Anyone have or had a Sturgeon?

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i am curious as to why you said "there must be something wrong with it if its swimming with its nose out" ...
i know that not everything that is read online is true (obviously) but when i read it, it wasnt on a forum or anything, it was on a website talking about how to keep them properly, or so i thought.
i suppose it could have been wrong, but to me it sounded like its ok. do you have any reason to think its too warm or low in oxygen?
i keep the tank in the mid 70s, water is good quality, all my other fish are healthy as oxen, and i have 2 airstones running to provide what i thought was plenty of aeration...

if i am doing something wrong please let me know so i can correct it!
 
new2natives;1897672; said:
i am curious as to why you said "there must be something wrong with it if its swimming with its nose out" ...
i know that not everything that is read online is true (obviously) but when i read it, it wasnt on a forum or anything, it was on a website talking about how to keep them properly, or so i thought.
i suppose it could have been wrong, but to me it sounded like its ok. do you have any reason to think its too warm or low in oxygen?
i keep the tank in the mid 70s, water is good quality, all my other fish are healthy as oxen, and i have 2 airstones running to provide what i thought was plenty of aeration...

if i am doing something wrong please let me know so i can correct it!
Click to expand...

Well since I have kept them and I am in touch with people who keep them in public aquaria I think I'm a little bit better then just somebody on the web but I am not infallible. Swimming at the surface like that is a classic example of two different behaviors. One of them is trying to intake oxygen rich water at the surface of the water. This is not limited to sturgeon, most fish will go to the surface and swim in a manner that allows them to intake surface water, in a sturgeon this would mean sticking their nose out of the water. Any way you look at it this is not natural behavior and would indicate something is not correct either in the fishes environment or the fishes own internal workings. If the aquarium is ok I would then think about the possibility of problems with the gills, parasites in the gills could confuse the fish into thinking it needs to swim at the surface for oxygen. a mild salt bath could take care of this but I have never done it so I would look it up and see what the details are. I do know gill parasites can be a problem with some baby sturgeon. Another reason for swimming at the surface with the nose sticking out is usually only seen in captive sharks. The oils floating at the surface attract the shark and confuse it into swimming with it's nose stuck out so it can smell the odors floating on the surface. Surface water returns in most marine aquaria have eliminated this problem in most cases. I'm not sure if this would happen in sturgeon but this behavior is not with out its problems and will eventually result in bad health and death in the fish. If all your water parameters are good and the fish continues to do this i would have to think there is a reason other than simply "sturgeons do this" since I have never seen this behavior except as an occasional thing when the fish is expecting food.

here are some links
http://www.livefoodshop.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=61331

I couldn't find anything more pertinent, you could very well be correct and it's not a big deal but un natural behaviors in a fish are always a sign of problems at least to me.
 
They do better off in ponds rather than tanks. They seem to have problems with the corners in a smaller space.
 
thanks! i appreciate the response, and i trust your judgement!
he is actually going into my 180 tomorrow (lots of filtration and currents), i am going to move the airstones in there, and i had planned on a powerhead or two in the future.
if he continues to swim nose out i am going to hurry up with the powerheads! and if that doesnt solve it, i will check his gills ... actually i will probably have someone else do it, since i wont know what i am looking for ...

thanks again, i will keep everyone posted!
 
new2natives;1898192; said:
thanks! i appreciate the response, and i trust your judgement!
he is actually going into my 180 tomorrow (lots of filtration and currents), i am going to move the airstones in there, and i had planned on a powerhead or two in the future.
if he continues to swim nose out i am going to hurry up with the powerheads! and if that doesnt solve it, i will check his gills ... actually i will probably have someone else do it, since i wont know what i am looking for ...

thanks again, i will keep everyone posted!
Click to expand...

I'll see what I can find out from the experts I know, I have experience but expert suggests knowing everything and I find that the more I know the more I need to know!
 
I asked one of my contacts in the public aquarium line and I got this reply:

Small hatchery-reared sturgeon frequently do this - especially if they have become habituated to hand-feeding. Its how they beg for treats. They will also swim upside down at the surface gulping down food that is floating.

We have had several species that do this - but once the fish reach a certain size (> 250 mm), they seem less inclined.

I hope this is good news, at the very least you have a neutral reason for this behavior. I think it's kinda cute to think your fish is begging for food! Is your fish in this size range?
 
i have a sturgeon, i kept him 3-4 years and he's gone from small and skinny when i bought him to a bit of a beast now.

he's always lived in my pond, there is decent filtration but no strong current, it;s quite calm in there and he seems very happy.

i've never seen him have his nose out or doing back flips though... he does come to the top to interact with people and get stroked and fed. often his top fins poke out the surface of the water as he swims so close to the surface.

interesting fish but should be in a pond.

read the other sturgeon post a couple above this one (different thread)

i put some pics up
 
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