false yellowjacket cichlid
Parachromis motaguensis · Cichlidae · predator
Guapote from rivers and lakes of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, reaching 30 cm, feeding on fish and insects.
Also called: guapote-do-motagua, moro, pando, false yellowjacket cichlid
- maximum
- 30 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…
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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 false yellowjacket cichlid
who is the false yellowjacket cichlid
The Motagua guapote belongs to the family Cichlidae and reaches 30 cm. It occurs on the Atlantic slope of the Motagua basin, in Guatemala and Honduras, and also in rivers of the Pacific slope, from the Naranjo River in Guatemala to the Choluteca River in Honduras. It lives in lakes and rivers, and prefers stretches with moderate to strong current, in the lower and middle courses. It eats fish, aquatic insects and land insects. It is oviparous, and both sexes guard the substrate where the eggs and larvae are. It is caught commercially and also farmed in aquaculture.
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 false yellowjacket cichlid; in the meantime, see the similar species.
identification
Fish-eating guapote, up to 30 cm, from rivers with moderate to strong current. It resembles the yellowjacket cichlid (Parachromis friedrichsthalii), with which it can be confused. Location helps tell them apart: this species is known from the Motagua basin and Pacific rivers of Guatemala and Honduras, with records also in El Salvador.
where found
Atlantic slope of the Motagua basin, in Guatemala and Honduras, and rivers of the Pacific slope, from the Naranjo River in Guatemala to the Choluteca River in Honduras. There are also records in El Salvador.
Habitat: Lakes and rivers with moderate to strong current, in the lower and middle reaches, in fresh and brackish water.
rules for the false yellowjacket cichlid
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.
It poses no danger to anglers, but as a predator it can bite, and the fin spines can prick the hand. Hold it by the body, with a wet hand, and not by the mouth.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.02692, b = 3.03; 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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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: Parachromis motaguensis (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Parachromis motaguensisNames 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: