How big does a motoro stingray get these days?

[motorohorn]

I saw one in excess of 30 inches recently at iver maidenhead Aquatics, I posted up a pic of her.

can u post the link to that thred?

 

[T1KARMANN]

T1, could you give a timeline of growth and what size you acquired the rays and their age now? I would greatly appreciate that

The female p14 was one of my home bred pups she was fed on hikari pellets from birth and kept in a 350 gal tank from birth she grew to about 16-17 inch disk in the 350 gal in about 2.5 years

After 2.5 years she was moved to my 1000 gal and she grew very fast in the last year from 17 inch to 20 inch

She is now 3.5 years old and massive

After moving her and seeing how fast she grew in the bigger tank I would say a lot of rays are stunted from being kept in tanks that are to small

This pic is a few months old now and she is much bigger and her tail is real thick at the base

 

[Tor-Eriik]

My female Motoro grew from 6-inch disk to 26+ inch disk in 18 months...240 gallon tank weekly 30% water changes, FX5 and two big aquaclear outside filters.....she would "stand" at the fromt glass begging for food and the top of her disk was out of the 28-inch high tank....she was absolutely immense...gave her to a breeder cause I felt bad that she had no room!

I am not quite sure if i belive that, that seemed an awefull alot on a short time.

 

[Just Toby]

I know marbles are often much smaller but my female marble has got to over 10 inches in around 8-9 months, I got her at around 5 inches.

 

[Just Toby]

can u post the link to that thred?

I cannot remember what thread it was, I will try to attach another pic to this thread when I am at my pc as do not think I can do from the iPad.

She was pregnant and had 18 pups last time around.

As t1 says, 24 to 30 inches does not look big on a measure but to see this in a ray is awesome as they are just huge, powerful looking beasts. I can only imagine the food they eat and the waste they produce, this one made the 8x4 foot print look a little cruel to keep it in.

I am sure a smaller tank holds them back a lot, she was on a large system so any pheromones would have been diluted.

 

[dparks87]

I visited Mike at H2O last year and I have seen some large 30" or so females and let me tell you guys... I spurted out every known curse word. I was blown away. I have read that they get this size but it cant really be appreciated untill you see it in person.

 

[T1KARMANN]

Wow Toby is that big tank at Iver a 8x4 I used to pop down to that shop all the time and always thought that tank was much bigger but now you mention it that size maybe right as they used to have a large pair of helei in the tank and a silver and jar aro both with bad drop eye

Iver was the place I saw my 1st ever Leo and fell in love

I think rays must be badly stunted in the tanks we keep them in if you see that giant size motoro Frank and Nico have in the mega tank that will show you they need more space than the average fishkeeper gives them

As for food Toby your right again I know I have other fish in the tank but the 4 rays on there own eat a hell of a lot and I wouldn't like to add it up

 

[creepyoldguy]

Thanks t1 for the info and beautiful fish

 

[Somethingfishyinc.net]

is it possible to be overfeeding the rays? basically power feeding?
i know fish, reptiles this is done to grow them super fast but is it healthy & is most likely unnatural.
Many of these animals are not hand fed or power fed in the wild like they are in our aquariums etc.
Does rays go without eating some days in the wild because of dry season or even rainy season? Is times of the year or days of gorging a meal then a day or two fasting?
I do not know the answer but I would think there is merit to my thinking.
I was in Peru collecting in 08' & it was dry season. There was some areas w/fish of all kinds were in plenty then some areas not so. The water is like a thick muddy chocolate milk & you can not see anything in there. Lots of mud, leaves, branches etc. so I imagine finding a meal is not always easy. There is more fish then most can imagine in the Amazon river though.

just my thought
me Dave

 

[wg666666]

I am not quite sure if i belive that, that seemed an awefull alot on a short time.

I wish it wasnt true...I figured I had a good 4-5 years in my 240 gallon tank before upgrading.....had to give her away cause I couldnt keep the nitrates in control......I have no reason to lie....