All fish / Polyodontidae

American Paddlefish

Polyodon spathula

Also known as paddlefish, mississippi paddlefish, spoonbill, spoonbill cat, spoonbill sturgeon, duck-billed cat, ヘラチョウザメ, 匙吻鲟, 美国匙吻鲟, 鸭嘴鲟

American Paddlefish — Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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A primitive, scaleless fish with a long paddle-shaped snout covered in electroreceptors that it uses to find plankton. It is kept by public aquaria and in large ponds as a living fossil, and it is farmed for meat and caviar.

Care at a glance

Care level: Hard
Temperament: Peaceful
Adult size: 120 cm
Temperature: 10 to 24 °C
pH: 6.5 to 8
Smallest tank: 50000 litres
Keep as: Small group in a large pond
Diet: Carnivore: filter-feeds on zooplankton; in captivity takes live daphnia, brine shrimp and fine sinking pellets
Swims: Middle of the tank
Lifespan: 20 to 30 years
Water: Freshwater
Wild range: Mississippi River basin and Gulf Slope drainages, USA

Breeding

It spawns over gravel in fast, flooded rivers in spring and does not mature until it is 7 to 10 years old or more. Captive breeding relies on hormone-induced spawning at fish farms and is not possible in home setups.

Good to know

Adults can reach well over 1.5 m and need constant swimming room with no obstacles, so they are unsuitable for home aquariums. The species is listed on CITES Appendix II, and keeping or releasing it is restricted or banned in many places.