Hatchery Layout. The separate colors represent individual systems. The larval room has its filtration components within the room, but other systems have the filtration components outside of the building.

Sturgeon Larval and Fingerling Production

Egg and Larval Systems

Until our Siberian sturgeon are old enough to produce eggs, we will purchase eggs from other countries culturing these species, such as Hungary and Germany.  The eggs are 3-4 mm in size and generally incubate for a week in the hatching jars.  Eggs are placed into plastic hatching jars where they incubate for approximately 1 week at 15°C.  As the eggs hatch, the larvae swim out of the jars into 100 gallon (378 liter) larval troughs where they will stay for approximately 6 weeks before being moved to a larger fry system.  

                                Sturgeon Eggs

When the eggs hatch, the larvae initiate feeding  one week later and are fed at 10% of their body weight.  The larvae are fed a commercial feed at hatch and will remain in the larval room system for approximately 6 weeks (0.6 grams in weight). 

Fingerling Systems

After transfer to the fry and fingerling systems, the fingerlings are fed a commercial feed.  The feed is dispensed by automatic feeders hanging above each tank.  The fish will stay in the hatchery for 5-8 months before being moved to the growout facility. 

The complete building diagram is shown to the left.

Hatchery Biofiltration

The filtration for the larval system is located in the same room as the troughs.  For the remaining systems, filtration systems can be found just outside the tank building.  In each system, water travels from the tanks to a drum filter, which removes particles greater than 37-60 microns (1000 microns = 1 mm). The water then flows to a biofilter tank, which treats the water for ammonia and other harmful compounds using a “pasta-like” plastic media. The media provides a surface for bacteria to grow.  These beneficial bacteria treat the water to remove ammonia and other harmful compounds.  The water then travels into a sump tank where it is treated with ultraviolet light and aerated. The light helps to sterilize the water and reduce levels of free floating bacteria.  The water is then pumped back to the tanks to begin the cycle anew.