Pygocentrus nattereri
The red-bellied piranha of the Pantanal. Travels in schools, bites everything and cuts line. Guaranteed fun and a famous broth.
Also called: piranha-vermelha, piranha-caju, piranha-do-pantanal, piranha
The most common piranha in the Pantanal, with a red belly and throat. Lives in schools in bays, corixos and slack water, and eats fish, chunks of meat and scraps. Attacks on people are rare and almost always tied to extreme drought, blood, or fish scraps in the water. For anglers it is a fun fish: it bites fast, steals bait and cuts thin line. In MS the bag limit is 5 piranhas, separate from the native fish. Piranha broth is a Pantanal specialty. Always handle with pliers.
Tall, compressed body, silver-grey with a sparkle of tiny silver dots. Belly, throat and lower body red or orange. Projecting lower jaw, triangular razor-like teeth. Pacu has a small mouth with molar-like teeth and a dark body without strong red. The black piranha is Amazonian, dark, and red-eyed.
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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.
All of the Pantanal (bays, corixos, the Paraguay, Cuiabá, Miranda, Aquidauana and Taquari rivers) and the Amazon basin.
Habitat: Bays, corixos, slack water, vegetated banks and camalote; still or slow-moving water.
native to the basins
states
Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Amazonas, Pará
In the dry season (July to October) the bays shrink and the piranhas are concentrated and hungry.
Daytime, with peaks at dawn and dusk. Active by day, with peaks early and late in the afternoon.
The friagem (cold snap) reduces their appetite.
Little effect.
Little effect.
Little effect.
Falling water concentrates the schools in the bays.
Noise on the water can even attract them: slapping the bait on the surface works.
Little effect.
Shallow and mid-water, down to 3 m.
lures
natural baits
accessories
Use a wire leader and a long-shank hook. Strike on the first bite: the piranha strips the hook in seconds.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
In MS an angler may catch and carry 5 piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri and/or Serrasalmus marginatus), in addition to the native fish.
Source: Decreto estadual MS nº 15.375/2020, art. 4º, II (amends Decreto nº 15.166/2019) - Semadesc/Imasul
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
Never put your hand near the mouth. Hold it firmly behind the head with a cloth or boga, and remove the hook with pliers.
Piranha broth is a typical Pantanal dish. White, tasty meat, with bones.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.02138, b = 3.16; FishBase). 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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