Bony fish · Characiformes · Characidae
Red Pirai
Pygocentrus nattereri
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
Weight
up to 3.9 kg
Size
up to 50 cm
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Social structure
School
Gathers in coordinated schools, typical of fish.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- alimentaciónFor all its reputation, it feeds mainly on injured fish, insects and plant matter, and attacks on large healthy animals are far rarer than the popular image suggests.
- The eggs are laid on submerged roots and the parents guard them without eating them.
- It shoals mainly as a defence against predators; it rarely hunts as a coordinated group.
- Breeding success varies greatly from year to year according to how the savannah has flooded.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)
- Habitat & environment
- Rivers, streams and connected lagoons of the Amazon, Paraguay-Paraná and Essequibo basins and the coastal rivers of north-eastern Brazil
- Sexual maturity
- At around 15 cm
- Gestation / incubation
- The eggs hatch in nine or ten days
- Litter / clutch size
- Between 4,000 and 5,000 eggs
Sources consulted: FishBase (Froese & Pauly, eds.); Lista Roja de la UICN (evaluación de 2020)
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 15 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Red Pirai — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Cachama
Colossoma macropomum
Cardinal Tetra
Paracheirodon axelrodi
Neon Tetra
Paracheirodon innesi
Silver Arawana
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum
Banded Leporinus
Leporinus fasciatus
Oscar
Astronotus ocellatus
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about red pirai.
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