Breeding River Stingray (Potamotrygon Motoro) In The Aquarium

Location

This freshwater fish lives in sunny floodplains and backwaters of rivers an waters which exist in the rainy season in South America.

Body description

Body of the fish is depressed and circular. Colour of the body is gray-brown with gray-creamy under-side. There are round, dark ring-shaped spots with light center on the back of the fish. There is also several variants of this fish. The species has venomous barb at the base of the tail. This spike are being replaced every 6 months. The new barb appears before dropping the old one. You must take special care when cleaning the aquarium. Male has copulatory organ called claspers. Claspers is formed from the posterior portion of the pelvic fins.

Temperament and behaviour

This is peaceful, intelligent and predatory species which hunts at the bottom and middle water level. This fish is very active – constantly on the move. You can tame the fish. This species may jump out of the aquarium so you should cover it. It can attack with the spike and it can bury in the substrate when it is threatened or stressed. You can not use the net to transport this fish. You should feed them twice a day. Diet should be varied e.g. fish meat, shrimps, shellfish, worms. You should not feed this fish with meat from mammals. The fish is malnourished if you can see its spine. The fish will probably die when edges of its body are permanently turned up which is caused usually by hunger or stress. Males are brutal towards females during the spawning season. You should keep these fish with non-aggressive and non-territorial species which have similar size. The best is to keep them in single species aquarium. These fish can live very long – up to 20 years.

Aquarium decoration

This fish needs very large tank. It should be minimum 200 cm wide and up to 50 cm high. You should cover the aquarium. The tank should have an effective, biological filtration system, soft and fine substrate, massive or well placed decorative elements (the fish are very strong), strong light, oxygen-rich water, protected heater so that fish can not get burn. The fish are sensitive to accumulation of nitrites and ammonia, so partial water exchange should be done regularly (about 30-50% per week).

Breeding

This is live-bearer species and breeding it is not an easy task. These fish becomes sexually matured after few years. The fish group off into pairs to mate. Female should be larger than male so she can defend herself against aggressive courtships of the male. The male grabs female with his teeth and he tries to slip his belly under her. He tries so long until female allows that and let him slip in. Then male internally fertilizes the female. The pregnant female has increased appetite. The gestation period lasts 9-12 weeks. The fry (about 1-5) should show in the aquarium after this time. The fry feeds on food from the yolk sack for about a week. The parents don’t take care for the offspring and you should separate them from young fish.