It is a freshwater fish, native to the fresh waters of South America, mainly the Amazonian rivers.
They live in the middle section of the great rivers and migrate to spawn streams and gravel bottoms. The populations form schools of fish and their bites are very painful. It is an omnivorous fish that also feeds on fruits, plants, algae and seeds.
When they are adults, they preferably feed on Podostemaceae (plants of the genus Lacis and less frequently of the genus Caladium). They have a highly developed sense of smell and are attracted to the smell of animal fat, such as that present in blood, urine, molluscs, insects, crustaceans or sweat.