I am very interested in adding lake sturgeon into my lake and need some information about them including but not limited to:
Will lake sturgeon accept pellet feed?
Will introducing freshwater clams provide adaquate food for them and what else do they eat?
In what ways will they generaly effect the lake?
If stocking them into an established 8-acer bass/bream pond is at all possible what kind of stocking rates are reccomended and where can I buy them?
Any usefull information would be greatly apriciated. Thanks.

Just out of curiosity... why Sturgeon? Looking to harvest caviar or just for the interest in the fish?

Lake Sturgeon are bottom feeders, feed by taste, so you would have to use sinking pellets and large ones at that. They basically 'vacuum' along the bottom for plant and animal life. Not sure about the clam idea... another note about clams is that they clear water.... not always the best thing for a fish producing pond, and I am not sure they form much of their diet anyway.

They are a cold water fish, they spawn in rivers or other moving water and like 15 Celsius/59 Fahrenheit temps.

Also note that they have to be at least 15 years old before they will reproduce... I think female even need to be 20 years old. (Lifespan 50-100 years).

I have heard of some commercial farms in the west coast of Canada and the USA but where you can get them for pond stocking I have no idea. They are protected species in some parts of Canada and bordering on endangered in others. I will assume it is the same in the USA at least in the Great Lakes area.

Pottsy,
Thanks alot for the info. I was interested in sturgeon because I have done a fair amount of fishing in the sacramento river delta where striper and salmon are the most fished for but where sturgeon is the king of trophies because full grown they aproach 2000 Lbs.(most of wich caught are with clams). There also known for being the best tasting fish in fresh or salt water. So I figured if I could feasably add them to my lake with out any serious side-effects they would be a great fish to have. Do you by chance know how I could contact any of those Sturgeon farms you mentioned?

jb - I don't think anyone raises true lake sturgeon (Acipenser fluvescens). I researched this a couple yrs ago. There are five or six species of sturgeon. The large fish you spoke of out west were white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). Lake sturgeon rarely get more than 160 lbs (most 40-80 lbs) and max is around 230 lbs.
The closest place to you that handles sturgeon is Osage Catfisheries, Osage Beach MO. 573-348-2305. fishery@usmo.com. Not sure which species they deal with. They should be able to give you feeding habits and proper food types for them.
I know they eat a lot of benthic insect larvae and they relish burrowing mayfly larvae and snails. A stomach sample of one larger sturgeon (size?)contained 66,000 midge larvae. I'm sure they can be pellet trained.
A few rare Lake sturgeon (4ft to 5ft) have survived well in the warm water in a very few small shallowish ponds along the south shore of Lk Erie; although no spawning occcured in the ponds. I'm pretty sure sturgeon are stream spawners and very rarely spawn successfully on lake shorelines.
Since they eat almost everything out of the bottom sediments don't expect the fish to survive very many years in your pond if you have frequently used copper sulfate for algae control; forget stocking them. In bottom feeding activities they will roil & mix the sediments. Since they get quite large & roil the water, I would not recommend more than 1-3 per acre.

J.B,

The following supplier lists both lake sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon. He has a website with some sturgeon pictured.

He is a good distance from you but he may be able to ship fish via Fed Express. Be sure you check laws about importing fish to be on the safe side.

McKenzie Fish Company
7720-269th Avenue NE
Stacy, MN 55079 Steve Puchtel
Manager
Telephone:
651/462-1586 Fax:
651/462-5916
Email:
Mr101trout@aol.com Web Site:
//www.mckenzieco.com

Hey thanks alot for the sturgeon info. You guys are awesome.

I had no idea that was even possible. Sturgeon grow incrediably slow, I heard about one wild lake sturgeon from canada lived over 150 years. In MN they fish for them on the rainy river, the state record is only 94lbs, still the largest fish in the state. Right now the season is canceled, they are very slow growing and the population is being protected.

Did you hear about the Taliban martyr that died and went to heaven? When he got face to face with God, God handed him a basket of fish. "Hey where are my 41 virgins?" the martyr exclaimed. "Oh you misheard," said God. "I didn't say 41 virgins I said 41 sturgeons."

I know this is off subject but I thought someone would get a kick out of it.

One of the smallest species is the Alabama Sturgeon, normally 2-3 ft and 3-4 pounds. Currently listed as an endangered species. They used to be quite common but now have only been found in the Cahaba River due dams being constructed on every other river. DFG has caught a few and they are trying to re-establish the fish in other drainiage areas again. But I sure miss fishing the big ones on the Columbia River in Washington.

Bob

One of the smallest species is the Alabama Sturgeon, normally 2-3 ft and 3-4 pounds. Currently listed as an endangered species. They used to be quite common but now have only been found in the Cahaba River due dams being constructed on every other river. DFG has caught a few and they are trying to re-establish the fish in other drainiage areas again. But I sure miss fishing the big ones on the Columbia River in Washington.

Bob

Sorry about the double post I hate my IP sometimes!

Hey Bob, That runt sturgeon sounds interesting. Does anyone raise them for stocking?

BTW, The banana trees are still doing well. I planted them in 30 gallon trash cans and brought them in during the winter.

Glad the bananas are doing good. I am eating on the last of last years bunch now sure are good and have about 30 more plants from 1 to 4 ft all ready to go out. I don't think you can legally sell or even own them as they are endangered. Here's a link about them, they are quite an interesing fish.

http://endangered.fws.gov/i/e50.html

Just got my new issue of GEORGIA SPORTSMAN. Sturgeons are going to be restored to the Cossa River in northeast Georgia. They were native to the system and were harvested until the late 1960s. The plan is to stock each year for 10 years and began a limited harvest in 30 years.

I got a list of MN hatcheries from the MNDNR. Every hatchery is listed alogn with location species and phone number. There are at least 4 hatcheries that are listed as having Lake Sturgeon. Two of them are in Northfield,mn under and hour from my home.
Fisher Fisheries, 21 species and an "extensive" permit 952-652-2620
Aquatic Pets, 8 species, and an "aquarium' license 507-663-1096
Hope this helps