Zombie fish reborn in aquarium breeding program

By Geoff Adams

Aug 12, 2022

Sam Fawke from Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium with the aquarium holding the rare southern purple-spotted gudgeon.

A rare native fish, thought to be extinct but discovered near Kerang, will become part of a breeding program developed by a Melbourne aquarium.

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Visitors to Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium will be able to see the southern purple-spotted gudgeon, which was thought to be extinct until 2019 when two were found near Kerang.

Since then the North Central Catchment Management Authority has been determined to restore a thriving population of the ‘zombie fish’ (so called because they have come ‘back from the dead’) by establishing a breeding program in partnership with Sea Life.

The display will also educate visitors about the importance of wetland conservation.

Sea Life curatorial supervisor Sam Fawke said they currently had a population of sub-juvenile fish and were aiming for them to have their first fry (offspring) within six to 12 months.

The rare southern purple-spotted gudgeon, which were rediscovered near Kerang. They have been dubbed ‘zombie fish’ as they were originally thought to be extinct and hence have come ‘back from the dead’. Photo by Douglas Gimesy

“Once they are around 2-3cm long, the next step will be to re-home the new generation into pest-free ‘surrogate’ sites to further establish the population before hopefully reintroducing them in native wetlands around northern Victoria,” Mr Fawke said.

It is the first time Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium has bred native fish on-site with the aim of releasing them into the wild, and the first partnership with North Central CMA.

“We hope to be involved in more programs like this in the future to help conserve marine and freshwater species, particularly those that are endemic to Victoria,” Mr Fawke said.

North Central CMA project manager Peter Rose said they were excited to be involved in the breeding program.

“It’s a terrific opportunity to raise the profile of the southern purple-spotted gudgeon and will also give visitors to the aquarium a glimpse into the work we do to protect and enhance the environment across 13 per cent of Victoria,” Mr Rose said.

It is thought the population of the fish declined in Victoria as a result of increased river regulation, habitat destruction and the introduction of pest species.

Mr Fawke said they were dedicated to local conservation projects and when the freshwater aquarists saw that the southern purple-spotted gudgeon had been rediscovered locally “we couldn’t help but jump on board”.

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is developing signage in collaboration with North Central CMA which will show the northern Victorian region, and they are working on a display screen that will show aerial views of the wetlands to add to the education value.

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, Sea Life Trust and North Central CMA have invested more than $75,000 in the space to not only develop it for the southern purple-spotted gudgeon, but as a long-term space for Sea Life Melbourne to continue to breed, rescue and protect species that require help or support.

Mr Fawke said they were already seeing breeding behaviours and were hoping to have the first fry in the next six months, with plans to release in alignment with North Central CMA’s guidance.

After the rediscovery of the fish in Victoria in 2019, the Southern Purple-Spotted Gudgeon Advisory Group was set up, with representatives and experts from DELWP, North Central CMA, Arthur Rylah Institute, Connections, Goulburn-Murray Water, Parks Victoria, Victorian Environmental Water Holder and environmental services company Austral Research and Consulting.

Visitors to Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium can see the southern purple-spotted gudgeon up close and learn about the breeding program in the newly created Wetlands Recovery Nursery on Level 1.

The aquarium is open seven days a week, with tickets and further information available at: www.visitsealife.com/melbourne