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Thread: Problems with a sturgeon

  1. #1
    Sea Cucumber
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    Question Problems with a sturgeon

    Hi Guys,

    Just got my self a nice new 56 litre tank with an airpump and filter, all was going well untill i went to get my fish.

    Got my self 7 in total, the guy at the shop said it would be fine for the tank...

    2 orfs 2 comets, 2 shubunkins and 1 sturgeon

    now i know,... sturgeons are not for tanks... they grow to 8 feet long :|
    so i am builing him a fish pond... but my problem is... he seems to have stopped working!

    not fully tho its almost as if his batterys are running low...

    a guy at work said to do a water change of about 50% and add new chemicals etc to clean the water and get the filter moving faster... i have done this and he seems a bit happier,

    I need to keep this guy alive till about september when the 2m(w) x 2.6m(L) x 2.1m(d) pond is ready... would this be big enough for a sturgeon?

    does anybody have any tips on keeping him happy?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Box Fish Timo's Avatar
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    What food are you feeding him?

    Their food needs a high fish meal/shrimp meal content or proper sturgeon sinking pellets.
    Zeovit fan , Timo.

  3. #3
    Box Fish Timo's Avatar
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    The main Sturgeon requirements are:

    * Good water conditions; see Water Quality
    * High oxygen levels
    * Cool water temperatures
    * Good Food and plenty of it

    Not necessarily in this order, but all together will help sturgeon to be healthy.
    Basic Knowledge

    Without doubt sturgeon are most over sold fish on the planet. A bold statement but I have heard they cure every thing from blanket weed to being vacuum cleaners. Well, as most of you have noticed sturgeon are not any of these.

    This page is a basic guide to sturgeon. Most of these items are mentioned on other pages but it seems people are unable to find it (What I mean is people don't want to look for it, they want to know NOW so here it is). I would suggest you read the rest of the site, as it will give a more detailed covering of the subjects.

    Sturgeon Like:

    * Sturgeons need proper food (not wheat germ or Cereal based foods).
    * Well-oxygenated water. Use an air pump through out the summer months to back up the main pump.
    * Filtered water (unless in a lake)
    * A large pond minimum 1000 gallons (5000 litres) for Sterlets.
    * For other species, a minimum 2000 gallons.
    * A back up pump in case of main pump failure.

    Sturgeon dislike:

    * Strong chemicals, formalin, BKC, (These can be used at a lower dose than you would for Koi, except Formalin with Diamond sturgeon as they generally die a week after treatment).
    * Low oxygen, they will die long before other fish, so no ' the other fish are OK' this does not work with sturgeon.
    * Lack of food, they bend in half and either lie on the bottom or sometimes float. If they have got this far it's to late.
    * Warm weather, this lowers the oxygen level.
    * Direct sun light, they are dusk till dawn creatures and like the dark best. So have some shade for the fish to shelter under.

    Problems

    Nearly all problems are either food or oxygen related, so rather obviously:

    * Always make sure the oxygen levels are good. Buy a test kit, they are not expensive.
    * Use the correct food.

    Malnutrition

    The tell tail signs are:

    * Fish bends in half. Lack of food, too late time to start digging a grave.
    * Fish spends all its time bobbing up and down around the edge of the pond. It's starving.
    * Fish follows other fish and tries to suck mucus of the fish. It's Starving.

    Oxygen

    This is rather easy; the sturgeons become lethargic and die! Buy an air pump!
    How to feed your sturgeon

    * Spring: Sturgeon like any fish become more active in spring as the temperature rises and will need an increase in food, feed a little and often. Best times are dawn and dusk.
    * Summer: Sturgeon will be feeding very well in summer so make sure the food is available and the rest of the fish are well fed.
    * Autumn: Sturgeon will be fattening up for the winter so keep the food going in but watch out and remove uneaten food.
    * Winter: Feed a few pellets at a time and wait until eaten, before adding more. Sturgeon will feed down to 4C it is very important that you feed them in winter, most sturgeon die due to starvation in winter.

    Sturgeon and the Cold. Will sturgeon survive our winters?

    With names like Siberian Sturgeon and Russian Sturgeon this should give it away. Cold is not a problem they will tolerate much colder weather than we will ever get.

    Well not a very exciting page but I think even the die hard non-readers will find this to the point and easy to follow.
    Sturgeon in Aquariums: NO! They are not suitable and should not be kept in aquariums or small tanks
    sturgeon-web
    Zeovit fan , Timo.

  4. #4
    Sea Cucumber
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    Hi guys,

    Thanks for the info, Just to confirm,

    I have a really high amount of water in the trank at the mo,
    Both a air pump and a filter pump that is abouve the water seem to be doing the trick, but i will get a test kit for oxygen today to double check,

    When i got the sturgeon the guy in the shop sold me some sinking food
    It says on the pack " Complete sinking food for plecostomus catfish and all algae and plant eating fsh" ...
    from the other post " Their food needs a high fish meal/shrimp meal content or proper sturgeon sinking pellets. " I am guessing this isnt right... I will also get new food for him today

    He seems more happy since i did a 50% water change. but he still looks a bit slow..

    I will do what you guys have said and will keep you informed

    thx

  5. #5
    Administrator Gary R's Avatar
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    Hi m8 and welcome to fish-keeping.com

    I have a couple of Sterlet sturgeons in my pond and they are probably the slowest growing sturgeon around and therefore the best species for the garden pond. It 'only' grows to 1.2m in the wild but usually 60-90 cm in the average pond, and that will take a few years to get too.

    Got to say that i would not keep one in a aquarium and your LFS should of said that to you

    Regards Gary

  6. #6
    Sea Cucumber
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    Hi, Just been to the fish shop...

    Kicked off a bit and got the right information in the end...

    Told them what the bloke told me and they said its all wrong..

    anyway, they have given me the correct food for the sturgeon, said to leave the water since the 50% change yesterday would be enough and to much change can damage the fish... (is this correct?)

    said to keep my eye fish in general and he is also going to test my water for free, said to bring loads of water in from it...

    oh and he said i need to lower the tank water temp... by putting ice cubes in the tank :| is this right?

    thx

  7. #7
    Box Fish Timo's Avatar
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    Yeah sounds ok. Dont put loads of ice in in one go, make sure you lower the temp slowly. I would defrost the ice in a jug then add the colder water, just takes more time.

    DONT GUESS the temp use a good thermometer and try to calculate what you need to add to end up at the right mark.

    Good luck with it,

    Timo
    Zeovit fan , Timo.

  8. #8
    Sea Cucumber
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    Quote Originally Posted by Timo View Post
    Yeah sounds ok. Dont put loads of ice in in one go, make sure you lower the temp slowly. I would defrost the ice in a jug then add the colder water, just takes more time.

    DONT GUESS the temp use a good thermometer and try to calculate what you need to add to end up at the right mark.

    Good luck with it,

    Timo

    Hi

    Ive used a full bag of ice and had to remove some original water... did it nice and slow and managed to drop the tank by 7 degrees from 25 to 18 deg C

    Gave the sturgeon some of the food... the rest of the fish swooped in but the sturgeon got some...
    i fed the same food again about 10 mins ago so i guess i have fed them trwice in about 5 hours... but the sturgeon seems 100% more happy.

    The sturgeon seems to still hug the sides when swimming and sometimes swims up the side of the tank... i guess it still needs more food but i am going to hold off feeding again now untill tomorrow dinner time... this way the rest of the fish should still be ok..

    Thanks for all your help guys
    I will keep you informed on the sturgeon, my next big question will be about ponds...
    cheers

  9. #9
    Sea Cucumber
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    HI Guys,
    Just to keep you informed...
    the Sturgeon seems better... he/she is swimming at the top of the water and is popping his/her head out the water

    my water has gone clear and everything seems cool

    Thanks for the advice and help

  10. #10
    Hermit Crab djprincessx's Avatar
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    Re: Problems with a sturgeon

    Hey, just wanted to say, don't forget just regular maintenance on the tank, like regular 20% water changes, don't want the sturgeon to get sick after you got him this far Good luck!!
    No eatting here tonight, no eatting here tonight... no no no eatting here tonight, you're on a diet

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