Paddlefish are tough to keep and to maintain in small, closed systems used
by home aquarists.
We've kept small individuals (170-200 mm TL) successfully in a long
elliptical racetrack (approx 5 m on each side) with moderate rectilinear
flow (10 cm/s). This allows fish to swim continuously without bumping into
objects or corners, but it is not a practical system for home aquarists due
to its extreme length. Also, trout chows used by hatcheries are only
practical in open (flow-through) systems and with large numbers of fish.
Under other circumstances, such food sinks, is ignored by the paddlefish,
and quickly fouls the water. We fed frozen plankton, brine shrimp, etc..
It seems unlikely that paddlefish seen in Oriental pet shops are Chinese
paddlefish. That species is extremely rare and has not been successfully
cultured on a large scale. Dr. Steven Mims, an expert on aquaculture of
American paddlefish, has gone to China to advise local biologists on
cultivation techniques.
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