Sturgeon

[CATWITHOUTHAT]

i am just curious if the sturgeon is in any way related, evolutionarily of course to any of the smaller armored cats like the raphaels...i know this may seem absurd but the way the armor on sturgeons looks there could be a parallel drawn , i know it may seem...well...has anyone here ever tried or even remotely thought about keeping one of these beasties talk about catfish getting huge...check out the white sturgeon...they can reach more than 1200 lbs!!!

ben

[Silurus]

Nope. Sturgeons are far, far away from catfishes where relationships are concerned. The armor on doradids has evolved secondarily (meaning that "primitive" catfishes lack armor. Even the presence of armor on catfishes has evolved independentlymore than once (in loricarioids, doradids and sisorids, to name a few groups).
Of course, sturgeons also possess barbels like catfishes, but their barbels are not supported by bone, unlike in catfishes. Several groups of bottom-feeding fishes (e.g. goatfishes) also evolved barbels independently.

[Sid Guppy]

Actually Sturgeons can be kept; but you have to know what you're doing.
Most species are migrating fish (like the salmon, but unlike the salmon; sturgeons aren't "throwaways", wich means they survive spawning and do it again the next year) and most species get well beyond a meter in length, if not several.
This makes 'homekeeping' a bit of a challenge; you have to salt the tank every half year!!
The other major difficulty is that all sturgeons are coldwaterfish; and it's a MUST to 'cool' the tank. Cooling a tank is WAY more difficult and expensive than heating one.

And Sturgeons are very 'dumb'; like sharks they can't swim backwards, and like sharks they have to keep moving to get enough oxygen. This means you have to get a big, cool tank (with a LOT of current and a HUGE pump/filter), with plenty open space, no dense plantbushes or rootpieces, and few other bottomfeeders. They're slow and sensitive to foodcompetitors. They also tend to get entangled in waterplants or filamentous algae (esp when juveniles) and die quickly.

If you set up a big speciestank, with perhaps some minnows or trout; you can get Sterlets (Acipenser ruthenus). This dwarfspecies gets about 3 feet in length, is fairly hardy and very lively as sturgeons go; and bred by the million for pondkeeping. It's also one of the few species that stays its' entire life in fresh water...
Some medium/small American Sturgeons are also genuine freshwater species; the Flatnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorhynchus) is one of those, it gets about 5 feet.
They need a fine sandy bottom (bare is not good) from wich they like to root small crustaceans, worms, mosquitolarvae etc.
They are very cool. I've kept a few juveniles; before wasting some and putting others in ponds when they grew too big. Fascinating fish!