Sterlet has always occupied a special place in Russian cuisine: in the recent past, it was impossible to imagine a single holiday table without it. But nowadays, due to thoughtless fishing and poaching, it is extremely rare in nature. Therefore, people who want to please themselves with treats made from its delicious meat are willing to pay a fairly high price for fresh fish. At the same time, the technology for growing it in artificial conditions is not difficult to master, as a result of which breeding sterlet as a business can very well bring substantial profits to the entrepreneur.
Why grow sterlet?
Sterlet is the smallest representative of the sturgeon family. In its natural environment, it prefers deep freshwater rivers of Siberia, the Volga-Caspian and Azov-Black Sea basins. The fish lives on average 20–25 years, reaching a length of 60–80 cm and a weight of 2–3 kg, although there are specimens with a body of 120 cm and a weight of 15 kg. Sterlet is characterized by early maturation - males are ready to breed at the age of 4–5 years, and females at 6–7 years. Farmers breed it for products such as:
- Fresh fish. Delivered live, chilled or frozen. Wholesale clients pay 700–800 rubles per kilogram of ungutted sterlet;
- Black caviar. More often associated with sturgeon, but growing sterlet for caviar is no less profitable - the fish go to spawn earlier, and the product costs up to 40,000 rubles / kg;
- Processed fish. If you buy the necessary equipment, you can produce smoked or dried sterlet. Its cost reaches 1200–1600 rubles/kg;
- Soup set. Heads, tails, fins and other offal that remain after cutting fish can also be sold. People buy them for 400–500 rubles/kg.
The main value of sterlet is culinary: sturgeon meat is traditionally considered one of the most expensive delicacies. The fish is fried, stuffed or baked in the oven, fish soup, soups and aspic are prepared from it, and used as a filling for pies.
Taxonomy
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes) Order: Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons) Family: Acipenseridae (Sturgeons) Species: Acipenser ruthenus (Linnaeus, 1758) Etymology: Acipenser: from Latin, acipenser = sturgeon.
Synonyms: Acipenser pygmaeus Pallas, 1814:102. Acipenser marsigli Brandt 1833:352. Acipenser gmelini Fitzinger and Haekel, 1836:276. Acipenser primigenius Chalikov, 1944:47. Acipenser ruzskyi Ioganzen, 1946:173. Acipenser ruthenus brevirostris Antipa, 1909:250. Acipenser ruthenus obtusirostris Brusina, 1902
Methods of growing sterlet
Practice shows that growing sterlet at home can be effective due to its ability to successfully adapt to the artificial environment. Depending on the volume of fish products expected to be received and how much money the business entrepreneur plans to invest in the business, you can choose the most suitable method of maintaining it:
- In a natural environment. If there is a small reservoir on the site, you can start breeding sterlet in the lake. It is cleaned, populated with insects and plants, and fry are released here in the spring. The depth of the reservoir should prevent freezing;
- In the ponds. To grow sterlet, you can dig one or several pools with an area of up to a hectare and a depth of 3–4 m. In this case, you need to take care of supplying them with clean water, purchase filters and aerators;
- In the cages. The technology of breeding sterlet in cages is used mainly in warm regions. To develop a farm, you need access to a river or lake: to get it, you will have to participate in auctions held by the local administration;
- In aquarium. The method of breeding sterlet in an aquarium can hardly be called industrial: it is rather intended to satisfy the interest of amateurs. Even in a container of 400–500 liters only 2–3 adult specimens will fit;
- In an artificial environment. The most expensive and most effective method is breeding sterlet in a RAS. An indoor farm can maintain optimal conditions for fish growth at any time of the year.
How to choose food?
Sterlet feeding is done at the bottom of the reservoir. This condition corresponds to how fish of this species feed in nature. Ready-made food for sturgeon is available for sale. If necessary, you can prepare it yourself.
Food for sterlet should consist of:
- protein;
- fat;
- lysine;
- phosphorus.
Sturgeon fry are characterized by uneven development. A fifth of the total grows faster than others, as a result they become stronger and take most of the food for themselves.
The following are suitable for feeding young fish of this species:
- Daphnia;
- insect larvae;
- small crustaceans;
- fry of fresh fish species.
When they grow up, you can add shells to their diet. Crustaceans are the main food of adult sterlet. You should not give your fish too much food as this may harm them. It is easier to regulate the dose when purchasing special food. The packaging indicates how much food is needed for a certain number of fish, depending on their age.
If the fish are kept in a pond outside, and there are no plans to move them in winter, then feeding stops with the onset of frost, and the pond is limed. During the hibernation period, the weight of the fish does not change. In the spring, feeding resumes.
Business Features
Sterlet feels comfortable in reservoirs of different climatic zones, but to achieve maximum development speed it needs clean, oxygenated water with a temperature of 20–22°C and constant access to high-calorie feed. It is difficult to maintain such conditions constantly when breeding sterlet in a pond, and therefore there is no alternative to RAS for industrial fish farming within a small business.
A closed water supply installation is a complex of artificial pools in which automation regulates the temperature and chemical composition of the water. This allows fish to be housed at a density ten times higher than in cages and natural reservoirs. Such equipment costs at least 400 thousand rubles, but its high price is one of the few disadvantages of the business. There are many more advantages here:
- The fish is not demanding on living conditions. Moreover, when grown at home, sterlet gains weight much faster than in nature;
- Mastering the technology of breeding sterlet will not be a problem even for a beginner - today there are many materials and manuals on this topic;
- Modern installations automate 90% of livestock care. Therefore, when breeding sterlet at home, daily work will take a maximum of 3–4 hours;
- Sturgeon are in great demand. There is sterlet or dishes made from it on the menu of every decent restaurant and on the counter of every fish store;
- The business is no less profitable than growing and breeding sturgeon at home. Sterlet products are only 10–15% cheaper;
- In Russia, no more than two dozen farms deal with sterlet on an industrial level. Therefore, an entrepreneur need not be afraid of competition and dumping.
Selection of equipment for fish
You can start a business with a regular plastic pool with a depth of at least one meter and a diameter of up to two meters. In such a pool you can get up to one ton of fish per year. As the business grows, additional tanks will be needed.
When choosing equipment at the initial stage, you need to study the market. Namely, what categories of adult fish are in demand among consumers:
- Up to three hundred grams is enough for a round pool, which were discussed earlier.
- Up to two kilograms - circle-shaped pools with a depth of one hundred and twenty centimeters and a diameter of up to two hundred and twenty centimeters.
You will also need sorting tanks to keep the fry and distribute the growing fish. These tanks are rectangular trays with a depth of fifty centimeters and dimensions of two hundred by fifty centimeters.
Where to breed sterlet?
A closed water supply installation is a fairly large structure weighing several tens of tons. Contrary to popular belief, it simply will not fit in an apartment, and therefore it is better for a beginner to study the prospects of breeding sterlet on a personal plot: for these purposes, you can adapt a garage, barn, basement or heated polycarbonate greenhouse. If we are talking about industrial-scale production, it is necessary to rent a separate spacious room - for example, to grow two tons of fish per cycle, an area of 250 m² is needed. Things to consider:
- To set up a farm you need a heated capital room. Otherwise, you will have to spend a lot of energy heating water in winter;
- There must be access to running water or a well on the property. In swimming pools, approximately 5% of the water will have to be replaced every day;
- You will need an electrical connection. Equipment for artificial breeding of sterlet consumes about 5 kW, water heaters - up to 20 kW;
- It is necessary to be able to daily drain several cubic meters of contaminated water from the pools into the sewerage system or sedimentation pond;
- Exhaust ventilation is required in the room. A large area of the water surface contributes to increased humidity and the appearance of mold;
- Keeping and breeding sterlet requires silence. The farm must not be located next to a railway, highway, industrial zone or other source of noise.
Diagnostic signs
The rostrum and caudal peduncle are semi-conical. The length and shape of the rostrum may vary. Typically, a pointed rostrum is characteristic of young individuals; as they grow older, it becomes blunter. Spiracles are present. The gill membranes are attached to the interbranchial space (isthmus). The mouth is transverse, the lower lip is interrupted in the middle. The antennae are fringed. There are 11-27 gill rakers. Dorsal fin rays (D) 32-54, anal fin rays (A) 16-34, dorsal scutes 11-18, lateral scutes 56-71, ventral scutes 10-20. Between the rows of bugs there are numerous bone plates. The color of the sterlet varies. The back is usually dark grayish-brown. The abdomen is yellowish-white. The bugs are dirty white and the fins are gray.
Albinos sterlet are common in ornamental fish farming.
Raising albino females is more profitable because they produce white eggs. Golden caviar is prepared from these eggs. The product is called “white pearls” and is highly prized ($1225 for 250 grams).
Albinos (chefs4passion.com)
More albinos (pets4homes.co.uk)
Equipment for breeding sterlet
When drawing up a business plan for breeding sterlet, it is necessary to develop a project and select a closed water supply installation that is suitable in terms of capacity. As the name suggests, the principle of operation of the RAS is based on the continuous circulation of water: it is gradually taken from the pools with fish, filtered from mechanical particles and microorganisms, disinfected, saturated with oxygen and returned to the tanks. Some of the dirty water is drained into the sewer, and instead of it, fresh water is added to the system from the water supply. The RAS consists of the following units:
- Reservoirs. To breed sterlet in pools, round polypropylene bowls with a diameter of 2.2–2.5 m and a height of 0.8–1.2 m are most often used;
- Pipelines. Clean water is supplied to the tanks and dirty water is removed through pipes made of neutral plastic or stainless steel. Each container has a valve;
- Circulation pumps. Ensure constant movement of water into the pools, and from them to filters and oxygen generators;
- Oxygenator. Designed to saturate water with oxygen. Sometimes supplemented with an ozonizer for disinfection;
- Set of sensors. Helps continuously check the temperature and acidity of water, its saturation with oxygen, mechanical impurities and salts;
- Compressor. Under pressure, it passes air saturated with the help of an oxygen generator through water, promoting the dissolution of oxygen;
- Filters. To purify water from mechanical impurities, drums are used, for disinfection - biological and ultraviolet;
- Heater. Allows you to regulate the water temperature, heating it if necessary in winter. As a rule, it is flow-through;
- Generator. Needed to maintain system operation during a power outage. If there is no water circulation, the fish will die in just an hour;
- Feeders. Screw or pendulum models are used. At set intervals, they automatically deliver a predetermined portion of food into the pool;
- Control system. In simple RAS it regulates only the basic parameters, but in large ones it allows you to fully automate the operation of the installation.
If you have some knowledge of electronics and hydraulic engineering, you can complete the installation yourself. It is better for a beginner to buy it assembled - today there is no shortage of offers on the market. In general, for a business such as sterlet breeding, you will need the following equipment:
Equipment for breeding sterlet
| Name | price, rub. | Quantity, pcs. | Amount, rub. |
| RAS | |||
| Fish tank | 22000 | 8 | 176000 |
| Fry tank | 22000 | 1 | 22000 |
| Reservoir for young animals | 22000 | 1 | 22000 |
| Pool pit | 18000 | 10 | 180000 |
| Automatic feeder | 14200 | 10 | 142000 |
| Compressor | 48000 | 1 | 48000 |
| Oxygenator | 126000 | 1 | 126000 |
| Ozonizer | 119600 | 1 | 119600 |
| Biological filter | 162000 | 1 | 162000 |
| Drum filter | 157500 | 1 | 157500 |
| Switchboard | 8000 | 1 | 8000 |
| RAS control system | 20000 | 1 | 20000 |
| Circulation pump | 14300 | 2 | 28600 |
| Fittings and pipelines | 50000 | – | 50000 |
| Water heater | 36400 | 1 | 36400 |
| Other equipment | |||
| Car with thermal booth | 395000 | 1 | 395000 |
| Electric generator | 72000 | 1 | 72000 |
| Ventilation system | 40000 | 1 | 40000 |
| Thermooximeter | 39500 | 1 | 39500 |
| LED lamp | 1200 | 10 | 12000 |
| Refrigerated cutting table | 72000 | 1 | 72000 |
| Fish box | 240 | 20 | 4800 |
| cooling chamber | 55600 | 1 | 55600 |
| Workwear | 1500 | 2 | 3000 |
| Tools, nets, buckets, scrapers | 10000 | – | 10000 |
| Total: | 2002000 | ||
Where to buy sterlet fry?
Independent rearing of breeding stock and subsequent incubation of eggs is a long and complex process. Therefore, even experienced entrepreneurs with serious fish farming practice prefer not to engage in reproduction, but to buy sterlet fry for breeding. Of course, they are not available in a regular pet store: you can find strong and healthy young animals only in large farms and fish factories. There are not many of them on the territory of Russia:
- Fishing farm "Osetrinskoye";
- Fish farm “Tsarskaya Fish”;
- Fish hatchery “Dukhovnitskoye”;
- Holy Mother of God Kazan Monastery;
- Scientific and experimental complex of aquaculture “BIOS”4;
- Konakovo sturgeon breeding plant.
When planning to buy sterlet for breeding, it is advisable to choose fry weighing 3–4 grams - they are less demanding on environmental conditions and can actively feed. To transport them, special packages or tank trucks are used, which on long routes are equipped with mobile aerators and oxygen cylinders. It is better to deliver fish at night or with containers cooled to 14–16°C.
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How to raise sterlet fry?
Immediately after delivery to the farm, the purchased fry are sorted, discarding injured and too lethargic individuals. They are placed separately under special supervision, and healthy young animals are immediately released into a prepared tank:
- Before transplanting the fry, the water in the pool is pre-aligned in temperature with the transport container to avoid thermal shock;
- Then the fish are moved to a permanent place, maintaining a stocking density of 2000–2500 fish per square meter of the bottom;
- The water level in the pool must be at least 0.6 m. Lighting lamps are turned on for 19 hours a day in the first week;
- The fry are not fed for two days. Then, every 3–4 hours, they begin to be given starter feed, crustaceans, brine shrimp, and daphnia;
- Adaptation to new conditions and food lasts 3–4 days. Next, the water temperature is gradually increased to 20–23°C, and daylight hours are reduced to 16 hours;
- In the morning and evening, the bottom and walls of the pool are cleaned of silt with a special scraper. Remains of food are removed after each feeding;
- When the fry reach 4–5 g in weight, they are sorted by size and seated to even out their growth rate and allow the smallest to feed normally;
- Fry weighing 6–7 g are gradually transferred to wet artificial mixtures and granulated feed of the smallest fraction.
During the process of growing sterlet in pools, the composition of the water is monitored daily, adhering to the recommended indicators:
Water parameters for sterlet
| Index | Norm, g/m³ | Limit, g/m³ |
| Oxygen | 10 | 4 |
| Carbon dioxide | 8 | 30 |
| Hydrogen sulfide | 0 | 0 |
| Ammonia | 0,01 | 0,1 |
| Ammonium nitrogen | 0,5 | 1,0 |
| Nitrites | 0,1 | 0,3 |
| Nitrates | 0,2 | 3,0 |
| Lead | 0,1 | 0,2 |
| Zinc | 0,01 | 0,03 |
| Copper | 0,01 | 0,03 |
| Nickel | 0,01 | 0,03 |
| Cadmium | 0,005 | 0,01 |
| Arsenic | 0,05 | 0,1 |
| Cobalt | 0,01 | 0,03 |
| Iron | 0,5 | 0,8 |
| Cyanide | 0,05 | 0,08 |
| Ammonium salts | 5,0 | 7,5 |
| Phenols | 0,001 | 0,002 |
| Phosphates | 0,2 | 2,0 |
| Organic matter | 2,0 | 5,0 |
| Suspended solids | 20 | 30 |
Habitat and biology
Sterlet is a potama freshwater species that is rarely found in large lakes. It inhabits the lower reaches and foothills of rivers, usually staying in the area of currents, deep in the river bed. Small individuals are often found in sandy shallow waters.
Potamal is a technical geographical term of limnology and hydrology, characterizing the lower section of a stream or river.
Potama type - in the lower sedimentation zone with a minimal slope, sandy-silty bottom and coastal thickets of aquatic plants. The usual dominants are fam. Lymnaeidae(63%) and subfamily. Chironominae (50%). Dominant indicators – class Hirudinea, family. Tubificidae, class. Bivalvia, families Ephemeridae, Dytiscidae and Tipulidae. Potamali exhibits the greatest diversity of food groups and feeding modes, including grazers and filter feeders; phyto-, detrito-, pelo- and zoophages predominate.
Spawning areas are located in river beds, at a depth of 7 to 15 meters, or in the area of spring river floods, on gravel and, less often, gravel-sand bottoms. Typically, sterlet is a permanent resident of the river and does not migrate long distances.
In nature, males reach sexual maturity at 3-6 years, 1-2 years earlier than females. Stable conditions of the recirculation system, with control of temperature, lighting, feeding regime, significantly accelerate the growth and maturation of fish (up to 2 years).
Environmental conditions: temperature – 6 – 29°C; dissolved oxygen concentration - 4.5 - 11.5 mg/l. Oxygen demands directly correlate with temperature.
Conditions for keeping sterlet
When using closed water supply systems, breeding sterlet at home for beginning entrepreneurs is unlikely to turn into a labor-intensive task: if you follow expert recommendations and maintain environmental parameters at an optimal level, the fish will calmly swim in the bottom layers of water and actively absorb food. You need to care for it as follows:
- Regardless of the time of year, the pools are set at a constant temperature of 20–22°C. A decrease to 18°C in winter and an increase to 24°C in summer is allowed;
- To replenish oxygen consumption, fresh water is continuously supplied to the pool in an amount of 2.5–3 volumes every hour;
- The acidity of the medium is maintained at pH7.2–7.5. You can increase it with hydrochloric acid, lower it with lime or caustic soda;
- If there are no windows in the room, the lights are turned on for 16 hours a day. Sufficient lighting intensity is within 1500–1800 lm per pool;
- At night the lights are turned off. Otherwise, the fry begin to swallow air bubbles from the nozzles, after which they swim belly up;
- In the pools, the water level is maintained at 0.6–0.8 m. Theoretically, sterlet can withstand a drop of up to 0.4 m, but at the same time it will lack oxygen;
- Every day, 5% of the water in the closed system is replaced with fresh water from the water supply, and the polluted water is drained into the sewer;
- When artificially reared, sterlet can maintain a stocking density of 55–65 kg/m² for fry and no more than 46–52 kg/m² for fish weighing over 20 g.
Growing sturgeon at home: videos and advice from professionals
An excellent alternative to traditional livestock farming is growing sturgeon at home. We will not advertise caviar, as this is a product that is a real storehouse of useful microelements, vitamins and minerals.
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Its growing cycle is quite long. This article will focus on the production of fish, which is also in good demand in restaurants and supermarkets.
Production involves obtaining environmentally friendly products such as sturgeon meat. This breed of fish includes many varieties, among which the most popular are: beluga, sterlet, stellate sturgeon, Siberian and Russian sturgeon.
Although these inhabitants of the underwater depths have differences in appearance, this does not in any way affect the process of growing sturgeon at home - for all varieties it is approximately similar.
Many skeptics will immediately begin to doubt and ask a lot of questions. We would like to immediately dispel all doubts and give a lot of arguments regarding engaging in this type of business.
- The demand for products is quite high, and this is possible thanks to the large number of food supermarkets, fish shops and prestigious restaurants.
- This type of business does not require large expenses, which at the initial stage becomes a clear advantage.
- Relatively low competition allows products to be sold at high prices, which increases business profits. Many have not even heard about growing sturgeon at home, and this promises great prospects.
- Every day you need to devote only 3-4 hours of your time to business, and you can do it in parallel with other things.
- Breeding sturgeon fish does not require special knowledge and skills, and all this can be found on the Internet on thematic forums on the Internet.
- Sturgeon lives well at home and is not a picky fish. He is practically not susceptible to diseases and problems can only arise when feeding him low-quality food.
- The business is highly profitable and pays off in 6-9 months.
These arguments are quite enough to start breeding sturgeon.
When opening any type of business, you need to take care of its legality. The best option would be to register as an individual entrepreneur or LLC, since in both cases it will be possible to pay a single tax. When registering, you will need to set the correct direction of activity according to OKVED.
Fish farming is best suited for these purposes, but it also has its own subtleties, so consultation with the tax office will never be superfluous. More details about how to choose the right OKVED can be found at the link - https://okvjed.ru/okved_razdel_b.html
There is nothing complicated in this type of business, but you need to know certain subtleties of this business. It is important to choose the right premises, equipment and food for fish.
Room for sturgeon
An area of 25-30 square meters is suitable for breeding fish of this breed. This can be either a private house or one large room in a city apartment.
The room must be heated. The water temperature in pools in winter should be no lower than 17 degrees Celsius, and in summer no higher than 24 degrees.
If it is difficult to find a suitable room, then you can equip a heated greenhouse made of polycarbonate and install all the necessary equipment in it.
Fish farming equipment
Specialized equipment equipped with everything necessary can be purchased from manufacturing companies. Prices vary and depend on the volume of containers.
On average, a beginning entrepreneur will have to spend 10-15 thousand dollars, and not everyone has such funds. You can go the other way and make or buy containers yourself. Sturgeon will feel good even in non-specialized pools.
The minimum container size should be 1.5-2 meters in diameter and 0.8-1 meter deep. If you do the math, you can get about a ton of sturgeon from such a pool in a season, which you’ll agree is quite a lot.
All fish are divided into categories during the growing process, and each of them has certain minimum requirements. They are as follows:
- Sturgeon up to 300 grams - diameter up to 1.5 meters, depth 0.6-0.8 meters.
- Sturgeon from 300 grams to 2 kg – depth from 0.8 to 1.2 meters, diameter from 1.5 to 2.2 meters.
- Malek are rectangular containers with a depth and width of 0.5 meters and a length of up to 2 meters.
If you have a country house with a pond, then in the warm season, grow sturgeon in it. To do this, you must first prepare the bottom and water - plant the plants and add the necessary mollusks and worms.
In winter, to prevent the fish from freezing, it is necessary to move them into plastic pools, and when the weather warms up, release them back into their natural habitat.
The condition of water in containers must be carefully monitored and the following equipment is used for this:
- Filters and pumps.
- A compressor equipped with pipelines for supplying air and water.
- Automatic feeders and nets.
You can buy sturgeon fry from specialized fish farms. In order not to make a mistake, you need to find out in detail about the place where you are going to buy the fry.
It is best to ask experienced entrepreneurs or study specialized forums on this issue. Purchasing fry is a very important stage that must be approached very seriously. The profitability of the business in the future may depend on this.
Since this fish is quite unpretentious to food, there are several options. You can purchase products from foreign or domestic manufacturers, or make them yourself.
Adults are fed 4 times a day, young animals - 6 times. A lot depends on the quality of the feed, and if the product is poor, the fish will gain weight very slowly. Sturgeon feeds from the bottom, so the particles of the mixture should sink to the bottom and not soak in the water for about 30 minutes.
The composition of high-quality feed of any modification should be as follows:
- Approximately 45-50 percent protein.
- About 25% crude fat.
- Fiber – 3-4 percent.
- Vitamins, minerals and trace elements necessary for fish.
This fish is easy to care for and does not require special conditions for breeding. But some nuances must be observed.
An important point when growing sturgeon is compliance with the diet. It is necessary to give food at the same time, otherwise the fish may refuse it!
The next thing that can lead to its death or slow growth is cold and polluted water. Its temperature should not fall below 17 degrees Celsius. It is necessary to purify and change water as it becomes contaminated.
This point is most interesting for an entrepreneur. How much can such a business bring in a year? It was noted above that from one pool installed in an apartment you can get about a ton of fish.
For such a quantity of sturgeon, it is necessary to purchase approximately 2000 pieces of fry, costing 0.2 dollars. To grow one ton of feed, it will be necessary to purchase $1,000.
Other expenses include payments for water and electricity if you do not have your own well. They will be about $500 for the entire cycle.
If you buy completely ready-made equipment, then a kit for breeding such a quantity of fish will cost $10,000. When making it yourself and purchasing individual elements (filters, feeders, compressors, nets, containers, etc.) you can invest 4-5 thousand dollars.
We calculate our investments and costs:
- Malek – $400.
- Feed – $1000.
- Water and electricity – $500.
- Swimming pool with equipment – $5,000 or $10,000.
That is, you will have to invest $7,000 in this business if you manufacture the equipment yourself and $12,000 if you buy a ready-made kit.
Sturgeon can be sold in restaurants and hypermarkets for an average of $8 per kilogram. That is, we get $8,000 per ton. It turns out that if you make the equipment yourself, then in one year you can recoup the investment and achieve a net profit of $1000.
In the case of purchasing a ready-made kit, after two years of work, the income above the investment will be $2,000. In the future, you can receive about $6,000 in net profit annually.
To summarize, we can say that growing sturgeon at home is a promising business with high profitability. So far there is very little competition in this industry, but in a year or two the situation may change. Good luck with your business!
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What to feed the sterlet?
When breeding sterlet at home, it is quite difficult to provide it with a natural diet - crustaceans, bottom invertebrates, insect larvae, eggs and fry of other fish. Therefore, on fish farms, granular combined mixtures are prepared for feeding livestock:
Food for sterlet
| Ingredient, g | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 |
| Fish flour | 20 | 35 | 32 |
| Meat and bone meal | – | – | 7 |
| Blood meal | 15 | 4 | 10 |
| Dry return | – | 5 | 5 |
| Feed yeast | – | – | 10 |
| Soybean meal | – | 15 | 9 |
| Sunflower meal | – | 6 | 8 |
| Broken wheat | – | 8 | 8 |
| Powdered milk | 20 | – | – |
| Krill paste | 7 | 14 | – |
| Vitamin complex | 2 | 1,5 | 1,5 |
| Fish fat | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| Soybean oil | 8 | – | – |
| Sodium chloride | – | 0,5 | 0,5 |
The process of producing compound feed is extremely responsible, since the finished product must correspond to the physiological characteristics of the sterlet:
- The sterlet's mouth is located in the lower part of its head, which does not allow it to catch food in the water column. Therefore, the granules must sink;
- Living in the twilight of the depths, the fish is guided by smell in search of food. If the food has no odor, the sterlet will not notice it;
- The structure of the sterlet's esophagus does not allow it to quickly swallow large portions of food. The food should be soaked in water, but not destroyed, for at least 20–30 minutes;
- Food should be high in calories so that the fish gains weight faster. It is advisable to focus on fats, since excess carbohydrates cause obesity in sterlet.
It is impossible to make high-quality food without special equipment, so in small farms it is replaced with factory products of domestic and foreign manufacture, selecting them according to the age of the fish. The fry are given food every four hours, and sterlets weighing from 20 g - every six hours, and they are fed strictly according to the schedule, since a delay of even half an hour causes anxiety and panic in the fish. When determining the daily norm, they are guided by the weight of the sterlet:
Daily value for sterlet
| Weight, g | Feed, % weight | Granules, mm | Weight, g | Feed, % weight | Granules, mm |
| 0,1–0,3 | 12,0–13,5 | 0,1 | 10,0 | 4,5–4,8 | 1,0 |
| 0,5 | 9,5–11,0 | 0,1 | 20,0 | 3,7–4,2 | 1,5 |
| 0,7 | 8,5–9,5 | 0,1 | 40,0 | 3,0–3,7 | 1,5 |
| 1,0 | 7,5–7,8 | 0,2 | 60,0 | 2,5–2,8 | 2,0 |
| 2,0 | 6,5–7,0 | 0,4 | 80,0 | 2,1–2,6 | 2,0 |
| 3,0 | 6,0–6,5 | 0,4 | 100,0 | 1,8–2,2 | 2,0 |
| 4,0 | 5,5–6,0 | 0,4 | 250,0 | 1,7–2,0 | 2,0 |
| 5,0 | 5,5–5,8 | 0,6 | 500,0 | 1,6–1,9 | 3,0 |
| 6,0 | 5,2–5,4 | 0,6 | 1000,0 | 1,3–1,7 | 4,0 |
| 8,0 | 4,8–5,2 | 0,8 | 1500,0 | 1,1–1,5 | 5,0 |
| 9,0 | 4,6–4,8 | 1,0 | 2000,0 | 0,8–1,0 | 6,0 |
What is the most important thing in the process of growing fish?
Selection of fry
In order for sterlet breeding as a business to be profitable and pay off as quickly as possible, the first thing that is important to do correctly is to choose good fry. That is, before you buy sterlet fry for breeding, you must make sure that:
- The weight of babies is not lower than 5-7 grams;
- They are mobile and respond well to their environment;
- They eat well.
Such babies, with the correct selection of food, as well as timely feeding, quickly gain weight and after six months they can weigh 200-300, and some even 450-500 grams. In this case, the fish should be sorted by placing larger individuals in a separate pool or in a net cage (this will make them easier to catch). Then the smaller ones will grow faster.
Intensive growth stops after about nine months. Therefore, such fish should be sold, or placed in separate containers (if you plan to grow sterlet for caviar), and the next batch of fry should be released into the pools.
As for the financial issue, when calculating the size of financial investments, you need to take into account that to purchase one sterlet fry, a businessman will have to spend about 1.80 rubles. For a pool with a diameter of 1 meter, approximately 110 fry will be required. It turns out that you don’t need that much money to buy.
Selection of feed additives
The second prerequisite for a successful business growing sterlet is the correct selection of feed. And there are several nuances here:
- Since sterlet likes to look for food at the bottom, you should take this point into account and buy food that sinks well and has a pleasant smell. Indeed, in most cases, fish look for it precisely by smell. In addition, the size of feed additives must correspond to the size of the fish. That is, for tiny fry - small pieces, for larger ones - a little more;
- The food should also not crumble, since the sterlet does not swallow it all, but eats it gradually, but at the same time, it should be soft;
- The food must have good taste, be high in calories and must contain protein, phosphorus, fiber, lysine and fat. This will guarantee that the fish will not only grow well, but will also not get sick. Actually, it is precisely for these reasons that experts advise not to save on food, but to buy food specifically marked for sterlet. Indeed, in this case you can be sure that it meets the needs of the growing fry.
Temperature
When planning the implementation of a business idea for breeding sterlet in pools or other artificial reservoirs, you should also know that in addition to high-quality feed, sterlet requires compliance with strict temperature conditions. The water temperature should always be at 20-24˚C. Otherwise, the fish will be lethargic and stop eating well, which, in turn, will affect its weight and height.
Sterlet diseases
Unfortunately, as a result of a farmer's mistake or oversight, the sterlet can get sick. Moreover, the danger exists not only when breeding sturgeon in cages. The cramped RAS tanks also contribute to the immediate spread of diseases, which is why it is possible to lose the entire livestock in a few days. Therefore, the sterlet needs to be examined every day in order to notice the presence of alarming symptoms in time:
- Ichthyophthyriosis. At the initial stage it is invisible, later the skin of the fish becomes covered with white tubercles, similar to semolina porridge. Mortality rate - up to 100%;
- Apiosomosis. The fish becomes covered with red spots and begins to itch against the walls. If the parasite penetrates the gills, the sterlet dies. Mortality - up to 50%;
- Trichodinosis. White mucous patches appear on the body, the gills turn pale and also become covered with mucus. The fish dies from suffocation;
- Polypodiasis. Sick fish are no different from healthy ones. But their eggs are twice as large and covered with dark spots. The parasite completely consumes their contents;
- Dilibotriosis. Fish infected with the parasite become lethargic and slow, their gills become covered with a layer of mucus and spots of necrosis. Mortality reaches 80%;
- Diplostomosis. The parasite mainly settles in the lens, causing it to become cloudy. Red dots remain where it penetrates the skin. Mortality - up to 80%;
- Contracecosis. The nematode lives in the stomach and intestines of the sterlet. Causes inflammation and degeneration of internal organs, as a result of which the fish does not grow;
- Piscicolosis. The leech attaches itself to the gills and oral mucosa, causing anemia and ulcers. Secondary infection by bacteria is dangerous;
- Ergasilesis. The crustaceans feed on gill tissue, causing inflammation and necrosis. Fish may die from lack of oxygen;
- Pseudotracheliastosis. The crustacean is attached to the back, sides or belly of the sterlet. A dark red ulcer forms around it. The fish does not die, but loses its appetite;
- Argulez. The crustacean also lives on the body. In the places where it is attached, mucus accumulates, hemorrhages and ulcers appear. The fish itches against the walls, worries;
- Adenovirus. The virus settles in the intestines of the fry, destroying the digestive organs. The fish becomes apathetic and loses its appetite. Mortality - up to 50%;
- Iridovirus. The virus affects the gills and oral cavity. The sterlet loses its appetite and sinks to the bottom, sometimes swimming with its tail down. Mortality reaches 90%;
- Herpes virus type 1. At first it does not appear outwardly, but later the fish loses its appetite, its stomach fills with serous fluid. Mortality rate - up to 97%;
- Herpes virus type 2. Manifests itself in the form of ulcers and erosions located near the mouth and head. Mucus accumulates in these places. Mortality rate - up to 100%;
- Bacterial septicemia. The fish loses its appetite and floats near the surface. Hemorrhagic spots are visible on the gills and body. Mortality - up to 70%;
- Saprolegniosis. The body of the fish is covered with a white cottony coating of fungus, causing complications in the form of inflammation of the skin and muscle tissue. Mortality rate is up to 50%.
How to sell sterlet?
As noted earlier, it is possible to obtain caviar from sterlet only after 6–8 years. Of course, to raise spawners for the future, you can set up a separate pool, but it is much more rational and faster to organize the sale of young fish weighing 500–600 grams: fish of this size are most in demand among buyers. You can sell it live, chilled or frozen, gutted or ungutted. There are several ways to find clients:
- The main buyers will be restaurants and cafes. Also, purchasing fresh sterlet is of interest to entrepreneurs implementing a business plan for sushi delivery;
- Frozen and chilled fish should be offered to supermarkets and retail chains. You can even install your own aquariums with live sterlet here;
- If you have the opportunity to rent a department or pavilion in a crowded place, you should think about how to open a fish store from scratch;
- Sometimes it’s easier to sell all the sterlet in bulk to some large reseller or negotiate with a distributor who supplies the goods to retail outlets;
- You can look for entrepreneurs in your city who are engaged in businesses such as smoking fish, producing canned food or semi-finished products;
- In a large city, you can turn to companies that run online grocery stores and deliver food to customers' homes;
- To attract wholesale buyers, it is useful to develop your own website. It is also useful when selling fry or breeding sterlet for caviar.
You can post offers on bulletin boards and special portals for selling seafood. Among the latest:
Finally, you can register on Government Procurement and other tender platforms in order to take part in the competitions and auctions held here. Video on the topic
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How to register a business?
Currently, sturgeon fishing is limited throughout Russia. When choosing what is profitable to trade in order to make income as quickly as possible, you need to take into account that in the absence of evidence of the legal origin of caviar and fish, the entrepreneur will face large fines, confiscation of goods and even criminal prosecution. Therefore, to breed sterlet in ponds or RAS, it is necessary to create an individual entrepreneur or peasant farm. The following OKVED codes correspond to this type of activity:
OKVED sterlet breeding
| 03.22 | Freshwater fish farming |
| 03.22.1 | Freshwater industrial fish farming in an artificial environment |
Since sterlet is a freshwater fish, its cultivation is classified by law as agriculture. This allows the entrepreneur to use the Unified Agricultural Tax as a tax regime, in which the rate is 6% of net profit.
To obtain permits, the farm must be inspected by sanitary and veterinary services. They will conduct a water analysis, check declarations for fry and food, request certificates for equipment, and then issue a certificate and register the fish farm.
Finally, to sell sterlet you will need veterinary certificate No. 2. To receive it, you need to register in the Mercury system and send several kilograms of the product for veterinary examination.
Compatibility
Cold-water fish are chosen as neighbors for sterlet:
- goldfish;
- koi carp;
- Corydoras catfish;
- Gambusia;
- Chukchan sailboat;
- inhabitants of local reservoirs - perch, crucian carp, rudd, etc.
Some aquarists manage to keep sterlet with tropical fish species, choosing a temperature that is comfortable for all inhabitants.
Small fish that the sterlet can swallow are not suitable as neighbors. Tropical fish will get sick at low temperatures, so they are also not suitable as neighbors.
An ancient predator and now a rare inhabitant of the rivers of the European part of Russia, listed in the Red Book. If kept properly, sterlet can stand out even against the backdrop of bright overseas exotics.
Business plan for breeding sterlet
When drawing up a business plan for a fish farm or thinking about how to open a fishing store from scratch, any aspiring entrepreneur will first of all want to know whether he can afford a new business. When growing sterlet, the cost of the entire project will depend on how many fish you plan to get in the end:
- Eight swimming pools with a diameter of 2.5 m have a total area of 39.25 m². With a stocking density of 50 kg/m², they can grow 2000 kg of fish - 4000 heads weighing 500 g each;
- Since a third of the young fish will die, to obtain 4,000 heads of adult fish, a business plan for breeding sterlet must include the purchase of 6,000 fry;
- Fish farms sell sterlet fry weighing 3 g for an average of 28–32 rubles each. For 6,000 fry you will have to pay 180,000 rubles;
- The fish reaches a marketable weight of 500 g on average per year. To feed her during this period, you need to purchase 600 g of ready-made food at a price of 90 rubles/kg.
Since the costs of purchasing equipment are already known, we can calculate the total amount of investment in sterlet breeding:
Investing in a fish farm
| Article | Amount, rub. |
| Registration of individual entrepreneur (peasant farm) | 800 |
| Opening a current account | 1800 |
| Registration of permits | 20000 |
| Room renovation | 250000 |
| Equipment | 2002000 |
| Purchasing fry | 180000 |
| Purchasing feed | 324000 |
| Household expenses | 20000 |
| Total: | 2798600 |
For the first six months, the sterlet fry will be kept in the juvenile pool. When they gain a weight of 20–30 g, they will have to be distributed into separate tanks. At the same time, the “kindergarten” will become vacant, which will allow a new group to move into it. Thus, every 6 months the farmer will be able to purchase additional fry and food for them:
Fish farm expenses
| Article | 1st year, rub. | From the 2nd year, rub. |
| Insurance premiums for individual entrepreneurs (peasant farms) | 40870 | 40870 |
| Banking services | 7200 | 7200 |
| Renting premises | 250000 | 250000 |
| Purchasing fry | 180000 | 360000 |
| Purchasing feed | 324000 | 648000 |
| Electricity | 138240 | 138240 |
| Water supply | 44000 | 44000 |
| Veterinary certificates | 8500 | 17000 |
| Bacteriological water analysis | 8000 | 16000 |
| Product Inspection | 16000 | 32000 |
| Consumables | 12000 | 12000 |
| Fare | 30000 | 30000 |
| Total: | 1058810 | 1595310 |
Investments and cost return
The amount of investment depends on the planned quantity of fish to be grown. In order to raise 1 thousand fry, you will need equipment worth 300 thousand rubles. Additional costs go to:
- purchase of fry - 25 thousand rubles;
- purchase of food – 35 thousand rubles;
- payment for electricity – 25 thousand rubles.
From the beginning of spring to the end of autumn, an ordinary fry grows up to 500 grams. When a fish of a given species reaches the specified weight, it can be sold. The average price for one fish is 300 rubles. The payback period is at least a year.
Profitability of sterlet breeding
In an artificial environment, sterlet does not waste energy searching for food and does not go to winter due to lower water temperatures, and therefore reaches commercial size on average 30–50% faster than in the wild. This allows you to obtain specimens weighing 500–600 g in a year. In another 6 months, the second batch of young animals will grow up, as a result of which breeding sterlet at home as a business in the second and subsequent years will begin to bring in twice as much revenue. If you sell live fish at a wholesale price of 800 rubles per kilogram, the farm will pay for itself in the third season:
Profitability of sterlet breeding
| Index | 1st year, rub. | From the 2nd year, rub. |
| Total revenue, rub. | 1600000 | 3200000 |
| Annual costs, rub. | 1058810 | 1595310 |
| Profit, rub. | 541190 | 1604690 |
| Unified agricultural tax, rub. | 32470 | 96280 |
| Net profit, rub. | 508720 | 1508410 |
| Profitability, % | 48,0 | 94,5 |
| Investments, rub. | 2798600 | |
| Payback period, years | 3 | |
Fish farming area
Arrangement of a reservoir for fish is the main condition for its breeding. Features of the implementation of this step depend on the period for which the fish is grown. Since sturgeon take 3 years to mature into adults, it is not possible to ensure breeding within one season. For this reason, the pond is arranged indoors, where the sterlet will feel comfortable during the cold season.
Pool, room
An indoor pond is created based on a swimming pool. To open it you will need a large room with an area of 30 square meters. If the pool is located in a separate building, it must be heated. To breed sterlet, a pool with the minimum dimensions is required:
- depth - 100 centimeters;
- length – 250 centimeters;
- width – 150 centimeters.
A pool of this size can be maintained independently. The average volume of fish that can be grown in such conditions during the year is at least one ton. The pool is stocked at the rate of 60 kilograms of live fish per square meter area. meter.
You can learn more about how to equip a pool for breeding sterlet in an apartment by watching this video:
Pond
In order to grow sterlet outside, you will need to landscape your own pond. The requirements for its arrangement are more serious than for an indoor pool. If you do not follow the instructions, the fish will not take root in the pond.
Initially, it is necessary to treat the bottom of the pond - it should be as smooth as possible. To do this, you need to eliminate holes and low places. If this is not done, the water will gradually become swampy.
The next step is to clean the area around the pond. There should be no bushes, branches or trees on the shore. Vegetation is removed along with the roots. The presence of a root system will lead to overgrowth and acidification of the reservoir, making it very difficult to fish.
In order for the pond to be independently fed by natural waters, it is necessary to clean nearby reservoirs and outlets to groundwater.
Among the types of ponds for breeding sterlet, drainage is best suited. The advantages of this option are:
- ease of fishing;
- no difficulties when processing the bottom;
- minimum level of oxidation and waterlogging.
If there are hollows or ravines in the local area, preference should be given to constructing a drainage pond. The water in such reservoirs is well heated by the sun's rays, and the bottom has abundant vegetation.
If you have a large amount of money and the desire to breed a large volume of fish of different species, you can improve the pond-reservoir. But its construction and maintenance, in addition to financial investments, will require a lot of effort.
