payara id?

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Compared to armatus, tats tend to have a more upturned head, a red (sometimes yellow) tail, and a black adipose fin. The body shape is different, but i still cant put my finger on how is different. I think it might be the body tapers sharply from the head to the tail. Where as the armatus has a more gradual slope. This is all just my opinions though. Maybe some ichthyologist will chime in:)
 
Armatus tend to have a dark tail with a white edge to it as well. Rather than one big difference there are a multitude of small differences. They are very similar and your not losing out by having a Tat. Your pocket is still a bit heavier for a start.
 
I think the only way to be good at IDing the differnce between an armatus and tat at a small size (less then 6") is to get an armatus yourself. Once you see them in person you can easily tell. Its funny though, when I look at pictures of my armatus it almost makes me want to second guess his ID. In person its a whole different story....kinda hard to explain I guess..
 
here are some good pics for reference. first pic from left to right, armatus redtail then scomb. second pic, armatus bottom and redtail on top.

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The head and jaw structure are different between the two but its hard to explain how and why.

On the other hand the adipose fin and caudal fin differ greatly. On an armatus the adipose fin is bright orange COMPARED to its caudal fin. Also the caudal fin of the armatus in most all cases will have a white edge to them, but be careful cause new growth on any species can have a whitish appearance.

This picture is of course of an armatus....
 
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