Siberian Sturgeon (Acipenser baerii)

Photo © Terry Williams

by Terry White

Comments: Siberian sturgeon are the most common species seen for sale for the pond market as they grow very quickly initially and keep to a manageable size in garden ponds. They are slightly less demanding to produce and look after and are retailed cheaper than some of the other sturgeon species.

Siberian sturgeon can be difficult to see in some garden ponds as they are normally an earthy brown colour when seen from above. They are worth keeping though for the occasional appearances. They are rather shark-like in appearance with their fixed pectoral fins, pointed snouts and long sweeping tails. Children as well as adults find them fascinating. Siberian sturgeon will hand feed easily as they are not shy of humans and are not quick to spook. When small they can be literally picked out of the pond by hand. While these are plus points, it can also be a problem as smaller fish are open to predation by birds, foxes and other predators.

A colour variation is seen for sale occasionally which makes a very beautiful silver-grey specimen but they are very rare and can cost a lot more than the normal coloured ones.

Siberian sturgeon can grow to a recorded maximum length of 2m (6'6") in the wild and weigh around 200kg (440lb). In garden ponds a length of 1m (3'3") - 1.5m (4'6") and 10kg (22lb) in weight is considered a big fish. Due to it's fast growth when young the Siberian sturgeon will soon outgrow smaller ponds of 1000-2000 gallons (4500-9000ltr) that Sterlets, with their slower growth rate, would do well in for longer. A pond of greater than 2500 gallons (11000ltr) is needed to keep these fish into maturity. Growth rate is dependent on food availability and temperature but when young they can grow like weeds, putting on 20-25cm (8 - 10") over a year in good conditions with the right food.

Siberian sturgeon are sedate swimmers that can be quick and powerful when spooked, I have only rarely seen one jump. Like all sturgeon they prefer cooler water 10-20^oC that is well aerated. They can mostly be seen at dawn and dusk, circling the pond or even mouthing around the edges looking for snails and fly hatches.

Description: The Siberian Sturgeon has 10-12 dorsal scutes, 32-62 lateral scutes, 7-16 ventral scutes, 30-56 dorsal fin rays and 17-33 anal fin rays. Uniform dark greyish brown to black when viewed from the top as the scutes (bony plates) and fin edges are very close in colour to the surrounding skin; a whitish underbelly that can also have grey spots. The snout is moderately long and pointed, sometimes having a whitish tip that may be slightly upturned and rounded, especially when older.

Distribution map for Acipenser baerii

Wild Distribution: Found in the northern river systems of Siberia from the river Ob in the west to the river Kolyma in the Far East and in lake Baikal in southern Russia (a huge body of water that has a surface area of over 31,000km2 and is one of the deepest lakes on earth at over 1,600m). There are three distinct geographical subspecies, western (Acipenser baerii baerii Brandt) from the river Ob, eastern (Acipenser baerii stenorhynchus Nikol'skii) found in the rivers Lena, Jenissej, Kolyma and (Acipenser baerii baicalensis) in lake Baikal.

While it is considered a migratory species (anadromous) and can enter a full marine environment, they are mostly found in the middle and lower sections of the river systems. The land locked Baikal strain migrates into the river Selenga for spawning.

Vulnerability: The Siberian Sturgeon is listed as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

River Ob

Biology: Sexual maturity is reached quite late, most males average from 18 - 24 years at their first spawning and females from 24 - 28 years. Females only spawn once over the course of several years, not every year.

The spawning season is from May to June with water temperatures of 9 -18^oC and up to 420,000 eggs can be laid. The number of eggs per Kg of body weight is variable from 13,000 to 20,000. The ripe eggs have a diameter of 2.5 - 2.8mm and weigh 18.5 - 20mg. Spawning takes place over gravel or a rocky bottom at a current velocity of 1.4mps (meters per second) and at a depth of 6 - 8m. The eggs develop to hatch in 16 days at 10^oC (160 degree days) and will start exogenous feeding (they feed off the egg sack beforehand) after another 15 days (150 degree days) by which time the fry have a mean length of 22mm.

Natural feeding: In the wild Siberian sturgeon feed mainly by sucking up large amounts of detritus and eating any crustaceans, insect larvae, molluscs and worms that they hoover up with it. The young can be cannibalistic and like any other fish will occasionally take fry and eggs of theirs and other species, otherwise generally peaceful to other fish.

Orchard Fisheries Sturgeon / Sterlet Food Pellets for sale. Buy online or order by phone.

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