Pikeperch

Water parameters

Minimum tank: 1000 L per individual at harvest size.

Feed and growth

Feed protein

45% target

Daily feed (warm)

1.10% of body weight

Daily feed (cool)

0.50% of body weight

Max density

40 g per litre

A 20000 g adult eats about 220.0 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~2200 g daily.

Legality

Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.

Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".

Origin and habitat

Native across continental Europe and western Asia in the Caspian, Baltic, Black and Aral Sea basins and the Elbe and Maritza drainages, reaching north to about 65 degrees latitude in Finland. It has spread well beyond that native range through introductions, including Britain, parts of western Europe and, as a non-native, North America. The species is the European ecological counterpart of the North American walleye, Sander vitreus, which sits in the same genus. Pikeperch are predators of turbid lakes and slow rivers, hunting in low light at depths of a few metres. The maximum recorded size is about 1 m and 20 kg, with most fish nearer 50 cm; cultured fish are harvested far smaller, around 0.5–2 kg. The flesh is white, firm and lean, and the fish is prized in French, German, Swiss and Scandinavian cooking, where fillets sell at premium prices. Farmed output is rising, led by recirculating-system operations in France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

Climate and outdoor ponds

Climate

temperate (handles seasonal swings)

USDA zones

3–8 (winter low around -40°C or warmer)

Heating needed

no

Cooling needed

yes, if summer water exceeds upper tolerance

Care notes

A high-value cool-water predator for European recirculating aquaculture, roughly the equivalent of walleye in North America. In well-run recirculating systems it reaches about 0.5–0.8 kg in 12 to 14 months on high-protein pellet, with feed conversion that can fall near 1.0 to 1.5 under optimized feeding. Protein demand is high: commercial diets run around 45 to 50 percent crude protein, and growth trials point even higher. Growth is best in warm water in the mid-20s Celsius, though the fish tolerates a wide span down to a few degrees. Two problems dominate culture. Larvae depend on live food and are hard to wean onto dry feed, and poor weaning drives size variation, deformity and cannibalism; some hatcheries cut cannibalism by crossing with Volga pikeperch, Sander volgensis. Buy pellet-trained fingerlings from a specialist hatchery rather than attempting larval rearing. The fish do well in dim or shaded tanks, which suits some greenhouse layouts, but they need clean water with dissolved oxygen above roughly 5 mg/L and low ammonia. Domesticated, faster-growing strains are reaching the market as European percid farming matures.

Further reading

• Aquaponics water chemistry: balancing pH for fish and plants
• Fish for aquaponics: tilapia vs everything else