Spotted handfish breeding programme

DesertRhino150

DesertRhino150

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
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.

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Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) | ZooChat


And a couple from @Najade from earlier in the year:

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Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) | ZooChat

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Spotted Handfish tank | ZooChat
 
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
 
Attractive fish, not like an usual fish. Are any handfish kept in aquariums outside Australia?
 
There has now been a successful spawning event of Spotted Handfish at Seahorse World in Tasmania and fertile eggs are currently being reared. The eggs are due to hatch in September. Once reared the fish will be released into the Derwent Estuary to support the small wild population of this critically endangered species - reported on their Fb page.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
There has now been a successful spawning event of Spotted Handfish at Seahorse World in Tasmania and fertile eggs are currently being reared. The eggs are due to hatch in September. Once reared the fish will be released into the Derwent Estuary to support the small wild population of this critically endangered species - reported on their Fb page.
Click to expand...

Good news, it seems like they are breeding easily in captivity. That bodes well for a good reintroduction program.
 
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