Armored catfish up to 25 cm, very abundant in estuaries and lower-course rivers of the Guianas. It has commercial and aquarium use and is almost never caught on rod.
The acari-de-ventre-manchado belongs to the family Loricariidae, with an elongated body covered in bony plates, and reaches 25 cm. It lives in estuaries and lower-course rivers under tidal influence, where it prefers submerged logs and flooded vegetation. It is very abundant in estuaries. It mainly eats single-celled algae and, to a lesser extent, small invertebrates. It has commercial and aquarium use, but is hardly a target for sport fishing. It can breathe air with its stomach, which works as an accessory breathing organ.
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 wara wara; in the meantime, see the similar species.
fun facts
On muddy banks, it shares space with other fish that move with the tide.
how to recognize it
identification
Armored catfish with an elongated body covered in plates and a suckermouth. The species name points to spots on the belly, which helps tell it apart from the acari-bodó (Hypostomus plecostomus), which shares the Guianas region and grows to the same 25 cm size. It lives in estuaries and lower-course rivers, among submerged logs and flooded vegetation.
how wara wara fishing looks
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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.
Occurs in coastal drainages of the Guianas, from the Oiapoque River to the Suriname River, with records in Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname.
Habitat: Estuaries and lower-course river stretches, with submerged logs and flooded vegetation.
native to the basins
Amazon
coast
North Coastcoastal
what the law says
rules for the wara wara
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency. Conservation: Not on the Brazilian national list (Ministerial Ordinance GM/MMA No. 1.667/2026).
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
piracema closures in the basins where the species lives
Spawning closure (piracema) in Mato Grosso (all basins)
01/10 to 31/01MT
Allowed: All fishing modalities are prohibited in rivers, including catch and release (Law 9.096/2009, art. 19-A). Exceptions: subsistence fishing from shore (3 kg or 1 fish, no transport or sale) and scientific fishing. Law 13.159/2025 now allows licensed sport fishing in UHE/PCH hydropower reservoirs, natural lakes and border rivers, subject to a scientific study and a license from the environmental agency. We have not confirmed whether these licenses are already being issued.
Allowed: Recreational anglers with handline or rod, line and hook are outside the Annex II prohibitions, with a bag limit of 5 kg + 1 fish, unless a stricter state rule applies.
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.
Not dangerous. It has plates and spines on the body that can hurt your hand: hold it by the body, with wet hands.
calculator
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01585, b = 2.95; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa pelo gênero e formato do corpo)). 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.
