Stellate (Star/Starry) Sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus)

Photo © Terry Williams

by Terry White

Comments: The Stellate or Starry Sturgeon is very easy to recognise as the nose and head is up to a 1/4 of the total length of the fish, the snout is very long flatted and bent upwards towards the tip, it exceeds 60% of the head's length and looks almost alligator like, its barbels are smooth (not fimbrillated) and are positioned closer to the mouth than to the top of the snout. The body is spindle shaped almost eel or snake like it has much less body mass in relation to length than most other sturgeons.

The Stellate sturgeon is diandronomous, it thrives in shallow brackish waters but is able to cope with all freshwater and full marine environments equally well.

A rare fish in the ornamental pond market place as normally most fish go for the production of caviar (sevruga), it is also more demanding to farm rear so it is a bit more expensive to produce than the Siberians but the fish is worth it as it is without doubt one of the prettiest sturgeons and it keeps it's striking colouration into adulthood the Diamond Sturgeon patterning is similar when small but it tends to lose its colouration and definition as it gets bigger. The Stellatus is always swimming and is a must for any collector.

In the wild stellatus can reach 2.2 meters in length and a weight of 70kg, but 1.3 - 1.5 meters long is about max in ponds with a weight of 10 - 15kg.

Growth rates are relatively quick (slower than Siberians but quicker than sterlets) for the first two or three years until the fish reaches around 1m. They do best in ponds of over 2500 gallons (11,000ltr) with a high oxygen level and some current of moving water, as they like to swim against the flow of the pond.

The Stellatus can jump especially when young and introduced into smaller ponds but tend to settle down with time and plenty of space, they can be very quick when spooked but generally have a sedate swimming style and speed, circling the pond with almost rhythmic timing. A relatively peaceful fish its main diet in the wild are small crustaceans and insect larvae.

Description: The Stellate Sturgeon has 9-16 dorsal scutes, 26-43 lateral scutes, 9-14 ventral scutes, 40-54 dorsal fin rays and 22-35 anal fin rays. The back is bluish black very similar to a young diamond sturgeon occasionally brownish red, the lateral skin is yellowish and ventral side is bright white, the scutes and plates are white to yellowish white. Between the rows of scutes is high number of star shaped plates oriented it rows which gives the fish it's name. The first dorsal scutes is free from the scull.

Distribution map for Acipenser stellatus

Wild Distribution: In the wild Stellate sturgeon are found in mainland eastern Europe and western Asia: the Black, Azov and Caspian seas, Rarely in the Adriatic sea and occasionally in the Aral sea and into the rivers joining these seas.

The Stellate sturgeon exhibits distinct subpopulations with regard to the spawning migrations. One group migrates from August until October, over winters in the rivers and spawns in spring at water temperatures between 15 - 25^oC the other group tends to spawn in river mouths and gravel banks at sea.

Great Dzendzyk cape at the tip of Berdyansk spit, Sea of Azov

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

Biology: Sexual maturity is reached after 6 to 12 years in males and 8 to 14 years in females, after spawning downstream migration is fast and fish can travel 70 to 80km per day.

The average number of eggs is between 150,000 and 300,000 per female and the eggs are 2.5mm-3mm in diameter with a weight of 10-14mg. The eggs adhere to stones and gravel and hatch after 5-7 days depending on the temperature, the larvae develop close to the spawning grounds and then migrate towards brackish water when they are over a gram in weight.

Very sought after for their caviar, an extensive farming method is now used wild fish are artificially spawned the fry are developed on the farm and fingerlings of 1-3 grams are released in an ocean ranching program to supplement the wild stocks, Artificial spawning grounds have also been constructed to compensate for the loss of some of the natural spawning grounds and consist of gravel beds.

Natural feeding: The main food groups are worms, crustaceans, molluscs, and insect-larvae with a daily food uptake of 1.5 - 4% of bodyweight.

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

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