Breeding aquarium fish at home comes as no surprise to anyone, but what about breeding large commercial fish? Moreover, in an apartment or private house. This is quite real! Just imagine that you yourself will be able to contribute to the fact that high-quality, tasty black caviar will appear on people’s tables, which is very highly valued in any society and has long been considered a symbol of prosperity.
Fish of the sturgeon family provide valuable caviar and equally valuable meat. And some sources claim that it is very useful. Both are constantly in high demand, so sturgeon farming can be a very good business idea. In addition, for many people, growing sturgeon at home is a rather interesting process that does not require large financial outlays. Sturgeon is quite picky in its diet, and creating suitable conditions for its reproduction and cultivation does not require any complex scientific knowledge. 
Sturgeon at home: business advantages
The sturgeon family includes not only the sturgeon itself (Russian and Siberian), but also such species of fish as stellate sturgeon, beluga, and sterlet. Breeding sturgeon is not at all difficult, and this process is possible even in an apartment, which undoubtedly attracts entrepreneurs. The advantages of business are: 
- Sturgeon meat and caviar are an expensive and valuable product on the market. Demand will be ensured.
- Sturgeon is not picky about breeding conditions and easily tolerates changes in temperature.
- In order to provide the sturgeon with proper nutrition, neither large amounts of money nor special skills are required.
- To start this business, you will need very little starting capital.
Sturgeon breeding room
You can start breeding sturgeon both in an apartment and in a country house. The quality of the final product will not suffer in any way if everything is done correctly. You will need a fairly spacious free area - approximately 30 square meters.
The room must be heated, especially in winter. In winter, for the sturgeon to grow, it needs an aquatic environment with a temperature of about 17 degrees Celsius, in the warm season - from 20 to 24 degrees. If you have not found another suitable room, then a polycarbonate greenhouse in which an equipped swimming pool will be placed is also quite suitable. 
Equipment for sturgeon breeding
Specialized equipment can be purchased from supplier companies, and it will cost you from 10 thousand dollars. They will deliver you fully ready-to-use equipment and install it right in your apartment or house.
However, you can go the other way. In fact, the sturgeon will live and reproduce just fine in a non-specialized container, which you can make with your own hands if you wish. A small plastic pool with a depth of about 1 meter and a diameter of about 2-3 meters will do. Of course, you can use larger pools if the space allows. In a small pool you can grow about one ton of sturgeon per year, and you can do everything yourself, without hiring employees or spending additional money on their wages.
The pool must have compressors, special filters and aeration. You will also need a pump, as the pool will need to be cleaned periodically. An automatic feeder can be a useful piece of equipment, but you can do without it. Its advantages are that using it you will free up a lot of extra time, but it doesn’t cost a penny. Many entrepreneurs feed fish by hand.
When choosing a compressor and pump, pay attention to the fact that this equipment should not squeeze out its full maximum during operation. Calculate how much equipment power you need, and take equipment so that it works with a small margin. Otherwise, the equipment will wear out very quickly and you will need to replace it.
If you have sufficient knowledge, hands from the “right place” and free time, you can make a pool yourself. This way you will save quite a lot of money (the cost of producing a pool yourself is 2-3 times less than the cost of the same pool from a store). To begin with, one small pool will be sufficient, over time it will be possible to expand it or make several more of the same kind.
Purchasing fry
To start breeding sturgeon, of course, you will need fry of this fish. There are fish farms that breed different types of fish. You need to find one that breeds sturgeon specifically, and purchase a batch of fry from them. We recommend that you do not buy the first ones you come across, but consider different options.
Ask experts how to choose the right fry for breeding, and how you can distinguish high-quality fish from low-quality fish. It is better to approach the purchase of fry with all responsibility. Poor quality fry will grow very slowly and possibly get sick, and you don’t want that at all.
How to choose food
You also need to choose food for sturgeon carefully. There are a number of features in this issue. Firstly, the sturgeon feeds from the bottom, so it needs food that will sink in the water. Sturgeons have a developed sense of smell, and this is what they use when looking for food. The food should have an attractive smell to the fish.
Also, the food must be waterproof and not be destroyed by water. This rule must be observed because the sturgeon will not immediately absorb all the food, but will, so to speak, “stretch out the pleasure.” The food must remain waterproof for at least 30 minutes after being immersed in water. The consistency of the food should also be special: the food should swell a little in the water and become softer - this way the fish will eat it faster. And so that the sturgeon grow faster, and you can quickly sell them and make your profit, choose high-calorie food.
The composition of sturgeon feed varies. But experts recommend using food with approximately the following composition: fiber, protein, fats, lysine and phosphorus. Do not forget to take into account the size of the fish: small fish need small food, large fish need larger food. Everything must match the size of the fish.
Breeding sturgeon in a pond
If the option with a pool is not suitable for you, you can breed sturgeon in a pond. And if you already have a pond, then the task becomes much easier for you. You just need to bring the pond into the required condition, or find a suitable one. Before you place the fry in the pond, you need to prepare it for new inhabitants. The pond needs to be cleaned. If it is of artificial origin, then carry out the liming procedure: place a layer of lime on the bottom of the pond, pour a sufficient amount of water on top, and then rinse. It is advisable to carry out this procedure approximately half a month before placing the fry in the pond.
The bottom of the pond should be in the shape of a bowl. Also provide certain flora and fauna in the pond, which will contribute to the healthy development and reproduction of sturgeon. There must be algae, reeds, various green fertilizers, worms, and you can put shellfish. If insects get in, it will only be beneficial (additional food for the sturgeon). All this will create the necessary “atmosphere” in the pond in which the sturgeon will feel great.
It is recommended to place fry in the pond in the summer, and preferably at night. When some of the fish grow to larger than average sizes, they will need to be moved to another spawning pond. It is also created artificially. After a while, the eggs or the fry that have already been born can be returned back to the original pond. Be attentive to fish, especially males - they can become carriers of unwanted infections and infect a whole family of fry.
Business payback and product sales
To clearly show what the return on investment for a given business can be, let’s give an example. Let's say you took 5 g of fry. After about six months, some of them will weigh 500 g. Please note that only a part, since sturgeon fry will grow unevenly, that is, some faster, some slower. This is their peculiarity.
It is sturgeon weighing 500 g that are the best-selling. When some of the individuals reach this weight, you sell them and begin to wait for the rest to grow up. After 1-1.5 months, medium-sized sturgeon will grow to a large size, and after 2-3 - the smallest ones. After about 9 months from the start, the production cycle can be repeated.
You can sell your products anywhere: in restaurants, markets, shops, supermarkets, specialized fish stores, and wholesale organizations. You can also make some profit by selling the fry that you yourself have produced on your fish farm to other private producers and organizations.
Sturgeon breeding business plan
As already mentioned, sturgeon is a fairly expensive fish, and its cost starts from $15 per kilogram. And this is at a production cost of 7-8 dollars per kilogram. Already based on these figures, it can be understood that sturgeon breeding will bring good profits. A sturgeon breeding business can bring you about 8 thousand dollars every month. Of course, if the breeding is on a fairly large scale, and you do everything correctly.
The approximate cost of fish feed offered by specialized companies is $1.2 per kilogram. For 1 kg of sturgeon growth, about 1-1.5 kg of feed will be required. The price of the fry is quite pleasing - fry weighing 1 g will cost 0.2 dollars.
The cost of the equipment will depend on your “appetites” in this business. If you immediately want to equip yourself to the maximum and purchase equipment for growing sturgeon with a volume of 5 tons per year, then prepare an amount of 15-20 thousand dollars. If you are going to start small, then, accordingly, the costs will be much less.
In conclusion, let’s summarize what you need to remember about breeding sturgeon at home. Firstly, do not forget to feed the fish with high-quality food. Secondly, clean the pool regularly. Thirdly, from time to time check the functionality of the equipment (in particular, filters) and, if necessary, repair breakdowns. And fourthly, check the condition of the water often and add new water from time to time. Successful business to you!
A similar business with sturgeon breeding is. Find out how to do it at home and make a profit!
Today, no one is surprised by this type of business, such as breeding ornamental fish for aquariums. But many people don’t even realize that you can create a real fish farm at home. Don't be surprised, as this is quite feasible. The most ideal option is sturgeon breeding. In addition to delicious fish, there will also be high quality caviar on the table. In addition, it is she who is a real symbol of prosperity. So, where to start growing sturgeon?
Business benefits
Sturgeon include not only Siberian and Russian sturgeon, but also sterlet, beluga, and stellate sturgeon. If you decide to start your own business in this area, then don’t worry - it’s not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. You can implement your plans even in your own apartment. This is precisely the first advantage of this type of activity. Among the other advantages, it is worth highlighting the following:
- Caviar and fish meat are very valuable food products on the market. The demand for such products is growing daily.
- Sturgeon are a family whose representatives tolerate any temperature changes well and are not picky about living conditions.
- In order for the fish to receive enough nutrition, special knowledge or large financial expenditures are not required.
- To start a business, a small start-up capital is required.
As you can see, breeding sturgeon at home as a business has many advantages.
Where is the best place to raise fish?
You can breed sturgeon both in a city apartment and in a country house. This will not in any way affect the quality of the final product, of course, if you do everything correctly. To breed sturgeon at home without problems, you should prepare a room with an area of 30 m². It should be spacious and free.
The room where you will grow fish should be well heated. This is especially true in winter. At this time of year, sturgeon need to create normal conditions for normal growth. The water temperature should not fall below 17°C, and in warm weather this figure should be 20-24°C. If you don’t have such a room, then don’t rush to get upset. To grow sturgeon, you can use polycarbonate greenhouses. They can accommodate a swimming pool and heating equipment.
Where will the fry live?
You can purchase all the necessary equipment from the manufacturer. However, keep in mind that this may cost you quite a bit of money. But the equipment will be completely ready for use. In addition, it will be installed by specialists. If breeding sturgeon at home is unique, then you can go a slightly different route.
You can make equipment for growing fish yourself. After all, sturgeons can reproduce well and live in non-specialized containers. To make the equipment, you will need a small plastic pool with a depth of no more than one meter and a diameter of 2 to 3 meters. If the area of the room allows, then you can use a larger container. In such a pool you can grow about a ton of fish per year. In this case, you will do everything yourself. This will save on hiring employees and additional costs.
How to equip a pool
Growing sturgeon at home is not such a difficult matter. If you approach the arrangement of a swimming pool correctly, such a business will generate decent income. Aeration, special filters and compressors must be installed in the pool. You will also need a pump. After all, the pool will need to be cleaned. For sturgeon breeding to be successful, it is necessary to install an automatic feeder. Of course, you can do without this. However, the main advantage of such equipment is that you can free yourself a little time. If you decide to save money, then you will have to feed the fish manually.
The pump and compressor must be selected carefully. Please pay special attention to the fact that such equipment should not produce its full maximum during operation. Before purchasing, calculate how much power you will need. Based on this, choose your equipment. Otherwise, all equipment will become unusable very quickly, and it will have to be replaced with a new one.
We buy fry
Sturgeon breeding begins with the acquisition of fry. Recently, a lot of fish farms have appeared that are engaged in growing various types of fish. You can buy fry there. However, you should not buy the first ones you see. The sturgeon family is quite large. This allows you to purchase a type of fish that will be easy to care for.
The opinion of experts would also be useful. They will tell you how to distinguish low-quality fry. The purchase of young animals should be approached with all responsibility. After all, the success of your enterprise depends on it. Remember that poor quality fry will grow slowly. It is possible that they will get sick often.
Choosing the right food
Breeding sturgeon at home is a simple process if you follow all the rules. The choice of food requires special attention. There are several features in this issue. Remember that sturgeon representatives feed exclusively from the bottom. Therefore, buy only food that sinks in water and does not float on the surface. It is also worth considering the fact that sturgeon have a well-developed sense of smell. It is this feeling that guides them when choosing food. Therefore, the product you are going to feed the fish must have a pleasant aroma for them.
Feed should not be destroyed by water. This is another rule that must be observed, since sturgeons do not swallow food whole, but absorb it gradually. The food must withstand exposure to moisture for at least 30 minutes. Breeding sturgeon at home may seem quite difficult for many. But actually it is not. The food for this type of fish should be soft, so the sturgeon will eat it faster. If you want the fry to quickly turn into big fish, then their food should not only be tasty, but also high in calories. When choosing food, consider the size of the sturgeon. If the fish are small, then the pieces of food should be small.
Composition of feed for sturgeon
The food for these fish can be completely different. But experts recommend using products that contain phosphorus, lysine, fats, protein, and fiber. This is the most useful food for sturgeon.
How to breed fish in a pond
Growing sturgeon in a private house or apartment has some disadvantages. For example, limited area, maintaining a certain temperature regime, etc. It is much easier to grow fish in you can use ready-made ones. If there is no such thing, then you will have to create it. The old pond must be cleaned before the fry are released. If you create a reservoir yourself, then you should carry out liming. To do this, place a small layer of lime on the bottom, and then pour in enough water and rinse. A similar procedure should be carried out approximately a few weeks before the fry are released.
It is better to make the bottom of the pond in the shape of a bowl. Of course, we should not forget about the corresponding fauna and flora. The pond should contain worms, a variety of green fertilizers, reeds, and algae. If you wish, you can place shellfish in the pond. Ordinary insects, which will serve as additional food, will also be useful. It is better to release fry into the pond in the summer.
Finally
As you can see, breeding sturgeon in a pond is a profitable business. You do not need to occupy a separate room or buy expensive equipment. The only thing required is to choose the right food. In general, sturgeon farming brings good income.
If you want to trade elite products, black caviar and sturgeon, then take on sturgeon breeding business at home. It is known that their meat and caviar are a very valuable dietary product, so the demand for this product is always high. At the same time, raising sturgeon is not as difficult as it seems.
Advantages of sturgeon breeding
This family of fish includes the Siberian sturgeon, Russian sturgeon, sterlet, beluga, and stellate sturgeon. At the same time, sturgeon breeding can be organized even in your own apartment.
Main advantages of business:
Relatively small starting capital.
Constantly high demand for meat and caviar.
The fish is unpretentious and easily adapts to new conditions if the temperature changes.
Breeding sturgeon does not require special skills or large funds.
Sturgeon breeding room
As stated earlier, breeding sturgeon at home can be organized even in a city apartment. It is important to allocate an area of 30 square meters for this. m. Sturgeon breeding conditions require mandatory heating of the premises in winter. During cold periods, the water temperature should not be lower than 17 °C, and in summer – approximately 20-24 °C.
If it is not possible to organize a house, you can install a pool on a plot of land and cover it with a polycarbonate greenhouse, which is relatively inexpensive.
Equipment for sturgeon breeding
There are many companies that offer equipment for sturgeon breeding with delivery and installation. It will cost about 10 thousand dollars. But, as stated, this is an unpretentious fish, so breeding sturgeon at home can be organized in a container made by yourself. It is important that the container has a diameter of 2-3 meters and a depth of 1 meter. You can maintain such a pool yourself and grow about a ton of fish per year.
If you want to set it up at minimal cost, in addition to a tank for sturgeon breeding, you need to purchase aeration, filters and compressors. To clean the pool from time to time, a pump is purchased. You can buy an automatic feeder, but it is quite expensive.
It is important to choose equipment of the required power. Please note that it should not work to the maximum, otherwise it will fail very quickly. Sturgeon breeding pool, made with your own hands, will cost three times less than purchased.
We buy sturgeon fry
To start breeding sturgeon at home, you need to purchase fry. To do this, you will have to look for several fish farms in the area, compare options, and choose the right one. It is important to choose the fry correctly so that they grow well and quickly and do not get sick.
Selecting food for sturgeon
To start a sturgeon breeding business at home, it is important to know that fish pick up food from the bottom. She also has a well-developed sense of smell, so the food should have an attractive aroma for the sturgeon. However, it should not be destroyed by water for at least half an hour, because the fish will not eat everything at once. But at the same time, it must soften slightly so that the fish can eat it. If you want your sturgeon breeding to be a highly profitable business, buy the highest calorie food possible.
Approximate composition of sturgeon feed:
Phosphorus;
lysine;
fats;
protein;
cellulose.
Also remember that the diameter of the feed should correspond to the size of the sturgeon.
Sturgeon breeding technology (video):
Breeding sturgeon in a pond
If you have a pond, your sturgeon breeding business at home will be more profitable. True, in this case sturgeon breeding technology will be a little different. Before introducing fry into it, it is cleaned and limed at least two weeks before the young are placed in it.
Pay attention to the bottom - it should be bowl-shaped. The water should contain algae, worms, reeds, and fertilizers. The fry should be released into the pond on a summer night. Sturgeon breeding technology will require moving the fish to a spawning pond when it reaches medium size. The new fry can then be returned to the community pond. By the way, males are usually carriers of infections.
Sales and business return
If you purchase about 5 kg of fry, then in six months a significant part of them will reach a weight of 500 g. The peculiarity of the fish is that the fry grow unequally. The most popular on the market is Siberian sturgeon weighing 500 g. One and a half months after the sale of the first batch, those fry that were of average size will grow up, and after another three, the smallest ones. In nine months, a new Central Election Commission can begin.
Profit can be made from selling meat and caviar to supermarkets, shops, markets, specialty stores, catering establishments, and wholesale companies. Sturgeon breeding makes a separate profit from the sale of fry.
Business profitability calculations
The retail price of sturgeon is $15 per kilogram. Despite the fact that its cost is about 8 dollars. In general, every month you can make a profit of 8 thousand dollars, depending on the scale of your sturgeon farm.
Fish food costs about $1.2/kg. In order for a sturgeon to gain 1 kg of growth, it needs to be fed about 1.5 kg of food. Fry that weigh 1 g cost $0.2 each. The cost of the equipment depends on what you decide to do with your own hands and what to buy. If the planned production volume is 5 tons, then you need to purchase equipment worth about 20 thousand dollars. The smaller your apatite, the less money you need for equipment.
The most important thing in breeding this fish is to feed it with high-quality food, regularly clean the pool, check the condition of the equipment, especially filters, as well as the quality of the water. Otherwise sturgeon breeding business at home inexpensive and uncomplicated.
.Sturgeon breeding as a business. Sturgeon breeding conditions. Video of a homemade RAS.
Sturgeon fish farms are a very popular business in European countries. Countries such as France, Uruguay, Italy, as well as China and the USA are leading in the breeding of sturgeon in recirculating water supply installations for the production of black caviar. In our country, this business is only gaining popularity and this niche is almost empty.
Minimal competition allows novice entrepreneurs to engage in sturgeon breeding. Contrary to popular belief, the financial investment required is relatively small if you assemble the RAS yourself. The profit from the sale of black caviar is more than $1000 per 1 kg, the cost of 1 kg of sturgeon is more than $20.
Sturgeon breeding.
The sturgeon is listed in the Red Book, catching it in natural reservoirs is prohibited, the fine for catching an individual is more than 10,000 rubles. The shortage of sturgeon, and primarily black caviar, has pushed entrepreneurs to grow these types of fish in artificial reservoirs using closed water supply technologies, which make it possible not only to breed and grow sturgeon, but also to obtain black caviar from the fish.
In our country, the most common types of sturgeon are beluga, Siberian, Russian, stellate sturgeon, thorn, and sterlet. You can get caviar from sturgeon on a farm no earlier than 7 years, and this process cannot be accelerated. On fish farms they usually breed Siberian freshwater sturgeon and its hybrids, it is less whimsical, its period of puberty begins at 7 - 9 years, but Beluga is more demanding in terms of maintenance, the first caviar can be obtained from females at the age of 18. Therefore, it is practically not grown for caviar, although the cost of 1 kg of Beluga caviar exceeds $10,000.
Growing sturgeon requires special conditions, so they cannot live in most ordinary bodies of water. Sturgeon requires constantly running clean water with a high oxygen content, and the water temperature should not exceed 24 ° C; the optimal water temperature for sturgeon is 18 - 20 ° C. It is very difficult to create such conditions in most natural reservoirs, therefore, for sturgeon breeding, ichthyologists developed a closed water supply system.
Sturgeon breeding in RAS.
A closed water supply installation, or RAS for short, is a system consisting of:
- Pools.
- Oxygen generator.
- Water purification filters – mechanical drum filter, carbon filter, biofilter.
- Circulation pumps.
- Ozonizer and flotator.
- Oxygen, pressure, pH sensors.
- Air compressor.
- Ultraviolet lamp for water disinfection.
- Heat exchangers for heating and cooling water.
- Pipelines.
Pools are used in round or rectangular shapes; they can be polypropylene, metal with enamel coating, permanent ones made of concrete and ceramic tiles, or collapsible frame ones. Typically, polypropylene round pools with a depth of 1–1.5 m and a width of 2.5 m or more are used for RAS.
Purified water enriched with oxygen is constantly supplied to the pools, and part of the water is gradually pumped back, which is passed through purification filters, enriched with oxygen, and then pumped back into the pools with fish.
The water in the system is in constant circular circulation, while some of the water from the purification filters is still drained into the sewer system, and some of the water is pumped from the water supply system.
Water does not flow into the pools as a stream, but in the form of a shower; this method is used to additionally saturate the water with air.
Regardless of the time of year, the water temperature in the system is maintained at 18 – 20 °C. In winter, water heaters are used, in summer, coolers with heat exchangers are used.
As is known under natural conditions in winter, as the water temperature drops, the growth of sturgeon slows down significantly; the optimal temperature is constantly maintained in the RAS, and the fish does not stop growing. If in nature the sturgeon reaches sexual maturity at about the 15th year, then in a recirculation system it is already at 6–7 years. Starting from the age of 7, in a sturgeon farm, you can already receive caviar for fry production and sale.
The installation is located in a heated room, which can be a hangar, greenhouse, or any indoor space.
Sturgeon breeding conditions.
To start breeding sturgeon you will need to purchase fry. You can buy 5 gram fry in almost every sturgeon farm, the cost is about 15 rubles. a piece. Particular difficulty arises during transportation, because just a container with water is not enough for the fry; you will need to fit an aquarium air compressor into the container.
Before releasing the fry into the pools, the water temperature in the pools and in the container with the fry should be equalized.
In nature, sturgeon lead a bottom-dwelling lifestyle and feed on a variety of plankton, small fish, insects, worms, and mollusks. When kept in a recirculation system, natural feed is replaced with balanced feed with a high protein content. Each age of fish has its own food; the older the fish, the larger the size of the food granules used.
Experts recommend that beginners start with imported food; over time, you can learn how to make food yourself. As additional protein supplements for adult fish, boiled eggs of waterfowl - geese, ducks, as well as minced fish can be added to the feed.
At the age of up to one year, the fish is called a fingerling, then it becomes a yearling. Yearlings already weigh about 500 grams, this weight in restaurants is called portioned, from live fish weighing 500 grams, a cooked portion of 350 - 370 grams is obtained. Therefore, to sell sturgeon to restaurants, it is enough to grow fish up to a weight of 500 grams.
If you want to get caviar, the fish needs to be raised for about 7 years.
At the onset of puberty, in order for the fish to spawn, additional hormones are injected into it.
During the spawning period in females, the amount of eggs for the first time is 15% of the total weight of the female, in subsequent times more than 25%.
In nature, about 3% of the fry survive and grow from eggs; in a fish farm, this figure is more than 70%. During the spawning period, caviar is removed from the female, and milk is extracted from the male by milking, but the fish does not die, it is released back into the pools, and caviar is also obtained from the fish the next year.
Eggs in trays with water are fertilized and placed in incubators with running water. Under natural conditions, larvae develop from eggs only in running water, so the design of the incubator is built in such a way as to recreate the conditions for the development of larvae from eggs.
The incubator is a structure of several upper rows of trays, into which water is constantly drawn from pipes, and lower rows with eggs.
When the top tray is full of water, it hits the bottom tray and pours water into the tray with eggs. At the same time, the eggs in the tray are shaken and float, thus the eggs are constantly saturated with oxygen and washed with water.
A week later, sturgeon larvae emerge from the eggs and are transferred to the pool. The larvae grow very quickly and within a month they turn into fry.
Sturgeon breeding as a business.
Sturgeon breeding is certainly a promising business, but the complexity of RAS technology forces many entrepreneurs to abandon such an undertaking.
If you are interested in sturgeon breeding, study the literature, visit the nearest sturgeon farm and consult with specialists.
You can find owners of sturgeon farms on forums on the Internet. It is not necessary to buy the entire RAS installation; you can assemble it yourself, which will be much cheaper; all components are on sale.
There will be no problems with the sale of fish and black caviar, since there are practically no competitors in this business and the price for these products is consistently high.
Breeding sturgeon in a homemade RAS video (video author Aleksej Rublev).
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Until recently, the idea of breeding sturgeon at home would have seemed like real madness. This fish is rightfully considered “royal” due to its valuable taste and high cost. It would be strange if such characteristics and extremely high market prices did not stimulate the construction of a business based on the cultivation of sturgeon.
Breeding sturgeon at home is characterized by high rate of business development and good income. There is always a demand for products. There is nothing to say about the usefulness, unusually tasty meat and value of caviar of this wonderful product.
The process of growing sturgeon is characterized by an average level of complexity that does not require large investments.
In addition, the sturgeon family is characterized by high fertility: each individual is capable of producing about a million eggs! All these factors constitute the key to successful promotion of the sturgeon breeding business.
TO the sturgeon family includes: Siberian and Russian sturgeon, beluga, sterlet, stellate sturgeon and some other types of fish.
To seriously approach organizing a business for growing rare fish, you need to have a good understanding of the entire cycle of their cultivation.
Stages of growing sturgeon in closed water supply devices:
- Delivery of fertilized eggs to the fry breeding base;
Caviar is delivered in special insulated bags. Before placing it in incubation containers, equalize the temperature in the bags in which the eggs arrived and in the system for incubating the eggs. - Storing caviar for 6–8 days in special devices“Sturgeon” type, ensuring uniform washing of eggs;
- The water undergoes special filtration to remove chlorine and other impurities;
- Hatching of prelarvae(exit of larvae from shells);
The larvae are caught and placed in special rectangular containers. The larvae feed from their yolk sac. - Swarming stage;
The onset of this period is a signal that it is time for the larvae to be transferred to external feeding with live food (Artemia cyst). - Transferring grown sturgeon to larger tanks, transition to feeding with artificial granulated feed.
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Features of sturgeon breeding technology at home
Sturgeons must be kept in clean, fresh water. High oxygen saturation of water is required, its content must exceed 70%. Otherwise, you need to take care of installing and connecting aerators for ponds and reservoirs.
In winter, you need to carefully ensure that the water does not contain hydrogen sulfide; if gas is detected, it is necessary to enrich the water using an injection-type aerator.
The bottom should be sandy, not muddy. These are factors for the rapid growth and development of sturgeon. 
Pools, trays and apparatus for incubating eggs must be washed regularly at least 2 times a week. The water first undergoes special treatment.
Fish that reaches a weight of 500–600 grams already has a commercial appearance and can be sold to restaurants, cafes and retail outlets.
If sturgeon are farmed to obtain black caviar, then you should know that this process is much longer.
But the product turns out to be several times more expensive.
Sturgeon spawn every 2–3 years for 17–18 years, and with each new litter the caviar has higher quality characteristics.
The costs will certainly pay for themselves, but the time factor plays an important role.
Sturgeon food
Fish of this species can be fed with two types of food:
- Live food (bloodworms, insect larvae, fish waste, worms and shellfish).
- Pelleted feed.
All these types are quite available for purchase.
The leader in the feed production market is Aller AQUA. It produces the following types of feed material:
- Starter feeds are feeds for the primary nutrition of sturgeon larvae. Contains Artemia cysts, immunostimulants, available in granules and grits (Aller Futura, Aller Futura MP, Aller Performa);
- Feed for young animals is food for juvenile salmon and sturgeon fish species with immunostimulants, produced in granules of 1.3–2.0 mm (Aller Thalassa, Aller Futura MP, Aller Performa);
- Production feed – food for adults (Aller Bronze, Aller Trident, Aller Metabolica);
- Breeder feed is feed for adults raised for egg production (Aller Sturgeon REP).
Technical conditions for breeding sturgeon
The process of breeding sturgeon at home is quite labor-intensive and technically complex. It is carried out in closed water supply devices (RAS). This is a system of tanks for breeding fish.
The importance of issues of purity and composition of water has already been mentioned above, so the cycle begins with two purifiers: mechanical and biological. After purification, the water is collected in storage tanks.
The next stage in the passage of water is its enrichment with oxygen. Pushed by pumps, the water moves to tanks where aeration occurs.
As it moves further, the water passes through a filter that purifies it with ultraviolet light. Now, having a sufficient degree of purification, the water enters the tanks for keeping sturgeon, and the “dirty” water undergoes mechanical treatment and is discharged into the ground.
Such conditions can ensure the vital activity of sturgeon all year round and contribute to their growth and development up to a maximum weight of 70–80 kg.
The system is safe for the environment and does not call into question the ecological cleanliness of the region.
Business organization
Why is it necessary to grow sturgeon?
Growing sturgeon in a pool allows you to simultaneously solve several problems:
- Control and restoration of endangered fish species;
- Providing citizens with valuable and healthy food products;
- Obtaining fry for breeding sturgeon species in natural ponds and reservoirs;
- Receiving personal profit.
Let's take a closer look at the last factor on the list. If we compare prices for fish products, we will see the following: 1 kg of carp costs $4, catfish – $4.5, trout – $11, but sturgeon – $18 per kg. The difference is great and serves as a motivating factor in making a decision in favor of this business.
What should the initial capital be?
The first investment in a sturgeon breeding business at home will be approximately $2,500 for the purchase of equipment and $1,000 for the purchase of fry or fertilized eggs. Set aside another $500 to purchase food.
What equipment can't you live without?
You can purchase the entire prefabricated RAS system at once, or you can take everything separately and install everything yourself. You need to purchase: filters for water purification (mechanical, biological, ultraviolet purification), pumps and compressors, pools for keeping fish. You definitely need a generator to protect against power outages.
What can you save on?
Savings are possible on things you can make with your own hands. For example, polypropylene containers for raising fry or round pools are a feasible task for a motivated master.
The thermostat can be made from a heating cable for floor insulation. At first you will also buy food, then you can switch to food of your own production.
What kind of premises do you need?
You can start breeding sturgeon at home from small areas. A room of 30–40 m2 is enough to start a business, but then you will still need to expand. The optimal room for growing sturgeon “under a roof” is 320 m2. Water supply and sewerage are required.
What is the expected profit?
Knowing certain constants, it is easy to calculate the possible profit.
The optimal weight of sturgeon suitable for sale is 500–600 g. If you achieve greater weight, increasing material costs for cultivation, it is more difficult to sell the product to retail chains. Since these are mainly cafes and restaurants, the optimal portioned sturgeon is half a kilo.
The cost of a fry is $2–3, the lower wholesale selling price is $10, the cost of feed, electricity and water is $2–3. Your income will be $4–5 per kilogram of product.
It’s interesting to do this, it’s profitable to do it.