

Both of these prehistoric-looking fish belong to a family of long-lived, late-maturing fish known from Eurasia and North America. They typically swim along the bottom of garden ponds, using their sensitive rostrums to sift through dirt in search of food. There are several different varieties of sturgeon and sterlet, including diamond backed and albino varieties. Most hobbyists like to keep sturgeon and sterlet alongside other large-bodied and peaceful pond fish, such as koi carp.
As bottom-dwelling fish, sturgeon and sterlet do best when fed sinking pellets. This means that they’re able to get their fair share of food without having to compete with other, mid-dwelling and top-dwelling fish in your garden pond. There are several types of sinking pellets that are made with sturgeon and sterlet in mind. These pond fish foods are packed with the perfect blend of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements for sturgeon and sterlet, helping them to not only grow, but also maintain their immune systems.
The average lifespan of a sturgeon is 50-60 years, but it’s not uncommon to hear of them living for more than 80 years! Their cousins, sterlet, aren’t quite as long-lived, but they can still reach ages of 30 years if they’re given the proper care. To make sure that your sturgeon and sterlet live long and happy lives, they should be fed a nutritious diet and – most importantly – be kept in a large, well-filtered pond. Like koi, sturgeon and sterlet are messy fish and require quality filtration.
While they may start off relatively small, both sturgeon and sterlet grow to huge sizes – far exceeding the sizes of many typical pond fish, such as goldfish. Most sturgeon sold in the hobby are Siberian sturgeon and typically grow to sizes of ~180cm. Sterlet are available in a few more varieties, but most grow to sizes of ~90cm. To keep just one sturgeon or sterlet, you’ll need a garden pond that’s at least 1m deep and capable of holding more than 4,000 litres of water.