My friend's tank busted and needed to quickly move his fish so I told him I would try and help him out. I told him I could take his fish if they were bottom dwellers because my oscar is aggressive to other fish that stay near the middle or top of the water. He could care less about anything that lives on the bottom. He asked if I could take his Motoro Stingray and after doing some quick research about the care they need I decided to tell him yes. It was also a matter of if I didnt take him he would most certainly die

He seems to be doing just fine in the tank and the oscar doesnt even look at him. (I would if i were him because he looks incredible haha) My water parameters are perfect and I usually do a 30% change every 4-5 days.

My substrate is currently gravel and I was wondering if I could change it to sand without disrupting/killing the fish. Everything I have read about the Motoro rays say that sand is the best but gravel can work and isnt too terrible for them. I just think the sand in the longrun would be alot better for the ray.

Thanks OFL. Oh yea, here is a pic (i know how you all love pics!)

I WANT THAT!!!!! LOL

Now to answer your question, Yes you can do a complete change of substrate. Scoop out the gravel, and poor in the sand..

Just make sure you wash the sand REALLY well!

OMG... I'm with Nicki... I want that! Awesome and thanks for the pic, we love pics!!! Rinse, rinse, rinse the sand.... be patient. It isn't a project to be rushed. I learned that you have to put it in a bucket with water and keep stirring it. I didn't wait long and had a nice "sand bloom" that clocked my filter material in my sump. Eventually it went down though... rinse, rinse, rinse!

Welcome to the site !

Brookise

using the existing sand from your friend's tank that was broken will be fine.
scoop all gravel in yours and gradually put-in the sand. if i may suggest,
you can use the sand bagging system to lessen the cloudiness effect. that is
you put the sand in a plastic bag, submerge them in the tank water, and gradually
flip and full the bag leaving behind the sand at the bottom....

Yea i figured i would either use a bag or a plastic container to get the sand down there.

I was just going to buy new sand because i dont know if his sand might have little pieces of glass in it. What is the easiest way to rinse the sand?

rjone15 wrote:


five gallon pail and a water hose

put some sand in a bucket and run water through it until the water runs clear. stir the sand as your doing this to make sure that all the silt is washed away...

yup it can be done. I have done it a couple times this year.

Basically what every one is saying is what you will need to do to make the project easier. But I would like add one thing that has been very helpful to me, and I saw learned this on some diy video a while back...

Try using a medium/large sized aquarium fish net to scoop out the gravel from the tank to put in your bucket. You will find it to be much quicker and efficient.

Good luck and very cool Ray!

I would love to have a ray but my is tank too small....

TigerOscar99 wrote:


That a good excuse for not getting a ray.
I'd sure love one, when i grow up and get a big tank.

Will you have to return the fish in time, or is it yours to keep,rjone?

Noddy wrote:


i think it is probably going to be mine, he is kinda bummed about the tank and doesnt really have the cash right now to get another tank up and running

WOW given a ray, you lucky person

To remove a substrate, remove as much as possible with a scoop and then suck the rest out with a syphon into a large container (this works for gravel as well as sand)

i did this not long ago, and used the same method as everyone is saying except for one thing.

after doing a couple of bags i found i was loosing a fair bit of sand when i was draining the water and since it was aquarium sand it was not cheap so i didnt want to waste much so i put a sheet in the bath tub over the plug hole and rinsed it that way!! (i still sometimes find little beads of sand tho )

and also the cleaner your gravel is before you move it the quicker your tank will clear up after!!