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<p>Here are some Central American fishes. Some need identifying and some I'm just double checking my own ID's. Ive posted my thoughts on ID below.</p>
<p>There were also some cool little cichlids that we caught but I'm having trouble uploading the pictures. If I get it figured out I'll post them in this thread.</p>
<p>Thank you for any help you can give me.</p>
<p>Mangrove Snapper.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688571347/medium/1489779360/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" /></p>
<p>Some kind of livebearer, of which variety I know not.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122801972245/medium/1489779050/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" />Tetra of some sort.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688351580/medium/1489779132/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" />Another tetra.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122801975177/medium/1489779223/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" />Salvini Cichlid.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122801972209/medium/1489779047/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" />Checkered Puffer.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122801974962/medium/1489779208/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" />Tarpon. The mighty silver king.:)<img draggable="false" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688544420/medium/1489779240/enhance" />The next three fish are jacks, but it was really hard for me to tell what kind. I'm pretty sure that at least one, maybe more are Jack Crevalles but I wasn't sure how variable they are. The first one appears to be devoid of any markings to speak of, the second one has a faint spot on its operculum, and some black at the base of the dorsal. The third one has a strong opercular spot and some slightly darker coloring on the topside. Other species I considered were Bigeye Trevally and Horse-Eye Jack.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688552548/medium/1489779303/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" /></p>
<p><img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688551972/medium/1489779299/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" /></p>
<p><img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688557396/medium/1488253384/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" /></p>
<p>"Great" Barracuda.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688565118/medium/1488253432/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" />Some kind of snapper, perhaps Dog, perhaps not, I really don't know.<img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688566874/medium/1488253444/enhance" style="width: 959px; height: 720px;" />Schoolmaster.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="https://im1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/009087308687/media/122688573405/medium/1488253487/enhance" style="width: 960px; height: 720px;" /></p>
These are not my fish of expertise, but I wanted to comment that I am glad someone else understands how amazing those super cheap furry jigs from Wal-Mart can be! I've caught a lot of different species with them, and they were only like 10 cents apiece back home.
Yep, in an unfamiliar place with no bait, they get the nod. All of the saltwater stuff was caught on jigs.
Sorry about the glare, but this was the only one that wanted to upload. I considered Honduran Redpoint Cichlid for this one, but from what I understand, they tend to be pretty variable, and these weren't. Thoughts??
I'm pretty sure you're right man! Cool catch! What were you doing in El Salvador?! That's a pretty rough neighborhood sonny!
Wow just looked at the other stuff besides the Redpoint. Great job man, awesome catches.
Thanks a lot! That was a tough one for me. I also found your Costa Rica reports helpful and a valuable resource since most books and websites don't devote a lot of space to the identifying characteristics of small, obscure cichlids.
The livebearer, the first tetra, and the Redpoint were caught in El Salvador, but the remainder were caught in Belize. I was in Central America for two weeks, visiting missionaries.
Nice catches!
I think your ID's are pretty good. There's a checklist of Inland Fishes of El Salvador here http://www.prosanta.net/docs/ElSalvador.pdf. It doesn't list Honduran Redpoint so I suspect your fish is a Convict (Amatitlania nigrofasciata). The livebearder looks like some sort of Molly to me, the checklist show's a bunch of different ones, if I had to guess I'd go Poecilia sphenops. Both Tetras are Astyanax aeneus.
The fish you ID'd as Dog Snapper is a Dog Snapper. I think all of your Jacks are Crevalle.
Really nice variety of fish, well done!
Thanks for that comprehensive response, I really appreciate it! I did a little more research, and Convict Cichlid would seem to make more sense, partly because of the uniformity of these fish. There was very little variation in their appearance. As for the molly, there are a bewildering variety out there, but that gives me a start. The info on the Dog Snapper and Jacks was helpful.
Your link doesn't work for me. Not sure why, but I'd love to see the list.
Happy to help! Sorry about the link, try this http://www.prosanta.net/docs/ElSalvador.pdf
Thanks, this one's working.
I think that the first jack might be a horseeye Jack.
I wondered about that myself. If you look at the lifelist entries, it's almost identical to Bama_Lia's and Corey's. Also, the shape of the head and the lack of a dorsal spot seem indicative as well. Pat, is there something I'm overlooking? These aren't the fish I'm used to and I could easily be wrong.