| Sterlet | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acipenseriformes |
| Family: | Acipenseridae |
| Genus: | Acipenser |
| Species: | A. ruthenus |
| Binomial name | |
| Acipenser ruthenus Linnaeus, 1758 |
|
The sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) is a common Eurasian species of sturgeon, one of the smaller species of sturgeon. It is a common domestic species in the UK and Europe and an angling species all over the world. It can also be grown for eating or for its caviar or isinglass.
Contents |
The sterlet's main source of food is benthic organisms; they commonly feed on crustaceans, worms, and insect larvae.
The sterlet commonly reaches the age of 22 to 25 years.
Females may lay from 15,000–44,000 eggs.
Sterlets require relatively large ponds with good water conditions, and may get entangled in plants such as blanketweed. Sterlets may require specialist food such as sterlet sticks, as they are unable to digest the vegetable proteins usually found in commercial fish foods.
In Russia, it is held in high esteem on account of its excellent flesh, contributing also to the best kinds of caviar and isinglass.