Salminus Franciscanus (Golden Dorado)

[kendragon]

Ken I know you mentioned one specimen behaves differently. Is that the only one or do others do too? Any noticeable difference in them turning gold, maybe some more than others?

Just one. The one in the last photo. He is the only one without a beak (over bite). I think his face color is a little different. Body shape is also a little different. You have to wait till next year for more photos of this oddball because I don't break promises.

 

[headbanger_jib]

My last update of the year. I promise.
I like to close the year by saying that this hobby can be challenging but it is this forum and the staff that make it great. It allows us to share both bad and good for all to learn from.
Towards the tail end of the year there was a definite change in positive spirit on MFK.
The two big things that I got out of this year is.....First, sharing is awesome but not all people approve of the "LIKE" button. Takes away from discussion. Participation is key but there is no place for made up BS. Let's share more personal experience or thoughts then....my Dad or my friend or internet vomit.
Second, I've used the search feature several times this year. Sometime there is no info or too much to sift through. Most important is data can be out of dated and not one size fits all as we all saw in the "washed my bio" thread. Good learning that. There might be something better today. So pardon the redundant questions.
Likes see what 2019 brings!

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Love them pearly whites, great closeups

 

[Chicxulub]

Don't forget Ken, dorados are sexually dimorphic. The head shape difference you're seeing could easily be an artifact of one being male. The key is in the anal fin, as seen below. Is there a correlation? The male should be the one to have better color, too.

 

[kendragon]

Very good point. That never crossed my mind. I will check the fins too.

 

[kendragon]

Upon further review, what do you think? Is the oddball Frankie?

My oddball with short upper snout.


From DB junkie thread


From C Chicxulub sticky

 

[richyrich]

Interesting, the pic you took of yours the top fish’s mouth looks overshot while the bottom fish looks undershot,
But then the both fish in your bottom pic look undershot.

 

[Chicxulub]

Scale counts don't lie

Evidently, as we gain new information on this topic, two things are making themselves clear:

1- The head thing is unreliable and needs to go, especially since some years ago someone had a round head fish who's scales indicated it was a Frankie. I should take that out of my sticky.

2- Farming activity in Brazil (perhaps unsurprisingly given their sportfishing industry) is a bit more extensive than we realized, rendering ID by locality to be unreliable.

Scale counts don't lie.

See the counts below:







Mind you now this doesn't take away from the possibility of regional variation or the obvious desirability fugupuff 's wild type Argentine dorados at all. I imagine the wild dorados will command a higher price than the farmed Brazilian ones and will be much nicer in appearance as well, akin to the situation with wild type vs common farmed silver arowanas. Undoubtedly there are few in the hobby as well as confirmed by scale counts in the past, bit it seems over the years that farmed Brazilian brasiliensis are beginning to overtake them in frequency of arrival in the hobby.

 

[richyrich]

So from a scale count does this suggest my old dorado was possibly brassi

 

[Chicxulub]

So from a scale count does this suggest my old dorado was possibly brassi

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For sure. Yours has the head, too.

 

[richyrich]

For sure. Yours has the head, too.

C Chicxulub Thanks for the info