Honeycomb Stingray

The Honeycomb Stingray is one of the largest and most strikingly patterned rays in the Indo-Pacific. Adults display a spectacular honeycomb or leopard-like pattern of dark reticulations over a lighter background, and can reach disc widths exceeding six feet. This massive size makes it entirely unsuitable for home aquaria and restricts its keeping to public aquariums and very large commercial installations.

In the wild, this species inhabits sandy flats, seagrass beds, and reef margins across the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. It is an active forager, using its electroreceptors to detect prey buried in the sand. The extremely long, whip-like tail carries one or more large venomous barbs.

Keeping this species requires industrial-scale life support systems, enormous tank volumes, and a team of experienced elasmobranch husbandry professionals. Water quality must be maintained at pristine levels through massive filtration capacity and frequent water changes.