Project: 
Project A10 - Conservation of handfish and their habitat
Researcher email address: 
Tim.Lynch@csiro.au
Topic: 
Spawning handfish in captivity at CSIRO
Species of interest in the image: 
Spotted Handfish
Species scientific name: 
Brachionichthys hirsutus
Date: 
September, 2017
Location: 
CSIRO small temperate fish holding facility
Hub imagery ID: 
3104
Habitat: 
Soft sediments
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Caption: 
Mating and spawning of a pair of spotted hand fish in captivity
Media type to be uploaded: 
still image
Attribution: 
CSIRO/Tim Lynch
Credit: 
Tim Lynch
Contact email address: 
tim.lynch@csiro.au
Description: 
To conserve spotted handfish, a captive breeding program was commenced in 2017. Fish were collected from 8 different sites in the Derwent estuary and sent to two aquariums: Seahorse World at Beauty Point in Tasmania and SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium. Prior to being transported, all brood stock fish were settled and conditioned at a holding facility at CSIROs Hobart Marine Labs, which is located on the shores of the Derwent. One pair, "Harley" and "Rose", took this opportunity to breed. Rose then guarded the eggs for 10 weeks before around 100 eggs hatched into baby handfish. 15 of these babies were sent to Seahorse World while the rest were released back into the wild.