We observed large food consumption of 7.1 (s.e. 0.7, n = 17) percent body-mass per day for a captive juvenile pelagic stingray Dasyatis violacea (disc width 44.4 cm, PIT tag # AVID 017-085-067), in a holding pool kept at 20o C. This confirmed earlier results in the 4600 m3 Outer Bay Water Exhibit of the Monterey Bay Aquarium when 3 juvenile pelagic stingrays were displayed for three months. It suggests possible large differences in food consumption and corresponding growth rates between captive and wild pelagic stingrays. Food consumption and growth rates of juvenile elasmobranchs in captivity are compared with those in the wild. The dietary requirements of captive temperate water sharks in a semi-open sea water system and pelagic stingrays in a nearly closed system are compared with results for elasmobranchs in other aquaria.
Invited Paper for Guelph AES Symposium I. Feeding Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes
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