Tropical sturgeon?

[greatfulxdead]

If I housed a sterlet in a trop. tank at like 78 degrees, would it live and be ok for life? Or do they have to be in colder water than that?

Anyone who has experience with keeping these fish please respond.

 

[srikamaraja]

They are obligate coldwater fish. They will not stand tropical temperatures.

 

[greatfulxdead]

They are obligate coldwater fish. They will not stand tropical temperatures.

Have you tried it? I only ask because I have had other native coldwater fish in like 84 degree water with no problem.

 

[artemis1]

go ahead and try it, don't blame us if he dies. they are coldwater.... not tropical....

 

[cichlaguapote]

They are coldwater, but honestly I think they could be more adaptable to warmer temps when larger. Reason being I've seen larger ones in tanks that should be at tropical temps with the other fish that are in there. Not sure on which species they were, and again they were larger, but food for thought.

 

[Noto]

Have you tried it? I only ask because I have had other native coldwater fish in like 84 degree water with no problem.

There are two classes of fish called 'coldwater'. Some people use 'coldwater' to refer to generalized temperate species like gar, bass, sunfish, ictalurid cats, most minnows, carp, goldfish, etc., which are able to adapt to a very wide range of temperatures, and can often even survive temperatures too high for some tropicals.

There is a whole other group of fish that are obligate coldwater species and cannot deal with warm temperatures; many salmonids, sculpins, etc. belong in this group. I think most keepers would place sterlets in that group as well.

There are a few different factors that make those species unable to tolerate high temperatures, and sometimes you can fudge one of those factors enough to be able to raise the temp without ill effects. Concentration of oxygen (normally higher in cold water) and nitrogenous wastes (act more quickly in warm water) are important. Sometimes improving oxygenation and keeping water pristine can allow coldwater fish to tolerate higher temps. But this is a species-by-species and circumstance-by-circumstance issue, not a general recipe.

If I were you I would not risk a valuable fish in such an experiment. There are plenty of nice tropicals you could keep at 84 F, or you could set up a coldwater tank with a chiller and keep a bunch of fish that are suited to that regime. It just doesn't make sense to me to try to force an unsuitable combo.

 

[Yanbbrox]

I would not do it, in the coldwater environment Sterlets struggle due to lack of oxygen as temps rise.

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

ive seen older sturgeon kept with bass and stuff. The key is lots of oxygen, with more oxygen this will also cool the tank some.

 

[Moontanman]

Some sturgeon are considered warm water fish, In North America the shovelnose sturgeon is comfortable at temps in the mid to upper 70's but to push them much above 80 with out some Strong aeration is probably a mistake. sturgeon occur in very warm water canals and rivers in Florida but those species are not available in the pet trade due to their rarity. Most sturgeon in the pet trade are cold water fish, especially the "Montana" sturgeon or "California" sturgeon often seen in the trade. Sterlets are not as adaptable as shovelnose but mid to lower 70's should be ok if lots of aeration is used. Sturgeons as a group are generally cold water fish, keeping them in really warm water will if nothing else, shorten their lives by causing their metabolism to race. I really wouldn't recommend keeping them long term above mid to upper 70's. Now if you are keeping "tropical" fish you do have the option of keeping them at temps lower than 78 and above. It's not true that all or even most tropical fish need very warm water. I keep all my fish in the low to mid 70's and they live longer and have better colors than fish kept at the 78 and above temps often recommended. In the old days, yes I am old, tropical fish were kept at between 68 and 78 and 72 to 76 was considered ideal. I don't know why every one seems to think the warmer the better but even in the "tropical" amazon water temps often dip to the high 60's and low 70's in their winter or rainy season.

BTW, trout are obligate cold water fishes, most Temperate fishes are not obligate cold water fish. Most sunfishes bases and even darters are not obligate cold water fishes.

 

[gar man]

if it were me i wouldnt want to risk putting it in warm water i would get a chiller in the tank and have a one specimen tank for a sterlet