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Uruguay Trip 2015

dogofwar

CCA Members
Headed back to Uruguay in early Dec for 9 days of vacation and fish collecting with a great group of folks from CA, NC and former CCA President and all-around-good-dude Tony Horos.

This will be my fourth trip and look forward to visiting some new places, re-visiting some of my favorite ones and hanging out with Felipe and his family.

It's the summer down there, so it will be - I hope - perfect beach and fishing weather!

Our trip will take us from Salinas (little beach town near Montevideo, where Felipe Cantera, our guide, lives) to Tacuarembo (Central) to Salto (West Central) to Bella Union (North West) to Artigas (North Central) back to Tacuarembo and Salinas (and lots of spots in between).

We'll collect everything from Apistos to Cory Cats to Gymnogeophagus to Ancistrus and other "plecos" to Livebearers to Pike cichlids to tetras to Chanchitos and Cichlasoma to Otos and Whiptails and all sorts of odd balls. There's really no good book for Uruguayan fish. Probably the best resource is Felipe's site: www.aqvaterra.com.

I have a bunch of tanks - including four brand new 29g's (thanks to the Petco $1/gallon sale and a 30% off coupon!) - ready for quarantine of the stuff I bring back. I think I'm prepared for the inevitable ich outbreak that accompanies most imports from Uruguay...but we'll see!

Not selling any fish from this trip - just bringing back stuff that I plan to keep (and hopefully breed)...and some nice geodes, amethyst and other cool rocks.

Tony's the camera man this trip, so you'll be spared my horrendous picture taking. We've brought a new catch cup, so maybe even some pictures of fish in water (not hands)...

There's usually Internet at most of the hotels where we stay along the way (and in most city centers, parks, etc.), so I'll keep you posted.

Matt
 

Localzoo

Board of Directors
I'm gonna need you to stop!
Your depressing everyone who will have to deal with our crazy cold weather......

Lol


More pics the better.
Seems like you guys have a good game plan. I might have a go pro I can lend but not exactly sure if the case is still waterproof. The thing took a tumble off an rc plane. My brother has one too so i can ask if he's willing to lend his.....that might help get better underwater pics for those who want to do a true biotope and more detail of the habitat


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
We'll catch all sorts of larger fish: pikes, Hoplias, Dorados, Pimelodella catfish, big plecos, Curimata, red tailed barracudas, knifefish, piranha.

Matt
 
What makes you return the forth time. Do you go to different places and experience something new in each trip.

I am interested in a Uruquay trip too, but my wife has no interest in fish collecting. She loves eco tour, bird watching and cultural tour though. What do your family do there or you just leave them home and go alone.
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
We have a couple of spots, if anyone wants to treat themselves to an early Christmas gift! I got an amazing deal on airfare with American Airlines points.

My wife and daughter (who was 3.5 at the time) joined us on the first trip. We spent a few days on our own in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay before joining the fish group. Last couple of trips have been since our twins were born, so no wife and kids...

Felipe lives on the beach in a suburb of Montevideo. We stayed in a separate cabana on the beach than the fish group (who shared a house next to Felipe's). My wife and daughter took a bus to La Paloma (another beach town, further east) and hung out there for a few days while we went up north to fish. It's a remarkably safe and hospitable place, which is one of the reasons I enjoy going so much!

Fourth trip seems like a lot but I feel like I'm still just scratching the surface. In a nutshell, Uruguay's got a ton to offer if you're into nature, history, beaches, nice weather (it's summer when it's winter here), of course fish and just a fun, chill vibe. Felipe is the best guide there is and takes great care of everything.

Definitely going to Peru (both Iquitos/Amazon and Machu Pichu) in this lifetime (among other places) :)

Matt
 
Just booked a trip to Panama with family in spring for eco tours of the rainforest, and hope to observe some cichlid I am keeping. I have 3 species of cyrptoheros: panamensis, sajica and nanonuteus, and the first one is for sure from Panama.

Visited Peru 5 years ago for Machu Pichu, Andes and Lake Titicaca. Machu Pichu is picture perfect from every angle. The lake has killi fish and large loose skin frog that live in cold water.
 

spazmattik

Members
Just booked a trip to Panama with family in spring for eco tours of the rainforest, and hope to observe some cichlid I am keeping. I have 3 species of cyrptoheros: panamensis, sajica and nanonuteus, and the first one is for sure from Panama.

Visited Peru 5 years ago for Machu Pichu, Andes and Lake Titicaca. Machu Pichu is picture perfect from every angle. The lake has killi fish and large loose skin frog that live in cold water.

Thats awesome. There are some great cichlids in panama!
 

lkelly

Members
I would really love to go on one of these trips. Matt, what is a ballpark cost just so I can start saving now plus do the calculations on which kid I would need to sell.
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
Uruguay with Felipe is ~$1,600 - $2,000 all inclusive other than airfare for 1 - 2 weeks.

Felipe covers everything from when you show up to when you leave (other than beer) - van and driver, gas, Uruguayan permits, tolls, hotels, meals, oxygen to bag your fish...even dropping you to and from the airport.

It's on the lower end if you can get several folks to go at the same time and do a lower mileage trip (gas in quite expensive there).

Airfare, of course, varies. I've paid as much as $1,000 and as little as $580. And gone twice for "free" with points (American Airlines).

It's really easy to spend that on a domestic vacation... which is why I go every couple of years :)

Save you pennies and put in for time off because we'll most likely have a trip for 2 years from now!

Matt
 
Your first post says all different kind of fish including live bearers. I thought live bearers are native to CA only. I am not aware of any live bearers in the Amazon basin, so they must have jumped over the habitat to Uruguayan or introduced.

Including Uruguayan permits, what about permit to bring fish back to US. How long can the fish stay alive in oxygenated bags.
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
Not sure how they got there (anyone?) but there are a couple of Genera of livebearers in Uruguay. Cnestrodon, Jenynsia and Phalloceros come to mind. Definitely not introduced.

Actually, the type locality for Cnestrodon and Jenynsia (and Australoheros) is a pond near Maldonado, Uruguay (that we visited last trip):

The famous English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) collected five species of freshwater fish in 1833 at the locality of Maldonado, Uruguay, between April and July of that year. Four of them: Australoheros facetus, Cnesterodon decenmaculatus, Jenynsia lineata and Cheirodon interruptus (described by Jenyns, 1842) were new for science. Until today, the locality type of these species was ambiguous with its precise location. In the present work it was determined that the lagoon Laguna del Diario (34 54 S, 55 00 W), in Maldonado, Uruguay, corresponds to the exact terra typica of these species.

http://www.pecescriollos.de/es/darwin-uruguay

You also need a US FWS Import Export permit to bring fish back to the US ($100) but it's good for the whole year! With proper bagging (less water, more "air", fasted for a few days, one per bag) and oxygen, fish can live a long time in a bag. I seldom lose more than one or two in transit (and usually from a popped bag in transit or aggression or who-knows-what)...

Matt

Your first post says all different kind of fish including live bearers. I thought live bearers are native to CA only. I am not aware of any live bearers in the Amazon basin, so they must have jumped over the habitat to Uruguayan or introduced.

Including Uruguayan permits, what about permit to bring fish back to US. How long can the fish stay alive in oxygenated bags.
 
I though Darwin only collected insect, bird, reptile and small mammal species, and never know that he also collected fish. If live bearers were collected by Darwin in 1800s, they must be indigenous in Uruguay . May be I am just ignorant that live bearers have much broader natural distribution.
 
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