Catoprion mento
Open-water piranha of the Amazon and Orinoco basins, with a very strong set of teeth. It has been seen eating scales from other fish and has little use in fishing.
Also called: catirina, pacu-piranha, piranha, palometa caribe, wimple piranha
Fish of the family Serrasalmidae, the piranhas and pacus, with a tall body flattened from side to side. It reaches 15 cm. It lives in open water of rivers in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo basins and the upper Paraguay, and is not a bottom fish. In Brazil it occurs in the Amazon and Paraguay basins. It has a very strong set of teeth and can give serious bites, so it needs careful handling. It has been observed eating scales from other fish. It has minor commercial use in fishing and the aquarium hobby.
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 wimple piranha; in the meantime, see the similar species.
Small piranha with a tall body flattened from side to side, reaching 15 cm, much smaller than the piranha-preta (black piranha), which lives in the same basins. The lower jaw projecting forward, the very strong teeth and the habit of eating scales from other fish help identify it. It lives in open water, away from the bottom.
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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.
Lives in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo basins and the upper Paraguay River, in countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela.
Habitat: Open water of rivers, away from the bottom, in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo basins and the upper Paraguay.
native to the basins
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.
Allowed: Subsistence fishing by riverside residents and authorized scientific fishing. Decree 15.166/2019 (art. 11, §5) allows catch and release only in February and only in the channels of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers. For the rest of the period, not even catch and release is allowed. Check the Imasul portaria for each season.
Source: Decreto estadual MS nº 15.166/2019, art. 11; IN IBAMA nº 201/2008
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: The same recreational-angler exceptions as in Portaria 48/2007 apply (handline or rod, 5 kg + 1 fish), unless a stricter state rule applies.
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 48/2007
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.
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 48/2007
Allowed: Subsistence fishing only.
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 48/2007
Allowed: See the exceptions in Portaria 48/2007 and the state rules for each bank.
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 48/2007
It has a very strong set of teeth and can cause serious bites: keep your hands away from its mouth and use pliers or a cloth to free the hook.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.0182, b = 3.12; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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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.
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