Serrasalmus brandtii
Small piranha endemic to the São Francisco, with cutting teeth. It lives in lagoons and reservoirs, eats fish and fin pieces, and steals bait.
Also called: pirambeba, piranha
Native only to the São Francisco basin, common in marginal lagoons and reservoirs, still-water habitats. Diet changes with size: in the Cajuru reservoir, in Minas Gerais, juveniles ate microcrustaceans and insect larvae, intermediate fish ate insects, fins, scales and pieces of fish flesh, and the largest mostly ate fish. FishBase records up to 29.1 cm and 978 g, and IUCN lists it as Least Concern (2018). It lives in schools and attacks opportunistically. For the angler, it is the bait thief of anyone fishing the bottom. The river's bigger piranha, Pygocentrus piraya, has its own card.
Small piranha with a disc-shaped, flattened, silvery body (hence 'white piranha' in English), pointed snout, projecting lower jaw and triangular cutting teeth, with a serrated keel on the belly. It is smaller and flatter than the São Francisco piranha (Pygocentrus piraya), which has a yellow-orange belly and a short, blunt snout. The pirambeba-do-pantanal (Serrasalmus marginatus) comes from other basins and has a wide dark border on the tail.
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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.
Endemic to the São Francisco basin. There are diet studies in reservoirs such as Cajuru (Pará River, MG) and in marginal lagoons of the São Francisco River.
Habitat: Marginal lagoons, eddies, bays and reservoirs, near vegetation and submerged timber.
native to the basins
states
Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe
Most active in the warm months, from September to March; at the height of cold it becomes slower.
Daytime. Feeds by day, with more attacks early and late in the afternoon (estimate based on the genus's piranhas).
Cold water makes the school sluggish.
Little effect.
Little effect.
Little effect.
Low water concentrates the schools in lagoons and bays.
Not very sensitive.
Little effect.
Mid-water and along the bank, 0.5 to 4 m.
natural baits
accessories
Long-shank hook and leader: the teeth cut nylon. It nibbles and tears the bait apart; set the hook fast.
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: Only exotic or hybrid species, 3 kg + 1 fish per day, with handline, rod, simple pole, or spinning or baitcasting reel. Nets prohibited. Keep the minimum distances from dams and reservoirs.
Source: Portarias IEF nº 154/2011 (São Francisco), 155/2011 (East) and 156/2011 (Grande/Paranaíba)
Allowed: Sport and guided fishing only in reservoirs, catch and release with barbless hooks (no keeping, transporting or eating). Subsistence: up to 5 kg per day, for household consumption only.
Allowed: Recreational fishing from a boat or from shore with handline, rod, spinning or baitcasting reel, up to 5 kg + 1 fish. Prohibited within 1,000 m of dams, waterfalls and rapids, and within 500 m of confluences. Floodplain lakes have a longer closed season (see next item).
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 50/2007
Allowed: No fishing in the floodplain lakes during the period.
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 50/2007
Long-nose pliers, and no hands near the mouth. Hold it with a damp cloth and release it quickly.
Fried or in broth, like other piranhas; the meat has many bones.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01778, b = 3.16; 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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The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
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