Candiru attack
The story of the first scientifically proven and documented case of a willy fish attacking a human.
Most fishkeepers, and many non-fishkeepers, have heard why it's not considered a sensible idea to urinate in the Amazon: there are little catfish living there that can swim up your penis (or vagina), wedge a set of hooks in your skin to jam them in position, and then try and drink your blood.
But, the fish aren't really attackers of humans, per se. They merely mistake the flow of urine for the urea and ammonia excreted from the gills of large catfishes, which are their preferred prey. The catfish, known as candiru (or willy fish) are members of the trichomycterid genus Vandellia and have been the topic of Brazilian folklore for centuries.
Today I stumbled across a video on YouTube - an excerpt from an episode of Animal Planet - featuring trichomycterid expert Dr Jansen Zuanon, one of the world's leading experts on candiru. It documents the first confirmed and documented case of the removal of a candiru from a man's penis. The fish removed from his penis was six inches long and half an inch wide.
If you aren't squeamish, it's well worth watching, if only for the dramatic reconstruction of the moment the fish entered the unfortunate patient's penis. (It might make your eyes water!)
Regular readers of the site might recognise Zuanon's name from our news coverage. In 2004, along with fellow trichomycterid authority Ivan Sazima (who appeared in Amazon Abyss), Zuanon showed that candiru do not actually "suck" the blood out of their victims, as previously believed.
Instead, they puncture an artery and allow the host's blood system to fill them up with their meal quite effortlessly. For more information see Candirus are not blood suckers.
The Trichomycteridae family that Zuanon works on is larger than previous estimates and a wide range of species are being discovered and described every year. Search in the news database for more details on some of the recent discoveries.
Matt Clarke: Fri September 1, 2006, 2:25 pmViews: This entry has been read 26,148 times.
8 comments on: Candiru attack
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"Great idea, Myles! When I was at school our teacher always told us that they put special chemicals in the water that reacted to urine so the lifeguards could tell who had relieved themselves in the water. It wasn't much of a deterrent.
If they'd told us that the pool contained candiru everyone would have made sure to go before they got in!"
Date: Friday September 1st, 2006, 7:48 pm
"OUCH."
Posted by: Peter Chadwick - 3 years, 2 months agoDate: Sunday September 3rd, 2006, 8:24 am
"That's certainly interesting. I'm looking to get as many species of Trichomycteridae as I can, it's just a shame that only one or two of the non-parasitic varieties are ever available. Although I doubt this will do anything good for their popularity..."
Posted by: Hannah Morrison - 3 years, 2 months agoDate: Sunday September 3rd, 2006, 11:20 am
"Thats just put me off swimming for good. Ill stick with my hot bath tub."
Posted by: Louise Archer - 3 years, 2 months agoDate: Thursday September 14th, 2006, 12:55 am
"Damn, they sound nasty... if they put them in my local swimming pool, i'd never enter the water again. "
Posted by: Matthew Forbes - 3 years, 1 month agoDate: Wednesday October 11th, 2006, 12:24 pm
"anouther wonderfull oddity of the Amazon :)"
Posted by: Josh Whte - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Wednesday August 20th, 2008, 8:18 pm
"Well, it's not the end of the world. Try other clips - they are even worse.
By the way, good to know - if this happens I know where to go and what to do.
Better to know than be surprised.
Andrei."
Date: Wednesday August 20th, 2008, 10:28 pm
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Comments feed | Editor-in-Chief, Matt Clarke, writes the regular Interesting Imports column on rare and unusual fish in the UK aquarium trade. He's kept fish for 30 years and holds a degree, two higher degrees and two diplomas in fish biology, taxonomy and computational biology. |
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"I want a whole bag of them flown over and set loose in the pool at my gym ! that will teach them pesky kids"
Posted by: Myles Roberts - 3 years, 2 months agoDate: Friday September 1st, 2006, 7:02 pm