Can anyone ID this fish?

[krichardson]

So a juvenile sturgeon kept in 26C water? It was very active.

.....interesting,I came across another post in which another member mentioned keeping a few species in quite warm water.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Everybody seems to think sturgeon only occupy cold water for some reason. Its true they are cold tolerant but they are also heat tolerant, probably one of the factors contributing to their status as a "living fossil".

This one looks very skinny though. Maybe not in the best of health or best environment.

 

[krichardson]

I've certainly always thought of them as strictly coldwater fish but I've since learned that there are quite a few different species which have different requirements and tolerances.....back when there were plenty of pet and aquarium stores throughout the city,most sturgeon that were available were always kept in the goldfish and koi display tanks.

 

[thiswasgone]

Definitely a sturgeon, but come on now, thats not good enough for MFK, people.

I can say with some confidence this is a russian sturgeon. Other candidates are starry sturgeon or sterlet sturgeon, but the scute arrangement does not appear sterlet to me. The kicker: even though we cant see the snout (best way to differentiate sturgeon), i can see its shadow which appears blunt and short, definitely not long and thin like a starry.

Could be some lesser known primarily freshwater species, maybe sakhalin, im certainly no expert, but i would put my money on a subadult russian sturgeon aka ossetra.

Considering this is South Korea and the fact that the scutes are not visibly distinct in color from the surrounding skin it's almost guaranteed to be a Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

To address the temperature discussion; all sturgeons require significant amount of oxygen which is why most species thrive in colder temperatures (cold water = more DO). There is a nice paper that goes into depth how hypoxia is a bigger threat to sturgeons compared to other fish species: http://hdl.handle.net/1834/20789 but AFAIK there is no study that specific pins down what biological process(es) requires so much oxygen in all sturgeon species.

 

[RyanScanner]

Siberian Sturgeon (Acipenser baerii)

Sturgeon are one of the most ancient families of fish on earth, and most species inhabit large river systems and lakes in subtropical regions

www.aqua-imports.com

Well they are available to purchase but grows to 6’ lol

 

[Joshuakahan]

I think the op was referring to the synodontis cats - looks like multipunctatus or petricola to me.

Petricola IMO

 

[Backfromthedead]

Considering this is South Korea and the fact that the scutes are not visibly distinct in color from the surrounding skin it's almost guaranteed to be a Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

To address the temperature discussion; all sturgeons require significant amount of oxygen which is why most species thrive in colder temperatures (cold water = more DO). There is a nice paper that goes into depth how hypoxia is a bigger threat to sturgeons compared to other fish species: http://hdl.handle.net/1834/20789 but AFAIK there is no study that specific pins down what biological process(es) requires so much oxygen in all sturgeon species.

Longnose sturgeon?

 

[thiswasgone]

Longnose sturgeon?

It's a "common name" that the fish is sometimes sold as but it's not a good identifier as there are other sturgeon species who also are given that common name due to having noses as longer or longer than Siberian sturgeons.

South Korea farms a lot of Siberian sturgeons for caviar + the color matches the species. AFAIK only Siberian sturgeon have a consistent similarity of skin + scute color as they age and the scutes grow larger.

 

[Backfromthedead]

It's a "common name" that the fish is sometimes sold as but it's not a good identifier as there are other sturgeon species who also are given that common name due to having noses as longer or longer than Siberian sturgeons.

South Korea farms a lot of Siberian sturgeons for caviar + the color matches the species. AFAIK only Siberian sturgeon have a consistent similarity of skin + scute color as they age and the scutes grow larger.

I would consider it more likely to be a siberian hybrid, maybe a fish farm reject, the snout is in no way typical of a longnose though. Im just not seeing what youre seeing with the scutes, they visibly stand out/are much different shade imo. We cant rely on the location since its in a tank with african cichlids and catfish imo. I think color very unreliable considering this is a subadult and obviously habitating in the higher end of its tolerance for temp.

But yeah, probably not a russian either like i thought.

 

[RyanScanner]

I would consider it more likely to be a siberian hybrid, maybe a fish farm reject, the snout is in no way typical of a longnose though. Im just not seeing what youre seeing with the scutes, they visibly stand out/are much different shade imo. We cant rely on the location since its in a tank with african cichlids and catfish imo. I think color very unreliable considering this is a subadult and obviously habitating in the higher end of its tolerance for temp.

But yeah, probably not a russian either like i thought.

Yeah it was in an aquarium cafe in the LOTTE Department store in Seoul, they had dozens of aquariums set up and nothing was biotope specific.

Exotic café: Aqua Garden café in Seoul KoreabyMe

This publication is devoted to all lovers of unusual and exotic places! Not far from Lotte Tower and Lotte World there is a cafe that few people know about it. If you love coffee shops and want to enjoy a beautiful view of aquariums, then the Aqua Garden cafe is for your attention.

koreabyme.com