Key points:- Rare southern purple spotted gudegon was declared extinct in 1998- Several of the species were found in northern Victoria in 2019- Nearly 400 fingerlings were released into Bendigo wetlands, after breeding program numbers reach 3,000At least 400 rare southern purple spotted gudgeon, also affectionately known as the zombie fish, were released into the Riley Street Recreation Reserve wetland in Bendigo on Tuesday in a milestone event.The native fish were captive-bred from several individuals found at Reedy Lake near Kerang in Victoria's north in 2019.Back from the dead and into the waterThe southern purple spotted gudgeon was declared extinct in Victoria in 1998.Chris Lamin from the Middle Creek Aquaculture breeding facility first became involved in the breeding program two years ago, when she joined the team at Reedy Lake to capture mature fingerlings.But luckily, the Kerang population is the most genetically diverse of the zombie fish so that was in our favour."