View Full Version : Guess the brackish water fish
redtailfool
09-22-2005, 11:17 PM
Time to represent the brackish water fish !
Let me start..
Im gonna make this easier.. Common names and Scientifics names are both allowed.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/cheater.jpg (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/cheater.jpg)
FlammingWoodChuck
09-23-2005, 12:30 AM
silver tipped shark or columbian shark(i forget which)
sandtiger
09-23-2005, 12:47 AM
Columbian shark (Arius seemani)
rweedon
09-23-2005, 12:53 AM
boy you guys it is a bala cat see the whiskers...(Arius jordani)... btw why do people call them sharks is it just because wal mart does? :ROFL: no seriously what would make it a shark???
Hexanematichthys seemani, the Tete sea catfish,
This fish has been listed unde at least six diffrent genus and not less than fifteen species names as well as over twenty common names.
So far I think all of us are right and flammingwoodchuck was first.
The listing I gave is the current "correct" one, at least this week.lol.
sandtiger
09-23-2005, 8:02 AM
boy you guys it is a bala cat see the whiskers...(Arius jordani)... btw why do people call them sharks is it just because wal mart does? :ROFL: no seriously what would make it a shark???
They are called sharks because...well...they look like sharks and the name attracts people's attention.
redtailfool
09-23-2005, 10:12 PM
Columbian shark (Arius seemani)
correct!
guppy
09-23-2005, 11:01 PM
According to fishbase this fish has had many names since 1864, here is a partial list and you did say common names were allowed so I think the woodchuck was first with columbian shark.
anyway this is a partial list of listing under which this fish has been filed.
Arius seemanni
A. assimilus
A. jordani
Ariopsis seemani
Galeichthy simonsi
G. eigenmanni
G. gilberti
G. jordani
G. seemanni
Hexanematichthys seemani
H. jordani
H. simonsi
Tachisurus seemani
T. eigenmanni
The name listed as currently valid is Hexanematichthys seemani (the Tete sea catfish)
sandtiger
09-23-2005, 11:16 PM
So who gets to post the next fish?
guppy
09-24-2005, 12:46 AM
Well flamminwoodchuck was first with a common name (actually 2) that have been used for that fish, but you had a Linneas classification that was once valid,
I think you should thumb wrestle for it but I guess it will have to be a race.
First to post a pic wins.
That was pretty weird.
It has been also sold as bagre, begre, bagre tete, bagre shark, grey shark, jordan sea cat, and silver shark, and that was just what I found before getting tired of chasing links.
sandtiger
09-24-2005, 2:20 AM
Wow...they need to pick a name and stay with it. For as long as i have been owning convict cichlids I have no idea how many times I have seen the name change for them.
I guess since I am here I will post a fish...have fun. This should be an easy one.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/sandtiger/nocheating.jpg
DeLgAdO
09-24-2005, 2:28 AM
flounder?
Hogchoker?(Trincetus maculates)?
sandtiger
09-24-2005, 9:54 AM
Yeees, I knew you would get it. Finding brackish fish for this is hard, at least for me. All well, I am just happy at least one person got it wrong.
Okay, here is one that is found wild in mainly brackish, often salt, and rarely full fresh water populations but most people keep in full salt tanks, I had no idea that it mainly breeds in brackish estuaries and mangrove swamps, I will accept any of the 58 scientific names that it has been listed under or any of the 25 common names, but I would prefer one of each.
sandtiger
09-24-2005, 8:23 PM
Antennarius striatus
Striated frogfish
Go sandtiger, I figured one easy one deservered another, I nearly hurt myself laughing when I checked for synonyms, man everybody tried to name this thing at one time or another. I liked a local name for it from the caribbean, the HAIRY BIGMOUTH.
Take a shot at the salt water fish after you post a pic.
Fish Room Plus
09-24-2005, 9:52 PM
here is an easy one
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v380/VINCENT3161/HPIMfish1.jpg
guppy
09-24-2005, 10:29 PM
Hiya fishroom yours is Anableps anableps, Largescaled foureyed fish, also listed as
A. elongatus, A.gronovii, A. lineatus, A. Surinamensis, and A. tetrophtalmus.
Sandtiger's turn.
sandtiger
09-25-2005, 1:00 AM
Oh man...here is another one, probably a very easy one but its all I could think of at the moment.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/sandtiger/img027.jpg
Mummichog or marsh killie (Fundulus heteroclitus heteroclitus)?
Fish Room Plus
09-25-2005, 10:43 AM
another easy one
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v380/VINCENT3161/HPIMMJACK.jpg
sandtiger
09-25-2005, 1:07 PM
Mummichog or marsh killie (Fundulus heteroclitus heteroclitus)?
Yes, you are correct.
FISH ROOM PLUS...your only supposed to post a picture if you get it right. But I am going to have to say yours is a...
Green chromide (Etroplus suratensis)
Your turn Guppy...make it a good one.
Fish Room Plus
09-25-2005, 1:21 PM
Sorry, me bad...but you ;) r wrong
guppy
09-26-2005, 11:59 AM
They like mangrove swamps.
another easy one
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v380/VINCENT3161/HPIMMJACK.jpg
Lutjanus argentimaculatus, aka mangrove jack or mangrove snapper. Also, sometimes sold, most egregiously, as "red datnoid" or "white datnoid."
I think you are right but the bares fade as they grow and I can't tell if their pectoral fins are red. If not how about Mexican barred snapper, (Hoplopagrus guentherii)?
Now Ichtyophile, how about a shot at the brackish guy I posted? It is found from the east coast of Africa, the north coast of Australia, on through the eastern Phillipines.
Now Ichtyophile, how about a shot at the brackish guy I posted? It is found from the east coast of Africa, the north coast of Australia, on through the eastern Phillipines.
You have me stumped. :( Maybe a member of the glassfish family (Ambassidae)?
Not in the ambassidae family, it is a common, widely used food fish, that is named after a small horse.
sandtiger
09-26-2005, 10:41 PM
Leiognathus equulus
Common ponyfish
guppy
09-26-2005, 11:36 PM
Go Sandtiger, I think they are cool. Your turn.
rweedon
09-26-2005, 11:48 PM
pls post i wanna play!
rweedon
09-27-2005, 12:25 AM
where is the fish? come on!!!
sandtiger
09-27-2005, 1:17 AM
Here you go...
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/sandtiger/Idthisfish.jpg
sandtiger
09-27-2005, 2:05 PM
HaHaHa, funny....no.
sandtiger
09-27-2005, 9:35 PM
Did I kill this thread? Knowone knows what this is? I Finally stumped guppy?
You should consider yourself lucky, its a very good picture. You can even count the spines on the dorsal and anal fins. Thats key in IDing many fish. In college I learned how to ID dead fish only. My prof. said color does not matter with fish identification. External features like fins, mouth, eyes, scales...thats how you gotta ID a fish. Take bluegill for example, most people look for the blue on the gills...its not there when dead. What is there is a dark spot on the soft dorsal.
redtailfool
09-27-2005, 10:01 PM
Did I kill this thread? Knowone knows what this is? I Finally stumped guppy?
You should consider yourself lucky, its a very good picture. You can even count the spines on the dorsal and anal fins. Thats key in IDing many fish. In college I learned how to ID dead fish only. My prof. said color does not matter with fish identification. External features like fins, mouth, eyes, scales...thats how you gotta ID a fish. Take bluegill for example, most people look for the blue on the gills...its not there when dead. What is there is a dark spot on the soft dorsal.
cool stumper sandtiger. ANY CLUES????
guppy
09-27-2005, 10:20 PM
I was just wondering if the soft dorsal was chewed up. I have had to let my niece have some computer time
rweedon
09-28-2005, 2:33 AM
looks to be some kind of squirrelfish is this open to saltwater too?
Okay it is of the gerreidae family, give me a few more minutes
Got it, saddleback silver-biddy from coastal brackish areas in Indo-Pacific, (Gerres limbatus),
sandtiger
09-28-2005, 8:05 AM
Nope, your wrong :)
sandtiger
09-28-2005, 8:09 AM
Here is a hint, mine is around South America.
Your's guppy, is found in the Indo-West Pacific.
Here is another picture.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/sandtiger/IDmeplease.jpg
It also might help to look at things like the spines and other normally over looked characteristics. :D
I can't see these pics well enough and the one pic I think matches yours won't let me enlarge it so now that I have made my excuses and stopped whining how about another mojarra? the Eucinostomus lefroyi?
sandtiger
09-29-2005, 9:55 PM
These were the only pictures I could find. Your still wrong though. Do you want a hint?
sandtiger
09-30-2005, 8:12 AM
Grows to about 7".
The second anal spine is the longest .
The inside of the gill cover is not black.
Well, I never got to take a taxonomy course and am self taught, I do not know if in your count you include rays as well as spines or if you include the little stubby anal spine that barely breaks the skin. No where did I find a mention of the color of any mojarra's gill covers. You do know that the only difference above the molecular scale on some of the sculpins is the # of gill arches or pharangeal teeth? I avoid using fish that rely on internal differences for ID.
The one clue that did help was size so I will guess BigEyed Mojarra (Eucinostomus havana)
I was not able to find even one picture other than a single line drawing, where did you find your pics?
sandtiger
09-30-2005, 7:47 PM
Jeeze, don't get upset about it. :) Here is the fish.
When I refer to second the anal spine I am talking about spines, the sharp ones. The second one in. On the picture abouve you can see them, they look whiter then the rays. Second one is longer.
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/silmojar/silmojar.htm
I actually find it hard to ID fish without knowing spine counts and other things you cannot see unless you are holding the fish. That works for me better then browsing fishbase looking for the same picture that was posted. :)
I am sorry I got frustrated but being miles from any living or preservered specimins I did not find a clue that involved an internal feature to be helpful. I did not post any of the mottled sculpins because they rely on counting gillrakers and the shape of gill arches to tell apart. The spine I am asking about might even be an artifact of photography and looks like (on some fish) a tiny spine just before the first long spine on both dorsals and anal fins.
If I find a listing in any of the data bases I check, like fish base that looks like the fish or if no picture matches a description I cross match it with other listings and if it is one that gives me problems I chase down their references. It is cheaper and quicker than flying to Veracruz but not as much fun.
This is the first time I have seen Mexfish and I just added it to my list. It is apparently a little outdated though because E. dowii is listed as an invalid synonym of E. argenteus, these are the only pics I found other than pics of them in a bucket or being held both hiding the spines, as you can see these pics don't let you count spines either.
sandtiger
10-01-2005, 1:18 AM
LOL....Shut up and post a fish. Sorry I put you threw so much turmoil :)
Post a pic please,
I'm still happy I figured out it was a mojarra, I have never seen one.
sandtiger
10-01-2005, 9:15 PM
You want me to post a pic? I was going to let you. Ok, here you go.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/sandtiger/ID%20that%20fish/cheating.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/sandtiger/ID%20that%20fish/cheater.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/sandtiger/ID%20that%20fish/hello.jpg
guppy
10-02-2005, 12:48 AM
I can't stay on the computer tonight so I will have to hunt tomorrow, Just because I get frustrated doesn't mean I don't want to play, if you posted fish I knew I would not learn anything.
sandtiger
10-02-2005, 12:57 AM
Thats true, I was trying to find a difficult one but I suppose that one was a bit hard. I think this one should be easyier. Its hard trying to find a fish that is not to hard but not to easy.
I can't search until tomorrow but it looks like a close relative of the violet goby.
Between the englongate body and that spearlike chin I should be able ot find this guy but I am not seeing anything close, I give up, what is it?
paintboi101
10-03-2005, 9:16 PM
thoses things look freaky
but they also are feeders to my turtle lol
sandtiger
10-03-2005, 9:45 PM
thoses things look freaky
but they also are feeders to my turtle lol
If they are feeders to your turtle then what are they? :D
Hiya Paintboi! Welcome to MFK! They look like some kind of shrimp goby to me but not one I have run across or can find a picture of. What is your guess?
guppy
10-03-2005, 10:09 PM
I have been blinding myself by my own expectations, not a goby but a dragonet, how about either simplespined or more likely arrow dragonet, (Callionymus sagitta or C. simplicicornis)?
guppy
10-03-2005, 10:17 PM
When I run a search on them I keep getting pics like this but I know the arrow dragonet is brackish
sandtiger
10-03-2005, 10:58 PM
Nope, not even the right genus.
guppy
10-03-2005, 11:30 PM
Okay, I can't find pictures of these but the only dragonets listed as brackish that are other genus are Eleutherochir operculis, And Synchhiropus altivelus and S. marmoratus.
sandtiger
10-03-2005, 11:50 PM
Need a hint? It is not a dragonet.
How about a sand darter, Family Kraemeriidae?
sandtiger
10-05-2005, 1:52 PM
It's on, but I wasen't. Yes, it is a sand darter.
Okay, I have only found pics of the cunicularia and a drawing of the samoensis, of the two I would say it is the samoan sand dart because of the chin. the other brackish choices that I can't find pictures of are bryani, galatheansis, radiocularis, merensis, and tongaensis.
this is the samoensis
sandtiger
10-06-2005, 4:38 PM
Nope, still not right. Want to know what it is?
sandtiger
10-06-2005, 9:21 PM
Well you actually mentioned it before but you did not say that was what it was. It is...
Kraemeria cunicularia
Transparent sand dart
guppy
10-06-2005, 10:57 PM
Oh dammit, Here is the pic I found before but I must have skipped the goggle on this one because I just found your pics. RATS. You can see why from this pic I thought it was not the one.
sandtiger
10-07-2005, 12:01 AM
LOL, yeah...I think all the pics I posted i found my putting the latin name into google. You can post one if you want...you were pretty close.
guppy
10-07-2005, 12:05 PM
Okay, I'll post a fish.
On the sand dart I looked at the pic I found and thought the crease under the jaw was where the jaw opened.
sandtiger
10-07-2005, 8:09 PM
Ohhh crap. One question, where is it from?
The entire Indo-pacific area as far south as Australia and as far north as Kuwait
sandtiger
10-08-2005, 12:26 AM
OK, time to start looking.
guppy
10-10-2005, 12:31 AM
The last part of it's common name is a four letter word.
sandtiger
10-10-2005, 1:20 AM
Cool, thanks for the hint. Still working on it.
sandtiger
10-11-2005, 8:03 PM
Where is it from?
The last part of it's common name is a four letter word.
Jack?
It is found as far west as Saudi Arabia and as far east and north as Korea,
it is in the same family as jacks and pompano, it is not a jack.
it is in the same family as jacks and pompano, it is not a jack.
There you have it folks: proof positive that I don't know jack! :(
guppy
10-13-2005, 11:53 AM
The key to this guy is that it is a brackish, commonly eaten fish with black markings on it's dorsals.
Okay, you took to long, that is a Blackfin Scad, (Alepes melanoptera),
how about trying this little (7-8") shoaling, shallow water predator that is often found in mangrove swamps.
blacktip
10-15-2005, 9:44 PM
Guppy, I don't know where you find these fish, but this one is the Humpbacked Mangrove Cardinalfish, Apogon hyalosoma. The dorsal fins gave it away as a cardinalfish, but the concave head, the caudal spot, and the black margin on the first dorsal fin were easy to spot. Okay, so really it was the mangrove swamp hint that allowed me to find this one on Google. (I searched for cardinalfish mangrove and this fish came right up)
guppy
10-15-2005, 10:13 PM
I mainly find them when looking for other fish, I like this one, it is like a mouth almighty but could be kept with scats or monos and jordani cats.
Your up.
blacktip
10-15-2005, 11:17 PM
Okay, this is probably too easy, but I don't all that many brackish water fish. This fish is known to spend time in fresh, brackish and salt water.
I think I have caught those on the Louisiana coast, about 1 1/2' long. I will have to look them up as the name escapes me at the moment, one of the croakers I think.
Ah, redfish or red drum, (Sciaenops ocellatus) apparently they get a lot bigger than the ones I was catching. The white chin and caudal spots give them away.
blacktip
10-16-2005, 4:40 PM
Like I said, too easy. Good job guppy.
It helped that I have caught them myself.
This one is more likely to be on your table than in your tank.
Nobody? This one was caught near Grenada and they are found all the way down to Agentina.
blacktip
10-18-2005, 4:39 PM
Is it the striped weakfish, Cynoscion guatucupa? I know it has to be one of the Cynoscion species.
guppy
10-18-2005, 10:11 PM
No stripes and it gets to 110cm. Genus name is same as common name. but yes it is a weakfish (Cynoscion)
Here is another pic, they are found from Puerto Rico to Argentina in brackish and inshore salt waters, and rarely in fresh water rivers near the coast.
blacktip
10-19-2005, 4:35 PM
It's an acoupa, Cynoscion acoupa.
That's the one :thumbsup:
blacktip
10-19-2005, 6:15 PM
Not a lot of action on this post, but here is the next fish. This one is mostly marine but also ventures into brackish water:
AngelicGreenTerror
10-19-2005, 6:21 PM
A marbled Pipefish?
I saw this one while posting a close relative in the "other fish" game a couple days ago, sea (or fifteen spined) stickleback, Spinocha spinocha. Here is the pic I had saved. It is also called a stichling.
blacktip
10-21-2005, 12:01 AM
No surprise here, guppy got it.
Try this one, take a second look before guessing, it shouldn't take long.
blacktip
10-21-2005, 2:25 AM
Too easy. Dactylopterus volitans (Flying Gurnard)
Told you it would not take long, :thumbsup: I was amazed to find out that this beauty gets 36" long. Your up!
blacktip
10-21-2005, 3:58 PM
We had one that was about 18" in a 4000 gallon display tank at an lfs that I used to work at.
Here's something that's not quite as big.
A rivulidea, brackish so odds are it is the Mangrove rivulas, distinguished by being a self fertilizing hermanphradite, was Rivulas marmoratus but is now listed as Kryptolebias marmoratus.
blacktip
10-21-2005, 7:11 PM
Can't get anything by you, guppy. Go ahead.
blacktip
10-22-2005, 12:39 AM
I'm gonna have to say that is Vespicula depressifrons, the "butterfly goby"
That is the one, I've been told they have a very painful sting if they fin you but I sure like the looks.
blacktip
10-23-2005, 1:52 AM
These guys are typically seen in saltwater but are known to spend time in brackish water when young:
blacktip
10-23-2005, 3:56 PM
I knew this one would not last long.
Fish Room Plus
10-23-2005, 7:53 PM
Isnt that a common needle nose gar
Isnt that a common needle nose gar
Looks like it to me -- Xenentodon cancila, commonly sold as "needlenose gar" even though it's a member of the needlefish family, Belonidae.
Nope :grinno: , this one is the same family, different genus, and a bit more than 8's longer. heheh, go fish.
Fish Room Plus
10-24-2005, 5:36 PM
8' LONGER???? :eek:
OOOps! typo, should say 8" longer. :WHOA:
Be careful with those units, guppy. You could end up with an 18-inch tall model of Stonehenge that is in danger of being trampled by dwarves. ;)
Yep, or what was supposed to be a 55g tank that is 4 feet log, 1 foot wide, and 21 feet tall. It would be a bit hard to clean.
The fish though lives a little closer to most of us than the cancilas do.
guppy
10-26-2005, 12:14 PM
You people who fish in southern Florida have seen this fish.
kentobizmol
10-30-2005, 8:06 PM
longnose gar?
florida garHAHA
guppy
10-31-2005, 12:30 AM
Look at it closely, it is almost identical to the "freshwatergar" Xenentodon cancila, just a bit bigger and lives in florida, those two clues point to one fish, the common needle fish of south eastern Florida, also called timacu (Strongylura timacu)
guppy
10-31-2005, 12:36 AM
Here is one that is freshwater and brackish when young but brackish and saltwater when older. the young ones are shorter through the body, it is often sought as a gamefish.
skinnychinaman
11-04-2005, 8:57 PM
yellowtail/ Hamachi lol
guppy
11-04-2005, 10:43 PM
Nope, here is a hint, reaches a meter, lives in marshes and streams as a youngin, then move to reefs and rocks offshore, Western Atlantic from New Jersey to Brazil.
That was the Horse Eye Jack,(Caranx latus)
This one is about 7" long and often shows up in tanks, it will tolerate FW, full SW, and brackish but in the wild is usually found in Brackish. Pretty and peaceful little guy.
blacktip
11-08-2005, 2:00 PM
looks like a terapon species, don't have time to look for the exact one. will be back later with a complete guess
No one? Blacktip has it pretty well narrowed down.
blacktip
11-11-2005, 11:10 PM
Since no one else cares to look this up, despite all of the help they have been given , here ya go. It's Terapon puta, the Small-scaled terapon.
guppy
11-11-2005, 11:48 PM
That is the one, this thread seems to have died, heheh. If you post a pic I will try to find the fish.