Uruguay 2014 - Just a taste

[dogofwar]

I'm going to be doing a presentation on my Uruguay trip in May but wanted to share a few pics from my most recent trip...

1) Holy monster livebearers - a jumbo female Jenynsia sp. from the type locality for the Genus (33)

2) Cool snails...too bad we can't take them back (67)

3) Dorado (Salminus brasiliensis) anyone? (80)

4) Now that's what I call a chanchito...Australoheros facetus from the type locality (Laguna del Diario...as found by Darwin) - a jumbo male (93)

5) Collecting in Uruguay is rough...NOT! View from where we ate lunch (Piriapolis, Uruguay) after collecting the above fish (106)

6) My favorite fish: Cichlasoma dimerus from Bella Union, Uruguay (143). I already have a bunch so we let this guy go after taking his picture... although the Canadians in the group brought back a bunch of juvies

7) Cory from Bella Union, Uruguay... I donated the group I brought back to the AquaMania Rare Fish Auction. Hopefully someone will get these high-finned, sparkly green guys established in the hobby (207)

8) Smile everybody! Dinner at Termal Dayman outside of Salto, Uruguay. Felipe (left) and Carlos the Driver (right) took great care of us! (229)

That's all for now

Matt

 

[cichlidaddicted]

Its obvious who the kid in the candy store is in that last pic! Someday I dream of going on a collecting trip. I wonder if people from around the world dream of coming to the northeast to collect fish?

Sent from my SCH-S960L using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[dogofwar]

Felipe collected in Alabama after he came here to speak at the ACA convention a couple of years ago. There's just far less diversity of fish here as there is in Uruguay.

Indeed - I can't wait to go back in a couple of years (for my 4th trip)...

Matt

Its obvious who the kid in the candy store is in that last pic! Someday I dream of going on a collecting trip. I wonder if people from around the world dream of coming to the northeast to collect fish?

Sent from my SCH-S960L using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[dogofwar]

A couple more...

1) Another nice chanchito from Laguna del Diario (101)

2) Our transportation for the trip (126)

3) Where Apistos come from (139)

4) Some kind of pleco (194)

Matt

 

[festaedan]

Awesome pics! How big was the dorado? looks like S.franciscanus. S.brasiliensis are allot more colorful and the body shape is slightly different.

 

[dogofwar]

I'm no expert on the taxonomy of them but Salminus franciscanus is only found in Brazil... and S. brasiliensis is what Felipe says they are.

They're actually quite variable in color...and found all over the place in Uruguay - from the big river (Rio Uruguay) to little ponds and lagoons.

The first few are pics of the ones we caught fishing in the Rio Uruguay (a few years ago)... and the last ones are also S. brasiliensis but from the other side of Uruguay (Laguna del Diario in Maldonado).

Matt

Awesome pics! How big was the dorado? looks like S.franciscanus. S.brasiliensis are allot more colorful and the body shape is slightly different.

 

[festaedan]

Oh, thanks. Im far from a dorado expert, I just see them allot on mfk and pfk and the "frankies" seem to have a slightly different head shape which looks like the first one but again Im no expert. Did you take any of the dorados home with you?

 

[dogofwar]

The discussion that I've seen on MFK is, uh, ill informed and based on conjecture. One can always find morphological differences among fish of one tries hard enough. Especially if one has motivation to find them.

There was a similar discussion on Uruguayan Hoplias (wolf fish) on which no one wanted to listen to Felipe, who's had more hand-on experience with these fish than probably anyone on earth.

I didn't bring any Dorado back. They're a 3+ foot predator that really has no place in a home aquarium.

Matt

Oh, thanks. Im far from a dorado expert, I just see them allot on mfk and pfk and the "frankies" seem to have a slightly different head shape which looks like the first one but again Im no expert. Did you take any of the dorados home with you?

 

[rich_one]

Nice pics, Matt! And that transportation looked pretty cool! LOL...

-Rich

 

[dogofwar]

Thanks Rich - my photography is pretty sad but I tried!

It was pretty comfortable. Carlos is an excellent driver (he's a licensed tour operator) and his van is new and spacious.

Matt

Nice pics, Matt! And that transportation looked pretty cool! LOL...

-Rich

 

[dogofwar]

A couple from Barry Heller (who is both a better photographer and has a better camera than me):

1) Cool dragonfly in Bella Union (3552)

2) Local amethyst and citrine (I think) for sale at a roadside stand (3491)

3) Pam caught a nice piranha (3573)

4) I'm the best seiner ever - Not! (3582)

Matt