Death Pony;1917594; said:
Keeping atlantic sturgeon is a very bad idea!!! This is a pretty good example of why. Shovelnoses are okay, they just need lots of space.
This is not an Atlantic Sturgeon, it is a White Sturgeon.
I am simply posting to help give an idea about wild sturgeon and those I know that have been kept in captivity. I have personally seen a 14 foot White sturgeon, granted it was dead. Died from lack of oxygen content in the water due to a massive outbreak of algeal growth in the mid 90's. Anyway, sturgeon are a common fish here. They do not breed well due to the dams we have placed on the river. It's slowed the high current areas during the spring meltoff that they rely upon to successfully breed. You see, Sturgeon require the current to actually assist with forcing the eggs out. If it's a poor water year they don't breed.. atleast not here. The still breed well in the Columbia due to the massive waterflow the Columbia has. Sturgeon are ocean going fish just as salmon, however unlike salmon they do not make just one trip and do not die when returning. They travel between fresh and salt often.
I have seen several White and Green Sturgeon in captivity. Some as large as 9 feet long. Most 5 and under. We have an area nearby that has old fishruns from a rainbow hatchery that house 6 or 7 sturgeon each under five feet. Sturgeon here do quite well in these colder waters and are found in the Snake, Clearwater, Salmon, Lower Boise, Lower Payette, and a few other minor rivers but not in great numbers. These rivers run below 65 degrees year round. In my humble opinion I think it would be a difficult fish to work with due to it's low tolerance of poor water conditions and overall size. Smaller species from warmer climates are much more rewarding for a large aquarium or home pond.
I fished for Sturgeon for 20+ years and have worked to tag, measure, and weigh these fish for our fish and game service for 18 years. I have caught only 3 or 4 green sturgeon which are much smaller than their cousin the white. I have caught well over 1000 white sturgeon and I have a deep respect for such an amazing fish. I would love to be able to keep a smaller variety just to view their habits. Oh, and sturgeon at larger sizes have been known to be aggressive and use tactics such as tail slaps on other fish.
As for their habits at night and during the day, Sturgeon tend to be nocturnal but they are active during the day as well. Sturgeon often "breach" or "roll" at night. the current theory of most of us here is that they perform it as a means of cleaning gills and flushing. The air contact combine with water contact helps to wash away to particulate matter they've gathered during feeding. We catch sturgeon on cutbait here, and we used to Lasso the tails when we landed them to make them more managable as they can move in a hurry and are hard to deal with once landed. that Lasso practice has been banned due to the damage it caused to the fish. We've also set laws for barbless hooks. Sturgeon here are strictly catch and release.
Hope some of this information has helped educate a few of you about these awesome inspiring fish.
