Paddle Fish (Polyodon spathula)
By Graham Quick
If you ever see this fish for sale DO NOT buy it. It will die!
Has been seen for sale but is very rare and extremely difficult to keep. It is a filter feeder and almost impossible to keep alive in clear water. It needs very specialised conditions and this is beyond most fish keepers.
From North America; can be found in almost all of the Mississippi drainge area.
Can grow to 2.3m and 80kg. Now farmed in many countries to produce caviar it grows very quickly and it is farmed in ponds with heavy zooplankton often with carp or catfish (polyculture; growing two species in a single pond but both used different parts of the water column. The paddle fish swim all the time and carp/cat fish live on the bottom.
I have often been tempted to buy these fish but the extreme condtions required caused common sense to kick in!
Picture supplied by Igor Maslyuk.
I am looking for more pictures to fill this page. Got any I can use? Please let me know