Return to Costa Rica 2026 - part 2

Río Celeste, Alajuela, Costa Rica

On our second day we left Guanacaste and headed northeast through Alajuela Province. Our destination was Caño Negro, but along the way we stopped at the Río Celeste to try for tuba cichlid and the local rivulus species. The water of this river is a vivid blue due to the combination of naturally occurring minerals and the water's acidity.

We started off fishing for micros but were only able to find toothcarps that we had already caught. The cichlids took longer to find. Ally was the first to catch hers. She saw several individuals following her bait from behind a large boulder close to shore and sight fished one of them. I tried her tactics with no success, so I switched to drifting a bait down the center of the river. I was ecstatic when I finally got a bite and reeled in a colorful adult!

Orange Finned Toothcarp (Priapichthys annectens)


Tuba Cichlid (Tomocichla tuba) - new hook & line species #1072

Municipal Dock, Caño Negro, Alajuela, Costa Rica

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Midas Cichlid (Amphilophus citrinellus)


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Flier Cichlid (Archocentrus centrarchus) - new hook & line species #1073


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Astyanax sp. (Astyanax sp.)


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Elongate Astyanax (Astyanax bransfordii) - new hook & line species #1074

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Photo credit Ally Toth.

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Yellowjacket Cichlid (Parachromis friedrichsthalii)


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Convict Cichlid sp. (Amatitlania sp.)


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Redbreast Cichlid (Cribroheros longimanus) - new hook & line species #1075


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Jaguar Guapote (Parachromis managuensis)

Photo credit Ally Toth.

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Masamiche (Cribroheros rostratus) - new hook & line species #1076


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Guatemalan Catfish (Rhamdia guatemalensis) - new hook & line species #1077


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Hotel de Campo Caño Negro

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Tropical Gar (Atractosteus tropicus)

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