Shovelnose Sturgeon indoor pond size/pondmates?

[Iamfish]

So ever since I got into fish keeping my favorite fish has always been the sturgeon but I never was fond of an outdoor ponds because of being harder to see it and for 3-4 months of the year being frozen.. I recently realized I could keep one in an indoor pond and was wondering what size I would need for one to be comfortable. I was also wondering what pondmates could work with a shovelnose sturgeon or if it would be happier alone. The other fish I want to keep are
Longnose Gar
Common Carp
Channel Catfish
I would be happy with anyone of those fish aswell but if not those
Yellow Perch
any Bullhead
Bluegill
would be great aswell.



Note: this is all for the future as I am very sick right now and wouldn't be able to start this project for a while, I was just wondering so I will know for when I am able to start trying to make this happen. Thx in advance for responses

 

[Duckman77]

Fyi some people are going to be VERY interested if you have a source for shovelnose surgeon.

Good luck with your project!

 

[Bertie07]

If you were doing an indoor pond I would recommend sterlets, smallest sturgeon species and easier to keep. You woul need a big pond of around 15ft l x 6ft w x 4ft h, roughly 2500 gallons. This would be a good size for an adult sterlet

 

[Asianbucketbrigade]

Fyi some people are going to be VERY interested if you have a source for shovelnose surgeon.

Good luck with your project!

Osage Catfisheries has them.

 

[Moontanman]

First shovelnose are more suitable for large aquariums and small ponds than other sturgeon, being smaller, slimmer, requiring less open space to maneuver in. They also do well at room temps but you have to understand that sturgeon are easy for other fish to outcompete for food. I would get my sturgeons first, get them eating well in a tank where you can keep track of them before putting them into a pond to grow out. This is assuming of course you are going to start out with fingerlings. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to get a wild adult fish to live in a small space... The other fish you list would be good pond mates if they started out much smaller than the sturgeon were when they are added.

 

[Asianbucketbrigade]

I contacted Osage and was told that they only carry adults, likely old broodstock :/ The search continues!

 

[Moontanman]

I contacted Osage and was told that they only carry adults, likely old broodstock :/ The search continues!

I've been talking to them, that is going to change this spring if all goes well...

 

[Asianbucketbrigade]

I've been talking to them, that is going to change this spring if all goes well...

The legend himself! That's very interesting... I'll definitely keep posted! I'm curious having seen all the Fish and Game ran hatcheries, are there rules regarding government hatcheries selling to indivisuals?

 

[Deadliestviper7]

As far as the tankmates you listed, they can all work with s.n sturgeon provided they are big enough to not be eaten, and you make sure your sturgeon gets his meaty foods (crayfish,shrimp,crickets,earthworms,fish bits etc).

As far as size goes I'd go with (assuming you plan to keep all listed species as adults)
:7 or 8 feet wide, and 15-20 feet long.
I would grow the sturgeon in a growout tank until their big enough to add to the pond

 

[Iamfish]

First shovelnose are more suitable for large aquariums and small ponds than other sturgeon, being smaller, slimmer, requiring less open space to maneuver in. They also do well at room temps but you have to understand that sturgeon are easy for other fish to outcompete for food. I would get my sturgeons first, get them eating well in a tank where you can keep track of them before putting them into a pond to grow out. This is assuming of course you are going to start out with fingerlings. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to get a wild adult fish to live in a small space... The other fish you list would be good pond mates if they started out much smaller than the sturgeon were when they are added.

I read that Shovelnose were smaller then Sterlets that is why I was thinking about one, if I can't find a source for them I could always get a Sterlet and make the pond bigger. As for tankmates I would definitely do what you said before thinking about adding anything else. Catfish do not seem like a good idea based on what you said since they are such aggressive eaters.