Black diamond stingray

7/6/2022

As other fish enthusiasts fill their tanks with colorful orange clown fish or blue bettas, Alex Meyer’s fish tank is a stark opposite.

Inside his freshwater tank lives a black diamond stingray, three bala sharks, an iridescent shark catfish and a Rhino Pleco bottom feeder.

The black diamond stingray is his prized possession. Most captive tank stingrays are colored brown or gray. The stingray he obtained five years ago is not full size yet — but it can grow to the size of his tank, which is eight feet long, and live up to 10 years.

When feeding fish or cleaning his tank, he treads carefully as the stingray barbs are extremely sharp.

“That’s what killed Steve Irwin,” he recalled. Irwin was a wildlife conservationist and television personality who tragically died from a sharp barb to the heart while filming his show.

The barbs have serrated teeth, so if it enters a body part, it doesn’t pull out smoothly. As long as the barb is shed, it’s not poisonous. As Meyer revealed a small box full of barbs he’s picked up from the tank floor, he admitted, “I’ve stuck myself on a barb once. It doesn’t feel good.” 

As Meyer was fascinated with stingrays, he purchased two males and one female, planning to breed them. Unfortunately, the tank broke down.

“The pump malfunctioned, which made the water chemistry off. It was very tragic, and the two males died off. It was too expensive to get more.” 

The stingray and sharks eat mealworms, nightcrawlers, shrimp and tilapia.

“I’m eating ramen noodles and they eat gourmet,” he said. “It’s an expensive habit.” 

When Meyer moved into his new home, his old fish tank wouldn’t fit through the basement door. He custom built a new stand to hold both the extensive filtration and tank system. 

His fish collection started as a youth. Growing up on a century Iowa farm, the family owned a 10-gallon aquarium.

“It was either clean the fish tank or do the dishes,” he recalled.

A fascination with his school friend’s 125-gallon aquarium intensified his fish hobby. He had fish in college and has collected a variety of fish the past 25 years. The most difficult part of his hobby is the maintenance. He changes the water once or twice a week, each time taking up to an hour and a half. He’s leery of power outages, which could kill off his fish. It’s difficult to go on vacation.

“I need to find a reliable and trustworthy person who can also take care of my cat and dog, and not kill the fish,” he said.

Next up, he’s built a koi pond and a chicken coop, which helps keep him connected to his farming roots.

He also has a smaller tank upstairs. He said he likes to put up a fluorescent light and view the fish at night, which is peaceful and calming. He relishes the fact that he’s unique among his friends with a stingray living in his basement.

“It’s an obsession and passion with these fish,” he said. ♦