# Very Large Sturgeon - Free to a good home!



## HalcyonInverts

Right, the basic story is that many a year ago, my place of work was donated a medium sized true Diamondback Sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) and 5 Sterlet Sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus). These came in at a size we could handle and home for a long time. Unfortunatly, whilst not outgrowing thier exhibit, they have started to catch thier long snouts on the rough rockwork (which is scuffing thier noses!) and our vet has reccomended they be rehomed. 

Now ive tried rehoming to local diving quarries but the good fools at DEFRA have blocked this, fearing a fish can escape a man made hole in solid bedrock somehow (note the sarcasm here!) No other zoological institutes want them due to thier size, so i have been left with the choice of a private rehoming to a private lake (as there is little paperwork needed if its a private pond) or ethical euthanasia. Im not going to kill my fish, so i am hoping there is a good person on RFUK who owns a large/very large pond in the cheshire'ish region who would like some free sturgeon...

Now the diamondback is over 1.2 meters long and the Sterlets range around 80-100cm. So a large pond is required. Any rehoming candidate will need to have thier pond vetted by myself and a colleague to ensure the animals welfare, but other than that its simple really.

If you want pics of the fish give me a shout. Other than the small scuffs on thier noses they are in ace condition! the Diamond back is stunning!

This is a great oppertunity for some lucky pond owner to get thier hands on some large fish rarely seen availible at these sizes for free!

The only thing i ask is that rather than mssging me with 'i know a guy...' type messages, please ensure you can provide me with a reasonable idea of pond size, your ponds location and if it is for a friend, please put them in contact with me rather than letting me chase them up.

Cheers! :2thumb:


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## HalcyonInverts

can really no-one find a home for these stunning fish?


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## Paul B

Awww I have a 12x12 5ft deep Koi pond and would love to have the smaller ones but unfortunately too far away.
have you tried the zoos in the area. Large water gardens / garden centres.

Hope you find a good home for them.

P


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## HalcyonInverts

yup, they have been advertised on NAW, Aquarists Classfieds and ive phoned everywhere. Its the problem we face with large fish stock. Its easier to find homes for all the Pacu we get given but no-one seems to want sturgeon... not sure why cos pacu are ugly as sin, and my sturgeon are beautiful!


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## Annihilation

Maybe try fishing lakes? I know it sounds bad, but if there was one big enough, the chance of them being caught would be very small.


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## Jen88

Aww I've seen these fish at the aquarium they are at, they are lovely fish, I'd love to have them but haven't got a pond sorry.
Hope they find a home, have you tried advertising on practical fish keeping?
Some people on there have big ponds x


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## reptile_man_08

I have a 14000 gallon pond, but the filtration is basically nothing...
Wish I had money to get a proper filter..


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## ninjastyle

have you tried national trust places? like statly homes that have grounds with lakes etc? might be worth a shot?


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## jamesh

if you found a lake that has an ILFA licence (allows the stocking of non native species) and applied for a section 30 i am sure you would only need fr1 to introduce the fish to a water as you are not taking the fish from a lake style water but you would have to check.

its all free but can take upto 3 months but i am sure if you found a water that is either of line (not connected to other waters) you could ask them to apply for an ILFA licence or frind somewhere that has catfish and mention it to them.


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## ViperLover

Make an add on the 'Classifieds' forums. You may get some joy there. : victory:


Sturgeon are gorgeous fish btw, love them.


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## HalcyonInverts

ive tried the whole EA/Ilfa route and defra kept blocking it for evey lake i tried. i even found a lake who didnt have an ilfa but alread had large sturgeon and they wudnt allow it.

I already have an ad in the classifieds! :2thumb:

I like the national trust idea though, will call around a few local places today...


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## Jasoon

If you can't get rid of them, find a nice lake and go there at night time, put them in = sorted?


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## ern79

contact any local branches of maidenhead aquatics, most have large display ponds, i know i got 3 large siberian sturgeons from london aquarium for my store, the 2 smaller ones went to other shops locally but i still have the biggest (about 1.2 m) hes a huge favourite with my regulars especially as we have a feed our fish opportunity, hes very social.


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## HalcyonInverts

Jasoon said:


> If you can't get rid of them, find a nice lake and go there at night time, put them in = sorted?


haha i would, except i have to document the move for our vet...

Id rather not send to an aquatics store display as im worried they will sell my babies on to some-one who wont look after them. i know that the majority of people who can and would buy a large sturgeon will be good owners, but the thought of them going to a bad home isnt a nice one.

Ive had some interest from aquarists clasifieds so hopefully they will have new homes soon! Nothings arranged yet though, so if any one on RFUK wants them still give me a shout!


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## ern79

HalcyonInverts said:


> haha i would, except i have to document the move for our vet...
> 
> Id rather not send to an aquatics store display as im worried they will sell my babies on to some-one who wont look after them. i know that the majority of people who can and would buy a large sturgeon will be good owners, but the thought of them going to a bad home isnt a nice one.
> 
> Ive had some interest from aquarists clasifieds so hopefully they will have new homes soon! Nothings arranged yet though, so if any one on RFUK wants them still give me a shout!


personally i keep my sturgeon as an advertisment for why i do NOT sell sturgeons, their size and feeding requirements mean they are not a good choice for the vast majority, we used to sell them a long time ago but one day i realised that unlike koi and goldfish, nobody came back and told me how big theirs was and how well it was doing, the story was more along the lines of "i put it in my pond and never saw it again" or " i used to have one but it died" After this realisation i decided not to be part of the eternal death cycle of these magnificent beasts.


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## benjo

my dad runs scarborough, when i get into contact with him they might take it on..


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## ChloEllie

HalcyonInverts said:


> yup, they have been advertised on NAW, Aquarists Classfieds and ive phoned everywhere. Its the problem we face with large fish stock. Its easier to find homes for all the Pacu we get given but no-one seems to want sturgeon... not sure why cos pacu are ugly as sin, and my sturgeon are beautiful!


i hate pacu and adoooore sturgeon, my aunt has a 24'x6'x6' pond but its too narrow in the middle otherwise id come get one.

i hope they get rehomed soon 
xxx


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## HalcyonInverts

ern79 said:


> personally i keep my sturgeon as an advertisment for why i do NOT sell sturgeons, their size and feeding requirements mean they are not a good choice for the vast majority, we used to sell them a long time ago but one day i realised that unlike koi and goldfish, nobody came back and told me how big theirs was and how well it was doing, the story was more along the lines of "i put it in my pond and never saw it again" or " i used to have one but it died" After this realisation i decided not to be part of the eternal death cycle of these magnificent beasts.


sorry ern79, wasnt suggesting anything bad by my not wanting to give them to a shop, i know lots of shops are good and have moral duties over which fish they display and sell. Good on you for not selling them, we are sick of people calling up to donate fish bad pet shops sell without advice/warnings. must get at least one or two pacu and pangasius a week offered to us.
My only worry is that at the value these fish could generate commercially, they may end up being sold and joining the eternal sturgeon death cycle you mentioned.
Hopefully got somewhere lined up though with two massive outdoor pools, will just have to wait and see how it goes...


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## benjo

left you a pm, if you still have them, scarborough mear angling club will take them, they have 2 massive lakes, takes about an hour to walk around them and a ski pond that no fish go into. awaits a pm


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## jamesh

you need to check if they are off line or not or you have no chance as they could escape into the wild or there spawn could.

i could speak to my totor at college as he has a very good name with cefas and defra and has some very good contacts (that is of course if they have forgiven him for the burbot incident lol)


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## HalcyonInverts

Burbot incident? or should i not ask lol!

Just to update, its looking very likely they all have homes now. Aquarist classifieds got some good hits and saved the day!

Thanks for all the suggestions!


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## ern79

HalcyonInverts said:


> sorry ern79, wasnt suggesting anything bad by my not wanting to give them to a shop, i know lots of shops are good and have moral duties over which fish they display and sell. Good on you for not selling them, we are sick of people calling up to donate fish bad pet shops sell without advice/warnings. must get at least one or two pacu and pangasius a week offered to us.
> My only worry is that at the value these fish could generate commercially, they may end up being sold and joining the eternal sturgeon death cycle you mentioned.
> Hopefully got somewhere lined up though with two massive outdoor pools, will just have to wait and see how it goes...


nothing negative was taken, best of luck rehoming these:2thumb:


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## jamesh

he wanted to bring burbot back into the country although he actually did not he just wanted to get his name and opinions heard but that involved threatening to bring a huge bag of them and dumping them on some ones desk.

great guy with some great ideas and points but he would be nothing without doing something like that to get his voice heard.


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