[1][2] It is native to the Amazon basin in tropical South America, but it formerly included populations in the Orinoco, which was described in 2019 as a separate species, P.

This has resulted in a great deal of confusion about the nature and needs of all the species involved, with the reputation and requirements of one frequently being wrongly attributed to the others.

[7] It mainly feeds on fruits, seeds, and nuts, but it is opportunistic and will also take zooplankton, insects, crustaceans and small fish, especially in the dry season.

[2] Juveniles have a distinct red chest and stomach, and are easily confused with the carnivorous red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri), but the two can be separated by their teeth, which are molar-like in Piaractus brachypomus.

[1] The Red-Bellied Pacu supports major fisheries and based on a review by IBAMA, it was the 12th most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon in 1998 (just after the tambaqui).