acará-amarelo
Caquetaia kraussii
Acará-amarelo from rivers and swamps of Colombia and Venezuela, up to 26 cm. It eats fish and bottom invertebrates and has little commercial fishing.
Also called: acará-amarelo, mojarra amarilla, mojarra
- maximum
- 26 cm
who is the acará-amarelo
The acará-amarelo is a freshwater cichlid reaching 26 cm standard length. It lives in the Atrato, Cauca and Magdalena river basins and in the Lake Maracaibo basin, in Colombia and Venezuela, and it was introduced to the Orinoco basin, in Venezuela. It prefers swamps and areas with many aquatic plants, but also occurs in rivers. It eats other fish and bottom invertebrates. It has little commercial fishing and appears in the aquarium trade, but rarely. It poses no danger to anglers.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the acará-amarelo; in the meantime, see the similar species.
identification
Short, deep body, with vertical dark bands and a black spot on the caudal peduncle, near the base of the tail, plus another in the middle of the body, just below the lateral line. The cichlids of the region look alike, so check the spots and the size, up to 26 cm. The blue acara, from the same country, has blue-green lines on the face and is much smaller.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
where found
Basins of the Atrato, Cauca and Magdalena rivers and of Lake Maracaibo, in Colombia and Venezuela. It was introduced to the Orinoco basin, in Venezuela, where it is exotic. Not recorded in Brazil.
Habitat: Swamps and areas with many aquatic plants, and also rivers, at temperatures between 26 and 31 °C.
rules for the acará-amarelo
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Medium-sized fish: hold it with a wet hand, remove the hook carefully and return it quickly.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.0309, b = 3.01; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Caquetaia kraussii (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Caquetaia kraussiiNames by country and language.
