I need ID on this sturgeon
Started by
Guest_Moontanman_*
, Mar 18 2010 10:16 AM
14 replies to this topic
#3
Guest_Brooklamprey_*
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Posted 18 March 2010 - 05:44 PM
Given what little can be determined by the photos that appears to be a European sterlet Acipenser ruthenus. May have some Hybrid potentiality but this can be difficult by photos like this alone.
No way that is a Shovelnose.
No way that is a Shovelnose.
#6
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Posted 19 March 2010 - 11:29 PM
Thanks for the ID, they are for sale on e-bay, as you know i want some shovelnose but I wasn't sure if these were shovelnose or not. Too expensive anyway...
Well I'm looking for Shovelnose also and if I find a source I'll let you know.. Been kind of an unwritten rule anyhow
I'll let you know if anything pops up my way sturgeon wise..
#9
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Posted 05 April 2010 - 07:05 PM
Snout is not sharp enough for sterlet. Sterlet usually has more barbels. Definitely shovelnose (hackleback). Could be pallid, no difference at that age, but I doubt it.
That is definitely and Acipenser species or Hybrid of such. I'm not seeing anything in it that would relate to Scaphirhynchus.
Scaphirhynchus Have very broad and flattened heads and are very narrow and elongated post Dorsal fin. While coloration is not diagnostic, Juveniles of the size depicted in Scaphirhynchus are also usually a light tan to buff coloration. Barbel count for Acipenser ruthenus, gueldenstaedtii, sturio, Huso species and the Scaphirhynchus species is the same being typically at four.
Snout in Acipenser ruthenus of this age class are also not typically as distinctly pointed as in older age class fish. I personally highly suspect given the traits figured that this fish is a Hybrid type between two of the European species A good guess would be A.ruthenus x sturio or A. ruthenus x Huso Sp. ( Huso or Dauricus).. These are common in the pet hobby and often available. A. ruthenus x A. gueldenstaedtii is a possibility also but the one pictured does not seen to have some particular traits of that hybrid.
#11
Guest_Moontanman_*
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Posted 05 April 2010 - 10:09 PM
Moon, where did this fish come from? Perhaps a question that might be more easily answered would be, where did the photo originate?
There was an auction on e-bay from someone in Oswego, Illinois, he told me the fish were shovelnose and that he got them from someone in California. They were said to have originated from a tropical fish supplier in Asia but were supposed to have come from the USA originally. I was told at one time by a breeder that most of his shovelnose sturgeons were going to Asia. The guy sent me the pics and i asked him if I could post them to the forum to see if his ID was correct. (he wasn't completely sure) The auction has ended now, his price was far too high for me even though i have long wanted some shovelnose sturgeon.
#13
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Posted 08 April 2010 - 09:28 PM
I suspect "shovelnose" is becoming a generic term for any sturgeon in the pet trade because it's a cute and descriptive name, AND because of the true shovelnose's small (desireable) size.
Sadly you are correct, almost no shovelnose are ever sold in the USA, for some reason it is much cheaper to import a fish bred in Europe than to sell a fish already bred in the USA not to mention already native to the USA.
Sturgeons in captivity seems to be a much more popular idea in Europe with some color varieties and even crosses with odd scale patterns available as well.
Some West coast sturgeon, mostly white sturgeon, do make their way into the pet trade but these are fish that really need cold water and seldom live long in captivity even in ponds.
The idea that is wide spread in the pet trade that fish are disposable and the fact a fish has zero possible survival is ok as long as you can sell them before they die.
Of course from the point of view of the environment all such fish are dead already but it chaps me to see fish sold that are often misrepresented as smaller warm water fish that are actually huge cold water fish doomed to die quickly no matter how hard the person who bought them tries.
Another problem I have with Sterlets being sold as shovelnose is the possibility they might be released by well meaning people and I have heard sterlets called the "carp" of the sturgeon group. Sterlets crowding out native sturgeon is a very scary idea.
#14
Guest_critterguy_*
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Posted 14 April 2010 - 01:09 AM
Sterlet are apparently the best of the European sturgeons to keep being the smallest(think they stay below 5 feet), the most warmth tolerant, and the most maneuverable. I guess shovelnose are even better apparently but sterlet are doable in many backyard ponds that would otherwise house koi(this based on reading online literature...indeed, all European)
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