Blue
Dot Stingray
(Taeniura lymma)
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The
Blue dot Stingray or Taeniura
lymma is a member of the
family Dasyatidae.
This species is indigenous to the
tropical water coral reef systems of the Indo-Pacific, from
the Philippines
to northern Australia.
Significant populations stretch from North Central to North West
Australia,
along the entire length of
the Great Barrier Reef and south to
northern New South Wales.
This species is currently listed as Near Threatened by IUCN
(International Union
for Conservation of Nature) due to habitat degradation and over
fishing.
Stingrays
have roamed the oceans
since long before man declared the planet Earth his eminent domain.
Paleontologists
have unearthed stingray fossils dating back to over 65 million years
ago,
predating the mass extinction of giant marine reptiles. Ancient
mariners were
no strangers to this exotic beast. The Greeks knew the stingray as
trygon; the
Romans, pastinaca. Hercules, although half-god, lost his finger to the
bite of
a giant stingray. The great Greek Hero, Odysseus, was accidentally
slain by his
son Circe after his grandfather presented him with a spear tipped with
the
spine of a stingray.
Stingrays
are cartilaginous fish
like their boneless relatives the shark. Blue dot stingrays are
greenish tan in
color with pale blue polka dots of varying size sprinkled across the
upper
section of their body. This ray’s body and pectoral fins form
a single oval
disc shaped unit. The blue dot is not a particularly large ray. Its
disc only reaches
a maximum of 12 inches in diameter when fully grown. Its tail will grow
to
approximately 1.5 times longer than its body. Their tails have a bright
blue
line on each side forming an elongated triangle at the tip. Like most
stingray,
the blue dot has venomous barbs on its tail used for self-defense. Blue
dots
are also sold by the aquarium industry as blue spotted stingrays, and
bluespotted ribbontail rays.
Stingrays
are bottom dwelling
species. They instinctively cover themselves with sand as a means of
camouflage.
Stingrays should only be kept in aquariums with a sand substrate.
Courser
substrates can damage the stingray’s underbodies and lead to
possible
infection. Never expose a stingray to copper-based medications. This
may result
in the animal’s death.
Blue
dots will require and
absolute minimum tank size of 150 gallons with the majority of the
bottom
surface area left unadorned. A larger aquarium is preferable. This ray
will
actually make a suitable candidate for a multi-species fish-only
aquarium. They
rarely concern themselves with the coming and going of overhead species
as long
as their substrate domain is not intruded upon. Their barbed
tails are
not used as a means of predation. However they will not hesitate in
using it
against an aggressor or even a fish curious enough to start poking
around at
them. These rays are rated as an aggressive species by the aquarium
trade. This
is due to their predatory instinct and venomous nature. These are not
particularly aggressive creatures but the utmost care should be taken
when
handling one or performing routine aquarium maintenance.
Blue
dots are rated for expert
aquarists only. The two main contributing factors to this advance care
level
are related to its poor adaptation to captivity and its overall
condition. This
is a hardy species in its natural habitat. Unfortunately it
rarely
arrives to retailers in pristine condition. Nursing this species back
to health
is often complicated by its reluctance to feed in captivity. If you
live in the
Untied States, you may want to look into purchasing a California
stingray as opposed to one that
is shipped from halfway across the planet. They will generally arrive
in much
better condition. They are, however, a larger species of ray and will
need an
even bigger aquarium.
Rays are
carnivorous. If
it does
not eat when it is first introduced to your tank, try feeding it ghost
shrimp
or small pieces of cleaned squid. It may or may not adapt to frozen and
freeze
dried food preparations. Chopped shrimp, scallops, squid and fish will
provide
plenty of nutritional value. Once it starts feeding, it will eat any
small
crustacean that happens to be living in your tank. They are not
suitable for
marine reef habitats.
Environmental Parameters
Temperature
|
pH Level |
Specific Gravity |
72-78
°F |
8.1-8.4 |
1.020-1.025 |
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Saltwater & Marine
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Fish Care & Breeding Guide
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