Paddlefish

[Dan F]

Moontanman had several threads on paddlefish in the past, here is a link to one:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?335776-I-ve-got-some-Paddlefish!

He talks about "runts" that are stunted fish culled from hatcheries. I'm not sure if this is where the notion of a "dwarf paddlefish" comes from, but maybe.

 

[docturtle91b]

I really can't add anything to the topic but I am loving this thread. As a keeper/fan of North American natives this is fascinating to me. I want to hear more about the captive reproduction of these fish. Any information on that? Thanks

 

[kamikaziechameleon]

Arapima is different from a pelagic paddlefish.

Perhaps I misunderstand or don't properly know what it means but I always believed pelagic means the fish lives at the top of the water column. I don't understand the significance of sighting the paddle fish as pelagic... are you sighting that orientation as a reason for it to not be able to survive in captivity? Please elaborate.

 

[Ozarker]

With respect, I believe you are both incorrect. The term "pelagic" refers primarily to the deep ocean:

"The pelagic zone occupies 1,330 million cubic kilometres (320 million cubic miles) with a mean depth of 3.68 kilometres (2.29 mi) and maximum depth of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi).[1][2][3] Fish that live in the pelagic zone are called pelagic fish." Wikipedia

Paddlefish, unlike some sturgeon, live exclusively in freshwater and spawn on gravel bars (relatively shallow) and are found at varying depths in rivers and are successfully maintained in ponds, also relatively shallow.

 

[Ozarker]

There was an interesting episode on the TV show, Monster Fish, a couple of nights ago with a segment filmed at a paddlefish hatchery. They captured wild females and conditioned them in large indoor vats until they were full of roe. They then carefully removed them from the vats and manually stripped the eggs into a bowl and returned the unharmed female to the vat. The eggs were then fertilized with sperm collected from a male (didn't show that technique) and then the eggs were stirred with a feather(!) and hatched in a tumbler. Similar techniques are used with sturgeon, salmonids and other fish.

I really can't add anything to the topic but I am loving this thread. As a keeper/fan of North American natives this is fascinating to me. I want to hear more about the captive reproduction of these fish. Any information on that? Thanks

 

[Ozarker]

I'm a NANFA member and followed his paddlefish thread there too but after about a year the postings stopped. Anyone know what happened with his paddlefish?

Moontanman had several threads on paddlefish in the past, here is a link to one:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?335776-I-ve-got-some-Paddlefish!

He talks about "runts" that are stunted fish culled from hatcheries. I'm not sure if this is where the notion of a "dwarf paddlefish" comes from, but maybe.

 

[ermgravy]

http://www.youtube.com/user/Moontanman#p/u/4/eEmfyTXtfEk 6months ago from his channel...

dont know what happened since then i did follow his channel for a while while updates where happening tho... they seemed to survive do ok and out grow the set up at a guess...

 

[kamikaziechameleon]

With respect, I believe you are both incorrect. The term "pelagic" refers primarily to the deep ocean:

"The pelagic zone occupies 1,330 million cubic kilometres (320 million cubic miles) with a mean depth of 3.68 kilometres (2.29 mi) and maximum depth of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi).[1][2][3] Fish that live in the pelagic zone are called pelagic fish." Wikipedia

Paddlefish, unlike some sturgeon, live exclusively in freshwater and spawn on gravel bars (relatively shallow) and are found at varying depths in rivers and are successfully maintained in ponds, also relatively shallow.

so how does it apply to the fish?

Edit, oh he must be mistakenly referring to a salt water variety of paddle fish... wait a minute!

 

[jbijl]

gr. Jeroen, many thanks for the informative post. You clearly did your homework and put lots of thought into housing and care before you acquired your paddlefish and you are to be commended for that. You are a role model for responsible aquarists.

I have a few more questions for you:

What do you feed, how much and how often?

How large were your paddlefish fingerlings when you first acquired them? Did you immediately place them into your pond as fingerlings or did you initially keep them in a smaller containment, a "nursery" of sorts, for observation and feeding?

You obviously have excellent filtration. How is the visibility in your 6 foot deep pond? Are you able to see and observe the paddlefish and sturgeon?

I agree there are no "dwarf" paddlefish. That's either a marketing ploy or a severely stunted fish. Only two species of paddlefish worldwide.

A. sturio - wow! That's a rare one. I have three A. ruthenus and two A. gueldenstaedtii which are doing well for 3 months so far.

Thanks again for sharing.

Gordon

Hello Gordon

Thanks and yes i do first my homework and look of i can give the fish what it needs

I feed them Pellets that i special order for them its a mix 1 part sinks to the bottem slowly ,1 part floats and sinks after some time slowly The last part floats and wil not sink to the bottem

How often i feed them during the months april until september 4 or 5 times a week and dan only when during the twilight or when it is dark than with light on than they wil go crazy whit feeding
the other months 2 or 3 times a month depending of the temp

I bought them 30 cm large and yes i place them in the big basin wen i feed them i always observe there feeding if they need more or not
When the get a feeding kick they wil turn on ther side and take the floating food

During the day they are closer to the bottem and when its around twilight or dark they wil come to the surfes to feed

I can see to the bottem it is cristal clear i can even see the baby koi swim

But i wil talk about the filter tomorrow

Yes A Sturio is rare but also not for smal basin He grow 2 feet a year and they are real nice to see

A. ruthenus and A. gueldenstaedtii are nice and easy to keep in a smal basin

i am bilding a new basin and this one wil be 3 x biger then i have now
the filter wil be around 2200 galons for this basin
I want to keep here Elopicthys Bambusa if i can get them
Kind regards Jeroen

 

[ermgravy]

that would be a supper kool pick up! those yellownecks are dope! where are you planing to find chinese stuff? i been after a few Siniperca chuatsi for ever...