Tasmanian Smelt

Interesting Info

• The Tasmanian Smelt is a small, silvery fish that’s found only in Tasmania, making it an endemic species — it lives nowhere else in the world.
• They have a slender, almost see-through body with a faint silver stripe along the side, helping them blend into shimmering river waters and avoid predators.
• Tasmanian Smelt live in cool, clear rivers, streams, and lakes, often in fast-flowing water where they form large schools.
• Tasmanian Smelt feed on microscopic plankton, small crustaceans, and aquatic insects, playing an important role as a link between tiny invertebrates and larger predatory fish.
• They are a favourite food of native predators like trout galaxiids, and river blackfish, as well as introduced trout, which heavily prey on them.
• Because they are so sensitive, Tasmanian Smelt are often used by scientists as indicators of river health — if smelt populations decline, it can signal pollution or habitat problems.
• Adults usually grow just 6–8 cm (2.3–3 in) long, rarely more than 10 cm (4 in), making them one of Tasmania’s tiniest freshwater fish.
• They are spring and summer spawners, laying eggs in gravelly shallows. Once hatched, the tiny larvae drift downstream and grow rapidly to take advantage of abundant food.
• Estimates of lifespan are 2 to 3 years.