Difference between Cubera and Gray (Mangrove) snapper




    The most sure way to tell the difference, without going through the entire keying process, is the tooth patch. The vomerine tooth patch in the top of the mouth on a cubera does not have the extension a gray snapper does.


    Quote from Shei Daye

    Awhile back Bill Crawford turned in a beautiful fish to the IUSA for a record which looked like a giant mangrove at 29 pounds. In that case, it had the tooth patch of a mangrove, but it had the scale count of a cubera, and it had the lower teeth of a mangrove, but it had the upper fangs of a cubera. (By the way, the hook and line record for a mangrove is 17 pounds.) It was very weird, so in the end, the IUSA relied on tissue samples that were sent to a lab. It was determined that that particular fish was a hybrid. I guess in rare cases they can cross breed. The IGFA (for hook and line records) has also received a few hybrids over the years.


    Hell if i get a fish that big , damn they can call it what ever they want, cubera manngrove, is going to the ice box anyways :D. Pargo back at Puerto Rico. i have seen mangroves but they for some reason are not to big. I have not seen one bigger than 12 pounds, In the other hand Cuberas are very skittish and we have seen them over the 50-60 pounds. Is not hard for a spearo to mistake one from another.And if i'm not mistaken behavior from this species ar a little different. But those pictures you post are very educative thanks for sharing.

    Also Pargo older fisherman recognize thm by the shape on the tails, See the mangrove has like an arch in the tail, but the cubera is flat, your own pictures show the difference. And you can see the hybrid one had that angle that helps to to think is a mangrove. just my :twocents:

    I agree that the question of identification only arises with the smaller fish, lets say 17lb and under, and then it's really just for the hell of it. Still it's good to be armed with this knowledge. In my experience cuberas are more likely to be solitary and hiding in wrecks or some kind of cover. They also camouflage to almost white when over sand. I've never seen cuberas midwater in large schools like mangroves. Knowing which fish I got in the smaller sizes can give me an idea of what to expect from a particular spot in the future. Now that I have curiosity I will check the mouth patch on the mangrove I got a couple of days ago, when I thaw it out to cook. It was solitary.


    I recently saw a video of a guy spearfishing with scuba and in a small wreck there was a 100 pound cubera sharing his cover with 2 smaller blacks of about 60 pound. Cuberas can gather in a place in numbers, i have seen them toghether like that. Remember the picture i posted a while back i took the picture and you can see 4 of them. As long as it's not bother by humans they can gather. About them been in mid water. well that depend on the season. whne they gather to have little cuberitas:hump1:. they raise to mid water for that season. in Costa Rica or Belize they gather in schools of hundreds at a time. you dive and you have to poke them to get out of the way to get to the big ones:rolleyes1:. and the smaller can be a whopper 50 pounder, and the bigger in the 100+ range. So you can imagine what kind of show is that.

    Quote from pargo

    I guess part of identification is being familiar with the behavior of the fish in a particular location.


    That is true. I dont know how they behave in the floridas. but IMO in Puerto Rico, is hard to find them very passive. usually once they see you they turn the turbo on and go. You can surprise them in holes or in murky waters. I remember been fooled by 2 of them for like an hour or so couple of years back. There were 2 of them look like playing at the bottom around 80' on a clear day. everytime i went down they will move out of range. When i went back to the surface they will go to the same place, they did that for a while. it was really annoying been played like that:(. I cought a mutton there and they will come to shooting range once you got the gun unloaded. I guess that is why we said that they know how to write and read.:D

    I heard about that but never seen it. Here when cuberas take off they take off for good, unless you find their hiding spot. If they don't take off or do so slowly well you know how they end up. Mangroves on the other hand you can run into a few times over the course of the day on more or less the same spot.

    Here is a little taste of mating season. the big ball in the middle are big cuberas they gather in belize in numbers from 3,00 to 5,000. :0 The whale shark is eating all the sperm:D. All the cuberas are over 40-50 pounds:D. I call it PARADISE. I just want like 4 hours in that place:rolleyes1:



    Hope you guys stop drooling by now:laughing3:. Hope it looks good, I will try to find the video clip and post it.

    If any of you shoot a cubera in the 15-20 pound range and are unsure of its identification, please give me a call and I'll help you identify it. All I ask is for 24 hours with the fish. I promise a precise pinpoint of the snapper in question. I will carefully disect it myself and deskin the filets. I will then carfully debone it and cook it to perfection. Once digested, I will then be able to confirm its identification based on the hue of my excrement. Once this all has been confirmed, I will send you a prompt private message with the answer. It is 100% guarenteed. I like to contribute to this beautiful diving community this way.


    Standing by...:D

    Is funny i have never eaten cubera. I cought a very small one and gave it to my dad.


    Imagine going spearfishing one day and suddenly you run into one of this fish bowl of Cuberas rangind from 40+ up.:0. Que clase de despingue se forma:D. I wont go out of the water until my bands break or my fingers cramp so bad i cant fish no more.

    Quote from Rolo

    Once this all has been confirmed, I will send you a prompt private message with the answer. It is 100% guarenteed. I like to contribute to this beautiful diving community this way.


    Standing by...:D

    Damn Rolo, for an instant I thought you were going to send the excrement :grogan1: You've been known to "send" it before :laughing:

    Quote from pargo

    Damn Rolo, for an instant I thought you were going to send the excrement :grogan1: You've been known to "send" it before :laughing:


    That would give a whole new meaning to the term FedEx:0:D.


    Sorry to derail, very informative thread...I'm being serious now.

    Quote from Core

    The whale shark is eating all the sperm:D.



    Hope you guys stop drooling by now:laughing3:. Hope it looks good, I will try to find the video clip and post it.



    Just a second more of derail. From now on when someone is referred to/as a Whale Shark, Pez Dama, it is because of the above reason. " Traga Leche".......:laughing3:

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member to leave a comment.

Register a new account
Sign in now