Candiru - Monsters of Nature

Candirus will b e the topic of discussion on Natures Talk Show Monsters of Nature. These fish are perhaps feared more than piranahs by people living around or visiting in the Amazon Basin.Candirus are small fish. Adults can grow to around 40 centimetres (16 in) with a rather small head and a belly that can appear distended, especially after a large blood meal. The body is translucent, making it quite difficult to spot in the turbid waters of its home. There are short sensory barbels around the head, together with short, backward pointing spines on the gill covers.

You are correct in believing that the candiru poses a hazard to humans (and other mammals that might urinate in the water). It seems attracted to the flow of urine (possibly as it resembles the stream of water from the gills of a large fish). The candiru may swim up the stream of urine and enter the urethra of a bather urinating into the river.

This, of course, not part of the fish's normal feeding behaviour - the fish has made a fatal mistake. Once up the urethra the fish can not turn nor can it move backwards because of the rear-pointing spines on its gill covers. It is locked in. The fish invariably dies and the dead fish and associated swelling of the lining of the urethra cause the urethra to become blocked. Surgery is required to remove the obstruction.

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