New arrivals shock aquarists

Dozens of baby catfish have hatched at a local aquarium - surprising staff who didn't even realise the parent fish were in the family way.

More than 30 South American catfish have been unexpectedly born at Blue Reef in Rock-a-Nore Road after staff put a quartet of the bristle-nosed fish in a tropical freshwater display.

And, according to the attraction's Kate Buss, there are even more on the way.

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She said: "We only discovered quite how successful the breeding had been when we did a thorough investigation. The number of births is particularly pleasing as it shows the display is doing a great job of mimicking conditions in the wild.

"What made it more complicated was that this particular species of catfish is most active at night. However at feeding time you can often see the little babies eating."