# Poorly Nourished Caribe or Just Reds?



## primetime3wise (Sep 28, 2003)

These pics aren't the greatest, as the room my LFS keeps the piranhas in is quite dark. Just about the best i could do under the circumstances. Are these just reds? I'm leaning toward reds, but i guess caribe is a possibility, its hard to tell cuz they have reds at my LFS that are very distinct...without any dark blotches around the gills. Also, caribe tend to have more of a circular spot, as opposed to the darkness these fish have around the gills. anyway, good luck, lol, my LFS guy can't tell either.

again, i apologize for the quality of the pics.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

IMO they look like caribe because of the humeral spot but u never know


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

IMO it resembles P. cariba...







!


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## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

Reds, IMO... pic#2 looks kinda cariba


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## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

Cant tell for sure from pictures, but Im leaning towards natt. Eyes appear red, that is the give away, you would be able to tell better looking at them in person....


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

its natt

my reds have a dark bloth near there gills that also resemble a humeral spot .

and i also see red eyes


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## colt (Apr 16, 2006)

I'd say that fish is a common red belly, there is orange/red around the iris of the eye. Iam no expert but I have not seen a caribe with orange/red eyes.


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## primetime3wise (Sep 28, 2003)

thx for the replies


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I would say nattereri as well. The red/orangish eye...the humeral spot is not a prominent.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

Id say caribe...


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## a-ronn (Jun 12, 2006)

Its hard to say looks to have a larger mouth like a caribe but the bright reds eyes like a red. Overall id say it looks more like a caribe


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Certainly if there is a reddish tint on their eyes (i don't know if it is a pic thing) those are P. nattereri...







!


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

They are definitely 100% Pygocentrus nattereri. They just have humeral spots is all. I'm beginning to learn that it's not that uncommon for reds to have them.








~Taylor~


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## colt (Apr 16, 2006)

one of my reds has the faint humeral spot but nothing like the caribe...tho don't the caribes fade out abit as they get older?


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

colt said:


> one of my reds has the faint humeral spot but nothing like the caribe...tho don't the caribes fade out abit as they get older?


A cariba's humeral spot does sometimes fade when they get older and reach maturity. However, sometimes they do not.








~Taylor~


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## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

i'd say red. the humeral spot juss shows like in other serras unlike most caribes.


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

taylorhedrich said:


> one of my reds has the faint humeral spot but nothing like the caribe...tho don't the caribes fade out abit as they get older?


A cariba's humeral spot does sometimes fade when they get older and reach maturity. However, sometimes they do not.








~Taylor~
[/quote]










An old post from Frank (hastatus):

_"First, what is a humeral spot? Its a recognition symbol between species. Some are fixed (remain after death) others are not. Several factors are at work when it comes to the humeral spot, mostly water conditions and stress in the aquarium can make one appear or make it lose it."_

...and certanily Caribas humeral spot tend to fade when they get older...







!


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## colt (Apr 16, 2006)

I was just reading that article


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## Hagen (Jul 12, 2003)

the head is to big to be natt, and the eyes are to clear to be natt... id say cariba aswell...


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## Rigor_mortiZ_Rhom (Dec 21, 2003)

Wow, I totally dont know either way... tough call


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## ben2957 (Sep 17, 2005)

looks like a Red spotted alenquer. which is nothing more than a varient of a red belly. here is a pic of a red spotted alenquer below it looks very similar to a caribe but its not.


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## a-ronn (Jun 12, 2006)

Maby that what the p looks like when a red and a caribe get it on ?


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## dirtydirty (Aug 3, 2006)

wild red nat


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## odyssey (May 30, 2006)

it does resemble a natt although the jaw is quite big. could it be wild caught?


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

just ask your lfs if they are wild caught or not


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## a-ronn (Jun 12, 2006)

The big mouth and head look a caribe


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## Pygo-joe (Jan 29, 2005)

:nod: The heads say P.Caribe to me..


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## Malok (Mar 26, 2006)

just my thought but look at taylors avatar and colts avatar colts looks like a red with the dark spot and taylors looks like a caribe i would like to know about colts avatar is it caribe or red i say red just like the pic of the lps in this post.


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

there both caribes

colts and taylors


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## Malok (Mar 26, 2006)

then hey i think it could be a caribe


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## jeddy hao (Mar 1, 2005)

It's a red guys.. you can tell by looking at it. Caribe have more of a bulldog looking face. Reds have a more round type fact. The humeral spot on a caribe would not look like that as well.


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## colt (Apr 16, 2006)

Malok said:


> just my thought but look at taylors avatar and colts avatar colts looks like a red with the dark spot and taylors looks like a caribe i would like to know about colts avatar is it caribe or red i say red just like the pic of the lps in this post.


My guy is 100% caribe







and no doubt about what Taylor has either, a caribe







Iam still gonna stick with my first thought...the fish looks like a red too me.


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Red bellies. I had one like that with a nice humeral spot but it was a red.


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

reds. plus that fish has red eyes and caribe dont.

caribe have a really black spot this is just a faded mark. ive seen this on reds before many times.

this is a caribe, study the eyes and also the humeral spot and you should agree its a red belly. mood changess bring out humeral spots. my old rhom had humeral spots at times and other times nothing.
http://www.aquascapeonline.com/store/scrip...sp?idproduct=17


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