• Charles Sturt University scientists welcome the second consecutive successful breeding year for the critically endangered stocky galaxias
• It took several years of trial and error to manipulate the right mix of laboratory conditions to mimic the alpine conditions to produce a bumper season of larvae
• Globally, the fish only exist in two small sections of stream high in the NSW Snowy Mountains, so this is a significant milestone for the long-term survival of the species

Charles Sturt University scientists are excited by the success of their Threatened Species Breeding Program for the second consecutive year, producing a bountiful batch of the critically endangered stocky galaxias.

Director of the Charles Sturt Gulbali Research Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment Professor Lee Baumgartner said the Threatened Species Breeding team at the Gulbali Institute has done it again.

“The Institute is proud to announce the successful breeding of the critically endangered stocky galaxias in captivity for the second consecutive year,” he said.

“Last year marked a ground-breaking achievement with the world-first hatching of these delicate fish under controlled conditions.

“And now, the team’s hard work has paid off again, with almost 500 ‘babies’ happily swimming in our aquatic lab.”

The fish are only known to exist in two sections of stream, both approximately four kilometres long, in Kosciusko National Park.

“This required the team to build a special laboratory that can mimic the alpine conditions, and it took several years of trial and error to find the right mix of conditions to deliver the ‘bumper’ breeding year,” Professor Baumgartner said.

“What is even more remarkable is that is it estimated that there are only 3,000 fish remaining in the wild. This represents a significant milestone for the long-term survival of this species.”

Professor Baumgartner congratulated the Institute’s Dr Amina Price (pictured inset at top) and her extended team of collaborators for what he termed ‘this amazing achievement’.

“Dr Price and her colleagues are fantastic ambassadors for the protection of threatened fish species,” Professor Baumgartner said.

“Projects like this demonstrate that even small teams can make a big difference.

“The Gulbali Institute is not just about the scientific breakthroughs; we tackle challenges that also have real world impact.”

Dr Price said that this year’s success is incredibly exciting and very significant for the species.

“Breeding the fish isn’t an easy task and takes a lot of time and commitment from the team, including working over Christmas,” Dr Price said.

“So, it’s fantastic that all our hard work has paid off and that we’ve produced as many stocky galaxia ‘babies’ as we have this year.”

#Conservation  #Research  #StockyGalaxias  #EndangeredSpecies  #EnvironmentalScience