Countdown to Uruguay!

dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
It's a relatively limited number of each kind of fish:

~a dozen each Gymnogeos, chanchitos/acaras/Apistos, pikes and catfish...a couple of dozen livebearers and characins and a few oddballs.

The other limiting factor is luggage space and weight. 50 pounds per bag fills up pretty quick. I've learned to bag with very little water (from the master, Ken Davis)...but a couple of larger (not even big) fish can take up 50 lbs...

Matt



Red Nose Rummy said:
Sounds like a great trip: fish collecting - exploring different areas of the country - meeting the people of the country and experiencing the wonderful diversity of our world.

Hope you have a great time!

Also, how many fish can you retain under your permit?
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dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I'll try to find some pics of the ones from previous trips.

Uruguay has Phalloceros, Cnestrodon, Jenynsia and other weird ones. A target species in J. onca, which is a really nice spotted fish.

I brought some back from Rio Yi one the first trip...even bred them (maybe I was first?) :rolleyes: They're rough little characters: females kills the males (they're much larger) and both eat the babies like popcorn!

Matt


zackcrack00 said:
If you get a chance could you take some pictures of the wild livebearers?! It would be so cool to see some!!!


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
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dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
All of these pics were taken at one spot - basically a little stream in the middle of a pasture - outside of the metropolis of Velazquez, Rocha, Uruguay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velázquez,_Uruguay).

In addition to the Jenynsia lineata (first two photos and big female in net...next to last), we caught an attractive variety of Phalloceros caudimaculatus (3rd, 5th, 6th) and some tiny Cnestrodon species (in net)...there were also Crenicichla, Gymnogeophagus rhabdotus, a pretty golden Otocinculus, some chanchitos and some tetras (which I donated to the Rare Fish Auction at last year's AquaMania) :)

Every location has a slightly different variety of livebearer. The Rio Yi Jenynsia are one of my favorites.

Matt
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Today's the day - flying out of National this evening... Isn't it awesome to be able to take Metro to the airport? I connect in Miami and arrive tomorrow at 11:30 AM Motevideo time...where I'm meeting a guy from NC who came down early and Felipe at the airport...

The fishroom's got a bunch of tanks and bins awaiting fish... I've been cycling filters for each for at least a couple of weeks and have air to them all. I'm pretty space-restricted, so I've got some pretty interesting places for quarantine bins. But it's temporary!

I'm all packed. The styros that Giant gets for their seafood department are perfect size for nesting in suitcases. I've got several (washed out) in the two (big) suitcases I'm bringing with the clothes, etc.

It's been raining in Uruguay lately so we might need to adjust our itinerary to avoid places that are too deep to collect. Oh well...new places and getting off-the-beaten-path is fine for me!

Now let's just see if I can manage to not forget something important :)

Matt
 
Localzoo

Localzoo

Board of Directors
Lol check twice fly once lol. Hope you got everything and have fun...the rain might make things interesting. Fish might be out and about looking for food. Or mating lol


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Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Watch out for kandaru and those monster wolf fish!

... and eat much barbequed meat!!!!

Bring back some cool fish and cool stories.

Take care, my friend.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Im here... arrived this AM and cleared customs, met up with Felipe and the others on the trip...and about to eat lunch. Flight was easy (slept most of the way).

There was been a bunch of rain here, so we´re changing our itinerary to Maldonado, Bella Unión, Salto, Ansina and Tacurarembo and maybe Rio Yio and then back to Salinas. Its gonna be a blast!

Matt
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Just got back from the beach, which is 2 blocks from Felipe´s house. The wáter is perfect temp and awesome for bodysurfing. Who says a fish trip has to be all about fish!

Dan sabe up your pennies and come down here. Its great to learn about other cultures, its safe and its too much fun!

The asado is on for dinner...

Matt

festaedan said:
Im so jealous. Sounds like a blast
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dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Just got back yesterday afternoon - safe and sound with two suitcases of fish, slightly higher cholesterol and an awesome farmer's tan!

There was some pretty serious rain the week before our trip, so we had to change our itinerary pretty significantly.

Here's the overview:
Friday evening: Departed Reagan National for Miami. Left Miami for Montevideo on red-eye flight.

Saturday: Arrived Montevideo (really nice airport) before noon. Felipe picked me and others up from the airport and drove 30 mins or so to his place in Salinas. Settled in, met other folks, reviewed new itinerary options, ate lunch, went to the beach and had dinner.

Sunday: Drove east up the coast to Maldonado (near Punta del Este). Collected in Laguna del Diario, which is where Darwin and his crew collected and is the type locality for Australoheros (chanchitos), Jenynsia (livebearer) and Cnestrodon (livebearer)...probably others. It's now a high end vacation house community. Because there had been a lot of rain, there was between 6" and 18" of water on the little gravel road near the Laguna. We literally collected in the road and driveway, while the folks vacationing there watched and talked to us: substrate-spawning Gymnogeos, lots of livebearers and tetras, chanchitos, etc. We drove back west on the beach road, did a little sight-seeing, stopped in a beach town called Piripapolis for lunch, checked out the beach and antique car show there and headed back to Felipes. We put the fish in one of his holding ponds, I headed to the beach for a walk/swim and had dinner.

Matt
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Monday: drove to Bella Union (~5 hrs) on the Rio Uruguay (big river) in the far northwest border of Uruguay (with Argentina and Brazil). Arrived in the afternoon, settled into our hotel, explored the town and ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant near the town square.

Tues: Had breakfast then collected multiple spots in Bella Union: Apistos, pirahna, acaras, balzanii, Cories, Pim cats and all sorts of other "tropical" fish not found elsewhere in Uruguay. Changed water on the fish we collected (at the hotel), took a nice shower and then explored the town, had dinner and skipped night fishing because of lightning storm.

Wed: Changed water on the fish, had breakfast at hotel and drove to Zanja Honda (about 20 km) to collect acaras, chanchitos, Gymnogeos, tetras, livebearers, Ancistrus, etc. Really nice stream under a bridge. Drove to Salto (about 2.5 hrs south) and stayed in Termal Dayman (little resort town outside of Salto). Changed water on the fish, took bath (Jacuzzi tub) and went to dinner at all-you-can-eat Parilla (think Fogo de Chao except real).

Thurs: Changed water on the fish, had breakfast and set off for Ansina (East). Stopped at several new places (for Felipe even) along the way. The second, Gajo, was excellent: Ancistrus, Cories, Hisonotus, unusual Gymnogeos, chanchitos, etc. Gorgeous drive through green, lush hills and ranches. Arrived at Ansina (Rio Tacuarembo) in the early evening. Collected Rio Tacurembo for a bit. Changed water, took a shower, got settled, had dinner and drank all night with the Uruguayan and Brazilian folks camping next to us.

Friday: Got up kind of late...collected the Rio Tacurembo: 4 kinds of Gymnogeos (rhabdotus, high dorsal, gymnogenys, tiriparae), several pikes (lepidota, minuanu, missioneira, others), cories, tetras, etc. Changed water and headed back to Salinas (5 hr drive). Arrived Friday evening, put the fish away and took a shower. Some folks went to Montevideo with Felipe, Helen and family for a birthday party (I stayed back and took care of the fish, got organized and got some sleep).

Saturday: Woke up, ran some errands with Felipe (got some grappa miel to bring home, got some wood for the lamb he was cooking for lunch, etc.) and started packing fish for transport back to the US. Left for the airport at 7:30 PM for an 11:00 PM flight to Miami...

Sunday: Arrived in Miami at 5:30 AM, went through customs, US Fish and Wildlife (no problems) and waited for my connection to DC. Arrived at Dulles and took Supershuttle back home.

I need to download the pics...

Matt
 
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