Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

Scientific name: Oncorhynchus nerka Walbaum, 1792

The Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) is a freshwater fish of the family Salmonidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 25°C (77°F).

Sockeye salmon care at a glance

Temperature: 25°C (77°F)

Biology

Epipelagic. There are two forms, the anadromous form known as the sockeye and the landlocked form (with a much smaller maximum size) known as the kokanee. Upon emergence from gravel, fry at first tends to avoid light, hiding during the day and emerging at night. In some populations, sockeye fry go to the sea during their first summer but most spend one or two (rarely three or four) years in a lake before migrating. In a few streams of the Copper River drainage in Alaska, young sockeye stay in the stream. Once in the lake, the young spend a few weeks inshore, feeding largely on ostracods, cladocerans and insect larvae. The fish then become pelagic and move offshore, where they feed on plankton in the upper 20 m or so. Seaward migration follows with the young individuals first stay

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Oncorhynchus nerka
Family: Salmonidae (Salmonids)
Order: Salmoniformes (Salmons)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 84.0
Common length: 58
Depth range: 0–250 m (0–820 ft)
Environment: Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; anadromous; depth range 0 - 250 m
Climate: Temperate
Distribution: North Pacific: northern Japan to Bering Sea and to Los Angeles, California, USA. Landlocked populations in Alaska, Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada, and Washington and Oregon in USA.
Conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.37-0.58; tm=2-4; tmax=7; Fec=300)