cascudo-babão
Astroblepus chotae
Small armored catfish from rivers in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, up to 10 cm. It is of little interest to recreational angling and clings to rocks.
Also called: cascudo-babão, baboso, bagrecito
- maximum
- 10 cm
who is the cascudo-babão
The cascudo babão is a fish of the family Astroblepidae, the Andean climbing catfishes, relatives of the cascudos, reaching 10 cm. It lives in rivers and streams on the Pacific slope and in the Magdalena and Orinoco basins, near the bottom. Like other astroblepids, it clings to rocks with a suckered mouth. It spawns with eggs stuck one by one under large rocks. It has commercial fishing and 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 cascudo-babão; in the meantime, see the similar species.
fun facts
- Spawns with eggs stuck one by one under large rocks.
identification
Elongated fish with skin lacking thick bony plates and a suckered mouth for clinging to rocks. It can be confused with the cascudo capitán, from the same genus and from Colombia, but that one reaches 30 cm, while the cascudo babão stays at up to 10 cm.
Loading the next 7 days…
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
Rivers on the Pacific slope and in the Magdalena and Orinoco basins, in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Does not occur in Brazil.
Habitat: Current-swept rivers and streams, near the bottom, where the species clings to rocks.
rules for the cascudo-babão
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.
Small rock fish: if caught by mistake, release it without lifting it out of the water, with wet hands.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01047, b = 3.02; 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
—
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: Astroblepus chotae (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Astroblepus chotaeNames by country and language.
