Sturgeon

[Moontanman]

All sturgeon do not get to be huge or even big, in North America the shovelnose sturgeon is your best bet, they usually stay below 18" in an aquarium, maximum size in the wild is about 36" but that would be a very unusual fish, Most are caught at around 24" another good thing that shovelnose are slender fish and swim around in a small tank much better than other thick stiff fish like the European sterlet. I would want at least a 100 gallon tank waiting in the wings if i kept a shovelnose but that is much better than the lake necessary to keep the California sturgeon which gets to be several meters long. In Asia minor these if a sturgeon that only gets to a maximum size of 12" but it is rare and listed.

 

[pendog66]

the one i found was the lake sturgeon

 

[Moontanman]

the one i found was the lake sturgeon

Yeah, the big sturgeons are the ones that are being farmed intensively mostly for stocking streams. the small shovelnose was the template for breeding the big ones but it isn't in demand for river stocking like the bigger ones are so it's more difficult to get in the pet trade. To be honest I wouldn't even keep the really Big species, they will only die after a few months to a year or so in anything but a really humongous size tank. Hobbyists should ask for and specifically demand Scaphirhynchus platorynchus if you want to keep a sturgeon.

 

[synodontisjack]

I just wouldnt keep sturgeon in a 300 gallon the biggest one in my pond is 6ft but thats a siberian.

 

[snakeheader]

the only one really that stays somewhat small is the shovelnose,the others just arnt ment for the average person

 

[syxteenhmong]

don't sturgeons have to live in cold water?

 

[Moontanman]

don't sturgeons have to live in cold water?

Some do some don't, some will some won't, many "cold" water fish are more adaptable than people think but there are indeed fish that simply will not live in cold water and some that will not live in warm water. One thing I have used as a key is to see what the water temps of the native range of the fish are in the summer. If the fish lives in warm water in the summer over much of it's range then it will probably live well in warm water but it might not breed with out a cold snap. If it lives it's entire life over all of it's range in cold water don't count on it living in warm water. Some fish tend toward cool water due to it's higher oxygen content but warmer water that is well aerated will keep them just as well. Scaphirhynchus platorynchus will do well in water in the mid to high 70's but I wouldn't want to keep it above 80 for very long, a few weeks out of the year might be ok if the water is well aerated. Scaphirhynchus platorynchus does require good aeration but it can also be kept in smaller tanks than even the sterlet due to it's slender agile make up. Sterlets are thick and stiff and need much more room. The east coast shortnose sturgeon live in Florida rivers where the water gets to be well above the mid 70's even in the 80's but it is not only endangered over all of it's range it is also not easily breed and is not available in any large quantities. It too is a very thick stiff fish and probably wouldn't do well in anything but a pond. We can only wish and hope that someday the really small dwarf sturgeon (12") will be captive bred and made available to the hobby but it is so endangered I wouldn't hold my breath for that.