fishing for the aquarium trade is as well. The species that are being caught for the aquarium trade are for the most part not the same species that are being caught by trawlers (I went along with a trawler and did notice that some moray eels and a large puffer fish were caught) because they live around coral reefs where trawlers don't come. Instead diving fishermen come to coral reefs and catch the fish as was mentioned by poison or dynamite but when these methods are outlawed by breaking the corals and poking in holes leaving the reefs demolished as well. I am currently doing my thesis in Vietnam and inside the (extremely poorly enforced marine park) all the species that are interesting for the aquarium trade are either at extremely low levels or locally extinct. Fish such as angel fish. So don't act like its someone else's fault but realise it's everyone's fault. The aquarium trade is absolutely unsustainable with its current practices so if you want to have an aquarium (which I completely understand) at least try to buy fish that are not endangered and unlikely to become endangered. Also maybe consider contributing to some organizations that try to protect the coral reefs. Click For Replies (1) whidbey0001 - 2010-05-07 Aquarium Trade Unsustainable? I think there are a some species that cannot be sustained at current rates, as you say some rare fish and corals. Most of these creatures we really have no idea of how many of them there really are, so therefore how can anyone judge what is sustainable. I agree completely there are plenty of awful things in the aquarium trade, but same with the art trade and any other thing that can make someone money. However I'm sure that the aquarium trade is a small nothing compared to the crazy commercial fishing that is going on now days, And even tho some species are targeted by aquarium trade that aren't "Targeted" by commercial fishing, commercial fishing gets a heck of a lot of by-catch that they don't target, which includes a lot of corals, because the fish live around the coral reefs of course. I'm sure most fish species will outlive humans. Reply

Add your comment!

View all 24 comments on Blue Spotted Stingray

Back to Sharks and Rays