What does a sturgeon eat? What you need to know in a few points!

What food do sturgeons need? These fish, which look like sharks, are predators and therefore feed on the products of their hunting. These are generally small fish, small mollusks, insect larvae or crustaceans when they are in their natural environment.

In breeding, they are fed with so-called sinking pellets, which are mainly composed of animal proteins of marine origin, minerals, vegetable proteins and also vitamins.

The sturgeon used to be present in almost all rivers in Europe, but it has gradually disappeared. It is currently threatened with extinction in many regions, mainly due to overfishing.

That said, we can still find some species of sturgeon living in the wild, notably in the Gironde estuary in France.

Sturgeon: a highly sought-after species

Part of the subclass of chondrosteans, the sturgeon is a fish highly valued for its flesh, but especially for its eggs from which the precious caviar is obtained. They are recognized by their large size and cartilaginous skeleton.

Lacking scales, these fish have a benthic organism: they live by skimming the bottom of the water. Instead, they have what are called scutes: bony plates that cover their bodies in several layers. They need large spaces, with greater depths than for koi ponds.

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In the wild, the sturgeon can measure up to 6 meters and can weigh almost 400 kg. It has a very long lifespan, up to 100 years. In addition, it is a robust fish, which does not fall ill easily.

What does a sturgeon eat in captivity?

Sturgeon is a fish that does not hibernate and, by extension, feeds throughout the year. Its diet must therefore be adapted according to its environment and its living environment.

In addition, it is important to remember that the sturgeon's mouth is on its lower part. Therefore, it will need suitable food so that it can eat properly and in sufficient quantity.

Feeding a sturgeon in a pond

When in a pond, the sturgeon will hunt on its own. It will not normally need any human intervention to find its food. Since it will be surrounded by wildlife and a relatively wild environment, it will simply pick and choose what suits it at the bottom of the mud.

It is in the wild and in a sufficiently large pond that sturgeons have the best chance of reaching really substantial sizes.

Feeding a sturgeon in a pond

In a pond, the sturgeon will retain its natural instincts and will tend to rummage in the mud. The choice will of course be more limited for it, considering that it is not the same ecosystem as a pond or a river. It is in this case that it will be necessary to think about feeding it.

There are many foods suitable for sturgeons' organisms that can be found on the market. These foods are most often in the form of sinking pellets , and therefore have the particularity of settling at the bottom of the pond instead of floating on the surface.

Our food recommendation for sturgeons

Aquifood Sturgeon food is composed of a mixture of sinking pellets, rich in proteins and fats. Designed to be particularly digestible, these pellets represent a food of choice for sturgeons in captivity.

Aquifood sturgeon pellets have a very strong odor, as can be found in nature. Of course, this is a "sinking" food, which sinks quickly to the bottom of the pond.

How often should you feed a sturgeon?

As a general rule, it is preferable to feed sturgeons more frequently and with a quantity that they can consume in a few minutes . In fact, we will avoid as much as possible that the pellets drag on the bottom of the water and become an additional source of pollution.

Using an automatic feeder will be very convenient for sturgeon farming.

Sturgeons that are less than 20 cm in size must be fed at least every three hours, otherwise they will have difficulty surviving. This is because they are a fish that swims a lot, and therefore need a lot of protein and fat to develop properly.

Feeding sturgeons in cohabitation with koi

In some ponds, it is not uncommon to find sturgeons cohabiting with the famous koi carp. In this case, you will have to be careful because the koi will be attracted by the sturgeon's food and, above all, it will be faster to catch it!

To prevent the sturgeons (especially the young ones) from starving, all fish species should be fed at the same time, but in two different places in the pond. This will distract them from each other and prevent them from stealing each other's food.

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Unlike koi, sturgeons feed even during the cool periods of the year. Even when the water temperature drops below 8°C, they will still need to feed. Of course, sturgeon-specific pellets have a different composition than those for koi, and they are usually fattier for winter food.

At the time of year when the carp cannot be distracted by their feeding, PVC pipes can be used to feed the pellets directly into the bottom of the pond. This will prevent the sturgeon food from being consumed by other species in the pond.

How to arrange a sturgeon's pond?

In the wild, sturgeon live in the depths of lakes and rivers. They live in cold water with a strong current, and therefore very rich in oxygen. Since it is not equipped to pump water using its gills, sturgeon will swim constantly to get enough oxygen.

In addition, the sturgeon will need space to develop properly: it will be necessary to take into account that each of them will need at least 10 times its adult length, and 1000 liters of water. Be careful, this is a fish that can grow enormously! Note that it is essential to have sufficient filtration to ensure that the pond has good aeration.

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The pond must therefore have a minimum depth of 1.20 metres and must not be invaded by plants. Indeed, the sturgeon cannot swim backwards and, in a pond invaded by filamentous algae, it could quickly become stuck and drown. Care should be taken to place a layer of mud without gravel and sand at the bottom of the pond: the sturgeon does not like these structures.

Good to know about sturgeon

Although it lives at the bottom of the water, the sturgeon is far from being one of the so-called cleaner fish. On the contrary, it is a species that is a major potential source of pollution: it constantly rejects waste from the food it consumes.

As it is forced to dig into the bottom of the pond to feed, it must be kept clean. The pond must therefore be large enough, and cleaned very regularly to avoid the accumulation of waste and the formation of harmful gases.

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Although it is a robust species, sturgeon still requires vigilance when in captivity. It is a special type of breeding, where a specific environment and diet will be required. Finally, cohabitation with other species will also have to be thought out so that each species can feed itself without difficulty.