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

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

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium. The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

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
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
I just recently purchased my blue spotted stingray about four days ago. It is beautiful and very active. The first night though my clown trigger attacked his barb, so I decided the trigger had to go. I was also informed after purchase that he needed a sandy bottom. All I have is crushed coral in a 150 gal, so I got some sand. The tank is now a clouded mess everytime he flaps. He can get under the shell, so I think I''ll leave it.In a few months I'm purchasing a 260 gal. The ray is housed with a clown, lionfish, foxface, puffer, naso tang , and two green bird wrasses, and formosa wrasse. All is peaceful minus clown trigger. Had thoughts of returning ray, but think I'll take my chances. Is interested in eating. So far he is worth the headaches. Signa Perry 2006-12-09
Some of the coolest comments:
I have a beautiful ray that we have named "RAY". I have had him for about 1 year now and he is the most wonderful, smart animal I have ever seen. He is housed with a dog faced puffer ( scooby), a eel ( spot), Lion fish ( Simba), Purple Tang ( P.Pooty) Yellow Tang ( Pooty Tang) and a clown fish named Jack. They are all the best of fish friends and do not fight or try to eat each other, they are however in a 155 gallon aquarium. I have trained my ray and dog faced puffer to come by name, eat from my hand and they even do a few tricks. Both are very smart and seem to be so lovable. Good thing we do not have a tank large enough for me to swim in. My daughter at age 10 even feeds all of these fish by hand as they are allvery gentle. I would only recommend these to people who truely love the animals and will spend time with them. They LOVE to be talked to, they are constantly entertaining us, especially the ray doing flips in the water. Please help conserve our sealife for our children and grand children. Summer 2006-05-12
I have had Cyrus for nearly 3 months now in a 140 gal tank with sand bottom and a small stack of live rock around the drain to the sump. He has become very skilful moving around the tank and enjoys gliding through the rocks. It took nearly a week (distressing as he is such a stunning creature) before he began to eat, and he will now take small prawns from my hand. He is not so interested in fish but does eat squid and cracks open shellfish and crabs sometimes. I just wish I could give him a bigger tank - one day I hope to donate him to our local marine park. He shares the tank with a blue swimmer crab (rescued from a local seafood restaurant, but her mate died before arrival) a clown fish and several small crustaceans. Originally built for an octopus, but Cyrus was too beautiful to pass by. mark 2003-08-26
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
AnImaL WorLd RuLes Kim 2003-10-21

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