Huge slopes attract with their unusual appearance and sizes, atypical for the inhabitants of the aquarium. One of the most popular is a freshwater motor ramp, which can be settled at home.
Features
These creatures belong to the unit of skates and are considered relatives of sharks. These marine inhabitants live most often in salt water. However, some of them have adapted and live in freshwater. You can meet them in the waters of Colombia or Uruguay, as well as in South America. If we talk about the exterior of the ramp motor, it is worth noting that its dimensions are relatively small. This allows you to keep it in aquariums. These marine creatures quickly get used to a new place. In good conditions in the aquarium, they can live up to 20 years.
Aquarium ramp motor has an oval and flat body shape. Above are eyes and breathing holes, and below is a large mouth with strong teeth, nostrils, and gills. The tail of the ramp is quite muscular, and it ends with a spike that has a notch. At the very base of the spike there are glands that produce poison. Once or twice a year, the spike disappears, and a wound forms in its place. It drags on, and after a while a new spike appears in its place.
If it is damaged, the ramp can get a pain shock. Thanks to this spike, stingrays are often called stingrays.
The individual is painted in gray or brown color, with small yellow spots that resemble the eyes. The color below is already white. Kids for a long time remain vulnerable to various factors. Over time, their immunity becomes stronger.
Therefore, it is not recommended to purchase stingrays, the sizes of which do not reach 10 centimeters.
After all, individuals can die during transportation. After 5 years, the ramps reach their maximum size. Usually this is approximately 45 centimeters. In addition, male stingrays are smaller in size. But they differ in a brighter color.
How to choose?
To get a healthy stingray, you need to pay attention to some of the distinguishing features of such individuals. First of all, the ramp must be well-fed. In addition, the tail at the base should be 3 times larger than the spike. On the top of it should be placed 2 tubercles, which are called the "ass". They have fat reserves, as well as a lot of nutrients. They are rounded in shape. In addition, all the patterns placed on the body of the stingray are two-tone. On the body can not be completely discolored or white areas, as well as plaque. Fungal spots should not be present on the tail.
Also, when buying, you need to pay attention to the appetite of a marine resident.
A healthy slope after any movement to a new environment should show interest in the proposed feed.be it squid or peeled shrimp. If this does not happen, and the ramp does not eat, then you must either return it back, or seek the advice of a specialist. Appetite problems are one of the main signs that stingrays are unhealthy.
In addition, often when transporting slopes for the safety of people, special caps are put on spikes. They are made of silicone tubes, the diameter of which must correspond to the size of the needle, called caps cambrices. The ramp does not suffer from this, since the latch falls off along with the old spike.
The owner of the animal should not remove the cap himself, because in this case not only the ramp will suffer, but also the person himself.
Compatibility
Large species of fish, which are not too aggressive in nature, can be hooked to slopes. It is very important that they have similar conditions for detention. This can be catfish, tiger bass, discus, as well as other marine life. You also need to know that when keeping stingrays in the aquarium, there must be a jigger. Damaged individuals are placed in it.
After all often in the process of caring for their "ladies", males become too aggressive, and females can receive various injuries. But nevertheless, they recover quite quickly. In addition, stingrays are inherently very curious and playful. They quickly get used to their masters and after a while they begin to recognize them. Tailed stalkers can even eat with their hands, which always gives pleasure to kids and adults.
Growing conditions
The content of stingrays in the aquarium is available to almost every person. The first thing you need is a rather large capacity. For example, to keep stingrays you need an aquarium with a volume of at least 250 liters. At the same time, its length should be up to 1.5 meters, the width should not exceed 60 centimeters, and the height should be up to half a meter. There must also be 2 external filters.
Live plants that have well-developed roots can also be planted in a home aquarium. It is best to place them in special containers. But for decorating an aquarium, plants that swim or take root on old driftwood are often used. Since stingrays like sand or silt, the soil should be the same at the bottom of the aquarium.
Many use very fine gravel, the main thing is that it is run-in. After all, when the slopes are burrowing into it, they can simply get hurt if the edges of the pebbles are sharp.
The container containing the slopes must be closed with a lid or glass. After all, they can pop out of the water when feeding. It is worth noting that care for stingrays includes regular water purification. There should not be a drop of ammonia or nitrates in the aquarium. Indeed, because of this, stingrays will simply become sluggish, and they will also lose their appetite.
How and what to feed?
In the natural environment, stingrays feed quite varied.To create the same conditions in the aquarium is very difficult, but still possible. All stingrays do not suffer from a lack of appetite, because they swim for days on end in search of food. It takes too much energy. Therefore, individuals require a lot of food, which will be both high-quality and nutritious.
The main course in their diet is a large lake bloodworm. However, it must be disinfected.
It can also be frozen or boiled shrimp, which can be purchased at any grocery store. If they are sold frozen, they must first be thawed and then cleaned. At the same time, you should not boil seafood. Peeled shrimp is better not to buy, because they may be subject to chemical processing. In the event that the slope is still quite small, large shrimps must be torn into pieces that fit in his mouth.
Also, peruvian squid meat may be present in the diet of stingrays., since it is soft, unlike squids from the Far East. Perfect for feed and scallop meat, which contains silicon. And it contributes to the maturation of the genital organs in stingrays. As an additional feed, you can use pollock fillet or cod, which are rich in calcium and phosphorus. They help the formation of teeth and cartilaginous skeleton of stingray. Kids can be given large brine shrimp or freshly frozen gammarus.
It is imperative that the ramps never starve. To do this, they need to be fed 2 or 3 times a day.
In addition, do not use industrial dry feed, because they may contain chemical additives. Scat smells food in a matter of minutes. Despite the fact that his eyes are located on his back, and he does not see food, the animal feels it with its developed receptors. He swallows food in an instant.
Breeding
Breeding such unusual marine inhabitants will require a lot of experience. The stingrays have puberty when they turn 3 or 4 years old, and their size will reach 40 centimeters. Couples can be very difficult to create, because pets may simply not converge in character. If the female does not accept the male, then he is placed for 10-12 days in another container. When the right time has passed, you can try again. If the female does not accept him again, then it is necessary to look for another male.
Skate pregnancy lasts about 12 weeks. During this period, the female should be well fed, approximately 3 or 4 times a day. It is also necessary to ensure that there are no temperature drops, otherwise a miscarriage may occur. One female can produce from 2 to 20 babies. The sizes of newborns are up to 9 centimeters in diameter. Literally on the 2nd day they can already move. For feeding, you can use the same food as for adults. We can say that the content of stingrays is accessible to almost any person. The only thing you need to do is create good living conditions for the pet.
See how to feed aquarium stingray properly in the video below.
