Beluga (Huso huso)

Scientific name: Huso huso Linnaeus, 1758

Beluga (Huso huso)

The Beluga (Huso huso) is a freshwater fish of the family Acipenseridae. In the aquarium it needs water at 10–20°C (50–68°F).

Beluga care at a glance

Temperature
10–20°C (50–68°F)

Biology

Pelagic at the sea, following its prey. Undertakes upriver migration to spawn. Juveniles occur in shallow riverine habitats during their first summer. Spawns in the main course of large and deep rivers with strong current and on stone or gravel bottom. Feeds mostly on sea fishes (Black Sea whiting, anchovies, flatfishes, gobies, fry of bottom-living fishes), also crustaceans, mollusks, mysids and amphipods. Fisheries are based almost entirely on the value of the caviar, but meat also is sold fresh, smoked and frozen; eaten broiled, boiled, fried and baked. Bester, a hybrid of female Huso huso and male sterlet Acipenser ruthenus, has been successfully cultivated for its high quality eggs. The largest sturgeon and largest European freshwater fish. In Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive fish. Threa

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Huso huso
Family
Acipenseridae (Sturgeons)
Order
Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons and Paddlefishes)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
800
Common length
215
Depth range
70–180 m (230–591 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; anadromous; depth range 70 - 180 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Eurasia: Caspian, Black, Azov and Adriatic Sea basins. Considered critically endangered. Appendix III of the Bern Convention (protected fauna). International trade restricted (CITES II, since 1.4.98; CMS Appendix II).
Conservation status (IUCN)
Critically Endangered (CR) (A2bcd)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.1; tm=13-22; tmax=100; Fec=360,000)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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