This section is a guide on how to keep your Sturgeon in your garden pond. It provides information from nutrition to water quality and treating Sturgeon. For more information or advice please email or telephone us, details are found on our contacts page.
Feeding and Nutrition
Sturgeon cannot digest plant proteins so they require food that has a high fish meal/shrimp meal content. Avoid foods that are made with soya and wheat as this is not good for Sturgeon. Use Sturgeon food for Sturgeon.When buying Sturgeon food always look for high fish meal content of 50-60% (not cereal, e.g. wheat, soya, maize, strawberry flavour), fish oil 16-19% and the number one requirement is it MUST sink. Once Sturgeon start to starve they will bend in half and normally lie upside down on the bottom of the pond, once this has occurred Sturgeon will generally die. Look at our shop for our Sturgeon food which is used by one of the largest Sturgeon Farms in Europe, we also feed all our Sturgeon on this pellet.
In the Summer months Sturgeon require 2-3% of their body weight in food per day to grow at the correct natural rate. As with most pond fish they need to be fed regularly throughout the day, little but often is the best way to feed your Sturgeon. Remember to feed your other pond fish first then feed your Sturgeon. If you are finding that your other fish still get to the food before the Sturgeon then use a tube to put the food down, it will sink straight to the bottom without the other fishing seeing it. As the rivers Sturgeon come from are often murky their eyesight is poor, so direct bright sunlight is not something they like, in full sun they will just generally sleep during the day. Feeding Sturgeon in the evening is preferred, as they are dusk 'till' dawn fish. Always remember that Sturgeon will need feeding throughout the whole year, even during the winter months, especially Sturgeon under 18". Make sure all the food has gone before adding more and always remove any uneaten food within an hour.
Oxygen, water quality & minimum pond requirements
Due to the size of Sturgeon the minimum pond requirement is 1000 gallons (4500litres) for Sterlets/Albinos and 2000 gallons (9000litres) for the other species except Huso's which will need a minimum of 15000 gallons to start with. Sturgeon need a high oxygen level compared to most pond fish. If they are exposed to low levels they will be very ill and over a short time will die. To make sure this is correct, buy a testing kit, as this is cheaper than buying a new fish. See our table below for oxygen and nitrate levels. In warmer weather or when treating the pond use an air pump to keep oxygen levels healthy. All fish will benefit from higher oxygen levels. Water movement helps to enrich the water with oxygen and to disperse carbon dioxide. A filter is another must for ponds in general, as it is a living thing, remember the bacteria that do all the work needs a constant supply of oxygen, so a stand by pump is recommended.
Good water quality for Sturgeon are as follows:
Ammonia - 0.0mg/l
Nitrite - less than 0.25mg/l
Nitrate - less than 150mg/l
PH should be above 7.0 and below 9
High oxygen levels - more that 6mg/l
Cool water temperatures - less than 28°C (Most Sturgeon like water temperature below 20°C
Treatments and problems
As long as the feeding and oxygen is correct then you should find that you won't have problems with your Sturgeon. There are many treatments for pond and fish on the market, but not all of them are going to be safe for Sturgeon, so always ensure you read the label correctly or ask the manufacturer before treating. If you are still unsure then don't use it, it could cause more problems. For parasites treat them with pure cooking salt as a bath, 15gm per litre/2oz per gallon for a maximum of 15minutes, every other day for 3-4 days. For treating your pond with blanket weed, we would recommend Viresco a biological treatment, which will not affect anything in your pond. Never treat Sturgeon with treatments that contain copper sulphate/cuso4, formaldehyde, pottassium permanganate/KMno4 or any treatments that state you cannot use with Golden Orfe or Rudd.
If you are unsure what to use for treating your pond or fish then please contact us through our contacts page and we will be happy to offer advice.
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