in the michigan dnre they said you can only harvest 1 lake sturgeon a year.(lets hope this one dosent die in its first year)
size of lake stuergeon in captivity
- Thread starter catfishmaniac
- Start date
There are small sturgeon and there are large sturgeon, the smallest top out at about 12 inches the largest 20 feet or more. you really can't expect a fish to get to be the largest size possible in captivity, even in the wild most never approach the maximum size.
In captivity there are many parameters that will cause fish to be smaller, not all are due to some flaw in their keeping or abuse by the aquarist. in the wild fish are often stunted by natural conditions and they will be in aquariums as well.
I know for a fact that sturgeons are indeed stunted by things as benign as day length, as long as the fish is comfortable in his tank IE he isn't hurting himself by hitting tank walls and is not obviously weird looking due to his captivity you can feel like you are doing a good job keeping him.
I do have a problem with someone who has a 10 gallon tank buying a fish that tops out at 6 feet and thinking it will grow to the size of the container, bad move for sure... If you are gonna keep big fish be prepared to have a big tank and be realistic about it, are you really likely to get that 450 gallon tank next year?
I do not worry about a fish getting to some ethereal maximum size, I worry more about water conditions and the correct feeding of the fish, fish should never be over fed, they live much longer if fed sparingly, wild fish seldom stuff them selves to capacity like we do captive fishes. Captive fishes often die young due to organ damage due to over feeding.
Lake sturgeon however are big fish, some genetic stock are bigger than others and a fish from a huge lake will get bigger naturally than a fish that grows in a small pond. A well kept aquarium specimen would be smaller still but I'd expect it to be 2 or 3 feet long at least. As long as it's not a wild caught fish I don't see it as a big deal.
No sturgeon should be removed from the wild IMHO but there are other choices than a lake sturgeon. Shovelnose sturgeon top out in nature at around 3 feet long, and are bred in captivity. Larger fish are caught but they are not common. In captivity a shovelnose in the 18" range can be a healthy fish with no guilt from the owner.
Sterlets are also smaller sturgeon but not as good in a closed space as shovelnose due to it's more pelagic nature. A shovelnose would be my first choice with sterlet second and the rest a distant third. BTW the 12" sturgeon occurs in Asia minor and is very rare in it's home range...
In captivity there are many parameters that will cause fish to be smaller, not all are due to some flaw in their keeping or abuse by the aquarist. in the wild fish are often stunted by natural conditions and they will be in aquariums as well.
I know for a fact that sturgeons are indeed stunted by things as benign as day length, as long as the fish is comfortable in his tank IE he isn't hurting himself by hitting tank walls and is not obviously weird looking due to his captivity you can feel like you are doing a good job keeping him.
I do have a problem with someone who has a 10 gallon tank buying a fish that tops out at 6 feet and thinking it will grow to the size of the container, bad move for sure... If you are gonna keep big fish be prepared to have a big tank and be realistic about it, are you really likely to get that 450 gallon tank next year?
I do not worry about a fish getting to some ethereal maximum size, I worry more about water conditions and the correct feeding of the fish, fish should never be over fed, they live much longer if fed sparingly, wild fish seldom stuff them selves to capacity like we do captive fishes. Captive fishes often die young due to organ damage due to over feeding.
Lake sturgeon however are big fish, some genetic stock are bigger than others and a fish from a huge lake will get bigger naturally than a fish that grows in a small pond. A well kept aquarium specimen would be smaller still but I'd expect it to be 2 or 3 feet long at least. As long as it's not a wild caught fish I don't see it as a big deal.
No sturgeon should be removed from the wild IMHO but there are other choices than a lake sturgeon. Shovelnose sturgeon top out in nature at around 3 feet long, and are bred in captivity. Larger fish are caught but they are not common. In captivity a shovelnose in the 18" range can be a healthy fish with no guilt from the owner.
Sterlets are also smaller sturgeon but not as good in a closed space as shovelnose due to it's more pelagic nature. A shovelnose would be my first choice with sterlet second and the rest a distant third. BTW the 12" sturgeon occurs in Asia minor and is very rare in it's home range...
