The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have recently started a captive-breeding programme for the spotted handfish, a species listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. An adult male (named Harley), an adult female (named Rose) and an unnamed juvenile are the first handfish to arrive for the breeding programme; already the adult pair have mated and Rose is gravid with eggs. In the near future, two ambassador populations of about ten fish will be created at Seahorse World in northern Tasmania and at Melbourne Aquarium. These ambassador populations will allow researchers to study their feeding and breeding habits as well as endear the public to their cause. More information is available here: CSIRO breeds spotted handfish to save species from extinction
@WhistlingKite24 has just uploaded a couple of photos of the handfish at Melbourne Aquarium, so I thought it was worth adding to this thread. Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) | ZooChat And a couple from @Najade from earlier in the year: Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) | ZooChat Spotted Handfish tank | ZooChat
Just saw that this video has been released about the progress of the spotted handfish captive breeding programme. Saving Australia's unusual 'walking' fish
The Spotted Handfish have now officially bred successfully for the first time at Sea Life Melbourne. This is the first time the breeding behaviour of this species has been tracked closely in human care from fertilisation to eggs and captive rearing of their young. The offspring hatched back in January 2022 but were carefully monitored over the past year and are now on display at the aquarium: Aquarium breeds endangered handfish
