# Freshwater Aquariums > New To the Hobby ? >  Problems with a sturgeon

## o0_Enigma_0o

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...  :lol: 

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

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## Timo

What food are you feeding him?

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

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## Timo

> 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
> ...


sturgeon-web

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## o0_Enigma_0o

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

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## Gary R

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

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## o0_Enigma_0o

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

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## Timo

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

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## o0_Enigma_0o

> 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  :Wink: 

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...  :Wink:  
cheers

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## o0_Enigma_0o

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  :Smile: 

my water has gone clear and everything seems cool  :Smile: 

Thanks for the advice and help

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## djprincessx

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  :Smile:  Good luck!!

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## o0_Enigma_0o

> 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!!


Hi, Thanks for the info  :Wink: 
Currently doing 50% water changes every 2 days, due to high nitrites, keep adding the filter start stuff ever day, the water conditions are much better and the sturgeon is fantastic now... 

Gonna start building my pond within the next few weeks so that should make the sturgeon even more happy...

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## djprincessx

I would recommend just doing 25% water changes every 2 days because 50% can actually be dangerous, you gotta think that's 1/2 the water every other day. Just suggesting! Glad the sturgeon is doing better though. Just remember the advice everyone else gave you and when the pond is done, you will still have sturgeon to put in the pond :P

-Leslie

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## o0_Enigma_0o

> I would recommend just doing 25% water changes every 2 days because 50% can actually be dangerous, you gotta think that's 1/2 the water every other day. Just suggesting! Glad the sturgeon is doing better though. Just remember the advice everyone else gave you and when the pond is done, you will still have sturgeon to put in the pond :P
> 
> -Leslie


Hi,
Thanks for the info... i didnt know that changing the water that much was bad for the fish :|  
I am very new to keeping fish and it seems to be alot harder then i first thought... but i guess its good to learn new stuff...

also... i found my sturgeon swimming round the top of my tank last night he was going so fast he was making a small whirlpool, was quite good to watch...

cheers

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## djprincessx

Over time you will become suprised at how much you actually watch your fish. I used to just sit in front of my tanks for like hours  :lol2:  They are just great creatures with different personalities like any other pet! Glad you are enjoying the sturgeon  :Smile:  Also, I would do a 20% water change, at the most 2 times a week. Good luck hun!

-Leslie

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## o0_Enigma_0o

Hi Guys

Just an update... The sturgeon is doing really well  :Smile: 

again thanks so much for your help

I have attached a picture to this reply ... hope you like

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## Timo

Nice looking fish that baby sturgeon  :Big Grin: .

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## djprincessx

yeah, it really is a nice sturgeon, good job!  :Smile:  And u thought he was gonna die :P

-Leslie

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## o0_Enigma_0o

Hi guys,
bad news....
he died last night...
I had named him Norman... 
really gutted!

he was swimming around the top of the tank last night with his head poping out the water...
this morning he was at the bottom of the tank not moving...

I have taken him out of the tank...
will my other fish be ok?

thanks for your help guys...

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## Timo

Ouch unfortunately you found out the hard way that sturgeon are not suited in tanks.

Depends what your other fish are! goldfish and a like should be fine.

"swimming around the top of the tank last night with his head poping out the water" sounds a like oxygen starvation, they need lots of fast flowing water to keep it oxygenated.

I wouldn't panic to much, add another pump to increase flow possibly. 

Could you post a pic of tank and full specification of stock and filtration system then we can get a bit more of an idea on how to help. I'm personally not very knowledgeable with cold water fish but others are and I'm sure they could help.

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## o0_Enigma_0o

HI Guys,

My tank spec...

I have a Aquastar 56 tank (basicly a small ish tank with 56 liters of water in it.)

I have the standard filter pump that comes with it on the right hand side, I also have a Interper Air pump "avmini" it has an air flow of 75 l/hr 

as for the swimming at the top of the tank with his head out the water... i dont think it could have been oxygen starvation... i have a crazy amount of air passing through the water...

Also i have been told that sturgeons do that when they are happy...

either way... the rest of the fish seem fine at the moment.

I have been talking to a guy at work who says getting a sample of pond water would be a good idea... and do a 20% water change with some pond water. This should get the bacteria flowing faster... is this true?

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## djprincessx

I would use Cycle. It's good bacteria in a bottle. I swear by it and only lose fish due to bad shipping to Petco, they were too stressed out already! Good luck! And oh yeah, if you do decide to use cycle, don't forget to store it in the fridge after you open it!

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