All fish / Dasyatidae

Red Stingray

Hemitrygon akajei

Also known as akaei stingray, red whipray, japanese red stingray, whitespotted whipray, dasyatis akajei, アカエイ, 赤魟

This is a large coastal whiptail stingray with a rounded, flat brownish disc and an orange or yellowish underside edge. It turns up mainly in public aquariums and the occasional very large private system, where people keep it for its graceful gliding and calm feeding behaviour.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

60 cm

Temperature

14 to 26 °C

pH

8 to 8.4

Smallest tank

4000 litres

Keep as

Singly or a small group in a very large system

Diet

Carnivore: shrimp, squid, clams, worms and fish pieces

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 20 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Northwest Pacific: Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan

Breeding

It gives birth to live young after the eggs develop inside the mother, with litters of a few pups. Captive breeding happens only now and then in public aquariums and is not realistic for home keepers.

Good to know

Its tail spine is venomous and can inflict a very painful wound, so handle with great care. Adults reach well over a metre including the tail, so it needs an enormous tank with a soft sand bottom; the trade name "No" is not a recognised common name.