Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio)

Scientific name: Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758

The Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) is a freshwater fish of the family Acipenseridae. In the aquarium it needs water at 10–18°C (50–64°F).

Sturgeon care at a glance

Temperature: 10–18°C (50–64°F)

Biology

Amphihaline and potamodromous fish, frequenting littoral zones. It lives the major part of his live in sea but enters rivers for reproduction. At the sea, it occur in coastal and estuarine zones on soft bottom. In freshwaters, it inhabits estuaries and large rivers. Juveniles found both in estuaries and in the sea. Usually solitary. Feeds on crustaceans, mollusks, polychaete worms and small fishes. Eggs deposited on sand or gravel. A long-lived and slow-growing species. Reaches 500-600 cm and maybe live up to 100 years. Sexually mature at an age of 7-9 years. Spawns at depths of 2-10 m over stony bottoms. Females produce 800,000-2,400,000 sticky dark grey eggs which adhere to the stones. Utilized fresh and frozen, an

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Acipenser sturio
Family: Acipenseridae (Sturgeons)
Order: Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons and Paddlefishes)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 600
Common length: 125
Depth range: 4–93 m (13–305 ft)
Environment: Marine; freshwater; brackish;; pH range: 7.5 - ?; dH range: 10 - 20 demersal; anadromous; depth range 4 - 93 m, usually 5 - 60 m
Climate: Temperate
Distribution: Eastern Atlantic: North and White Seas, European coasts of Atlantic, northern Mediterranean eastward to Rhodos, western and southern Black Sea, Occasionally recorded from Iceland, Morocco and Algeria. Anadromous, in most large rivers, but not recorded from Danube upriver of delta. Today restricted to Garonne drainage in France. Recent DNA studies using museum specimens revealed that this species co-exists with A. naccarii from the Adriatic Sea to the Iberian Peninsula. Several DNA sequence differences were found between individuals of the species from the Gironde River population and from the North and Baltic Seas showing that different populations of A. sturio are genetically divergent. Appendix III of the Bern Convention (protected fauna). International trade banned (CITES I, since 29.7.83; CMS Appendix II).
Conservation status (IUCN): Critically Endangered (CR) (A2cde;B2ab(ii,iii,v))
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial
Resilience: Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (tm=7-20; tmax=100)

Sources

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

Last updated 27 September 2026