Breeding and Biology
The Macquarie perch is an upland native fish and has a breeding biology clearly adapted to flowing upland rivers and streams. (For this reason, the species has proven difficult to breed artificially, as captive females do not produce ripe eggs when kept in still broodponds or tanks). Macquarie perch breed in late spring at temperatures of 15 to 16 °C, in flowing water over unsilted cobble and gravel substrate. The demersal (sinking) eggs fall into the interstices (spaces) between the gravel and cobble, where they lodge and are then protected and incubated until hatching. This is a breeding strategy similar to that used by introduced species of trout.
Macquarie perch appear to have inherited the sexual dimorphism of other Macquaria species where females reach a larger maximum size than males. Females also reach sexual summat at older, larger sizes than males.
Maximum ages for Macquarie perch are not clear but it is possible they are similar to their relative the golden perch (maximum age 26 years). The extremely limited work done on ageing Macquarie perch has only recorded fish to around 11 years of age so far.
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