orestias
Orestias cuvieri · Cyprinodontidae · forage fish
The largest carachi in Lake Titicaca, in Peru and Bolivia, up to 27 cm. Critically endangered, with reports of extinction: if it turns up in a net or on the line, release it immediately.
Also called: carachi-de-cuvier, boga
- maximum
- 27 cm
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
—
hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
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.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the orestias
who is the orestias
Cuvier's carachi is a freshwater killifish of the family Cyprinodontidae, reaching 27 cm. It is the largest of the Lake Titicaca carachis, in Peru and Bolivia, at high altitude. It eats plankton and small invertebrates in the littoral zone, near the bottom and in the midwater, and does not migrate. It is critically endangered, with reports of extinction, and competes for food and space with the introduced Basilichthys bonariensis. It has commercial fishing but is not a target of recreational angling.
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 orestias; in the meantime, see the similar species.
identification
Large carachi from Lake Titicaca, without pelvic fins, like the other members of the genus Orestias. Size is the best clue: it reaches 27 cm, while Agassiz's carachi, the yellow carachi and Tschudi's carachi reach 15, 17 and 20 cm. It lives in the littoral zone of the lake, where the other three also occur.
where found
Lake Titicaca and its basin, in Peru and Bolivia, in high-altitude freshwater.
Habitat: Littoral zone of Lake Titicaca, at high altitude, near the bottom and in the midwater.
rules for the orestias
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.
No danger to anglers. Because the species is critically endangered, release it right away with wet hands, and avoid lifting the fish out of the water.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00389, 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
—
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: Orestias cuvieri (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Orestias cuvieriNames by country and language.
similar species
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: