Siberian sturgeon
Acipenser baerii
Also known asBaerii sturgeon · Lena sturgeon
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 3000 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 42% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 1.20% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 0.50% of body weight
- Max density
- 50 g per litre
A 15000 g adult eats about 180.0 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~1800 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| cites | permit required | CITES Appendix II; international trade in wild-caught specimens requires permits. Farmed stock is exempt from most CITES restrictions but documentation of captive-bred origin is required for export verified 2026-05-14 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Native to the great rivers of Siberia that drain north into the Arctic Ocean, from the Ob and Irtysh in the west across the Yenisei, Lena and Kolyma to the Yana, along with Lake Baikal. That spread gives it one of the widest natural ranges of any sturgeon. It is also the most farmed sturgeon in the world, raised commercially in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, China, Uruguay, the US and a dozen-odd other countries. The fish can reach about 2 m and 210 kg and live more than sixty years, but cultured stock is usually taken at 3–10 kg for meat or grown out for eight to twelve years for caviar. Its roe is sold as Siberian or baerii caviar, a premium grade set just below osetra in the traditional hierarchy. Wild stocks have fallen sharply from overfishing, dams and pollution, and the IUCN lists the species as Endangered.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- cold-water (cool water required, dies in heat)
- USDA zones
- 3–8 (winter low around -40°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- no
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
The default farmed sturgeon, with the best-developed intensive-culture methods, which makes it the natural choice for aquaponics. It does well across a cool band, roughly 4°C to 25°C, with fingerling growth peaking near 20 to 21 C. On good sturgeon pellet of 42 to 48 percent protein it puts on about 1–3 kg a year, efficient for such a slow-maturing fish. Keep dissolved oxygen high, above 5 and ideally past 7 mg/L, and ammonia low. Stock juveniles densely, around {density:20}-{density:50}, easing to {density:15}-{density:30} as fish grow. Siberian sturgeon take to recirculating tanks, handling and grading better than touchier species such as beluga or sterlet, with lower losses. For meat, harvest at 3–5 kg in three to five years; for caviar, females need eight to twelve years, a long wait but a high-value one, with roe reaching more than a tenth of a ripe female's weight. Several European farms already run plant production on sturgeon recirculating effluent, proving the aquaponics pairing at scale. Fingerlings come from sturgeon farms in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and California among others, and CITES paperwork covers any cross-border trade in sturgeon products.