# Candiru Revisited **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 6, 2001, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132 "2001-09-06T22:00:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/1 "2001-09-06T22:00:08Z")
Ay caramba. Remember Cecil’s original candiru thread? [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000519.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000519.html) He expressed what I felt, skepticism that the candiru could actually swim _out of the water_ up a urine stream and into a urethra. Apparently it really happens! He confirms it in this week’s column (sorry no link yet). Of course the victim was standing thigh-high in water when it happened, but still . . . ::cold shivers:: Catch me ever going swimming in the Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/2 "2001-09-07T15:21:50Z")
Well, the new column is here: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010907.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010907.html) Allow me to be the first to say: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!” ---
**Author:** ![jlafave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ebca7d/32.png) [@jlafave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlafave)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/3 "2001-09-07T15:36:49Z")
I want to see pictures!!! ---
**Author:** ![mikehardware](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mikehardware](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikehardware)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/4 "2001-09-07T15:43:20Z")
I am officially never, EVER, going to the Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/5 "2001-09-07T15:50:54Z")
> [@](#): > > . The fish penetrated the victim’s urethra while he was standing in the river urinating, actually emerging from the water and entering his penis, The surgery was well-documented, but not the attack. That was the story told to the doctor. I don’t believe it happened that way. Maybe it’s an Amazon version of gerbiling.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/6 "2001-09-07T16:07:49Z")
Dear God. Here was one urban legend that I hoped never see verified. If I ever visit the Amazon, I am never going to relive myself in the direction of that river. And what _is it_ with that place anyway? Piranhas aren’t enough for that ecosystem? It’s not enough to have fish that can skeletonize a cow in minutes, now we have to worry about fish that can swim up the…up the…oh shoot I can’t even bring myself to type the words, let alone think about it. For pictures, **jlafave** , I went to Google and typed in “candiru” Found [this link](http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/candiru.html), which has some rather interesting photos of the little guy. [This page](http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/0003/b00768d.html) doesn’t have pictures, but it does mention that the importation of candiru into the U.S. is forbidden. No doubt this law was passed by Congressmen who were all crossing their legs as they voted. What I’d like to know is the name of the Amazon research institute mentioned in Cecil’s article, the place that has photos, videotape, medical reports, and the deceased fish have all been stored. I’d like to find out if they have a website. Of course, if they do, it’s likely to be in Portuguese. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/7 "2001-09-07T16:08:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jlafave \* > I want to see pictures!!! I have, and they’re not pretty. I suppose this is a good place to try out my new .sig, whilst I bask in the glory of being paid attention to by Cecil ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/8 "2001-09-07T16:16:56Z")
And in that link, you can play “count the peni” in Slug’s cartoon. I only spotted two. One is obviously the fish. the other could be the Doctor’s nose… ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/9 "2001-09-07T16:18:38Z")
All right, **jlafave** and **Atreyu** , just for you: [The home page of Dr. Anoar Samad](http://www.internext.com.br/urologia/), the Brazilian urogenital surgeon mentioned by Cecil. Click on the bottom right-hand **picture**. Note, before clicking thorough, that this is somewhat (although not extraordinarily) graphic. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/10 "2001-09-07T16:29:25Z")
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the whole third world is a godawful dump. Poverty, weird diseases…and little fishes with a big taste for your dong (and balls). Maybe clearcutting the rainforest wouldn’t be the worst that could happen… ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/11 "2001-09-07T16:31:54Z")
I’m with **Mjollnir** on this one. The removal might be well documented, but I’m not inclined to take the patient’s word on the extraordinarily difficult and unlikely means by which the fish got there. If the candiru really does get off on swimming up penises, shouldn’t there be a fair number of animals other than humans with ickly little catfish up their ying yangs? And if there aren’t, doesn’t this start to look a lot like a “jealous phenomenon,” i.e., one that’s almost certainly b.s.? ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/12 "2001-09-07T16:34:32Z")
I too remain skeptical. The width of the fish (7/16 inch) being the major reason. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/13 "2001-09-07T16:51:19Z")
**OH.MY.GOD** I also have difficulty believing such a story but I’m sure as hell not planning on investigating. We cannot discard the possibilty. More likely if the guy was urinating _inside_ the water. _shivers_ That’s some weird stuff. It still fascinates me on an amazonian ecological level (poor bastard that guy). The doctor said the fish probably tried to carve a passage into the scrotum! > [@](#): > > If the candiru really does get off on swimming up penises, shouldn’t there be a fair number of animals other than humans with ickly little catfish up their ying yangs? Probably it is a rare occurence and the few wild animals that might be attacked are pretty shy. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/14 "2001-09-07T16:54:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Probably it is a rare occurence and the few wild animals that might be attacked are pretty shy. Or say a cow didn’t complain a fish had swam into its penis and the natives took no action or the cause was not estabilished. That is weak ground to go urinating in the Amazon Rivers. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/15 "2001-09-07T17:02:18Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by zut \* > \*\* Note, before clicking thorough, that this is somewhat (although not extraordinarily) graphic_\* Oh. My. God. It’s one thing to read about the dimensions of this penis-invader. It’s another thing to actually see how _long_ it is. _twitch_ _shudder_ _twitch_ I need to go lie down. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/16 "2001-09-07T17:09:12Z")
The whole swimming-up-the-piss-stream thing should be easy to test experimentally. All one needs to do is to create a urine stream without placing native trouser snakes at risk. Gimme a 10 gallon carboy, some plastic tubing, the services of a nubile Amazon guide, a Kevlar speedo and a round trip ticket to Itacoatiara. With a generous donation from the Heineken Brewing Company, I can even provide the urine free of charge. If there are upstream urine swimmers in the water, I’ll capture them alive. Piss go in the tube, tube hang above the water, piss go in the water. Candiru’s in the water, **our** candiru! _Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies…_ ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/17 "2001-09-07T17:17:38Z")
Show me the way to go home! I’m tired and I wanna go to bed! A fish swan up my dick about an hour ago! And it’s got right to my head! ---
**Author:** ![clutchless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@clutchless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clutchless)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/18 "2001-09-07T17:34:16Z")
Check out the travel book, “In Trouble Again: A Journey Between the Orinoco and the Amazon”, by Redmond O’Hanlon. O’Hanlon, the natural history editor for the Times conducted much research before actually traveling on the journey described in this book. He describes in detail the dangers of the Candiru and his own personal invention of an anti-Candiru device to wear in the water, with pictures. Apparently the fish are attracted to the warmth of urine and just follow it to the source. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/19 "2001-09-07T17:58:46Z")
I’m very able to believe that a tiny parasitic fish can swim into a urethra if the host animal is underwater; but it doesn’t seem likely if you are standing on the riverbank whizzing into the river. The man in question in the latest column was standing thigh-high in water, however; so what’s that, a couple of inches to swim/leap upstream? I don’t think it’s impossible in this case for the fish to make the grade. Salmon leap several times their body length up a waterfall, after all. In the Amazon rainforest, all sorts of big animals swim in rivers: tapirs, capybaras, jaguar, giant river otters. No doubt they all pee on occasion in the water, and so are perfect targets for candiru. Just because they don’t complain about doesn’t mean it’s not happening. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132/20 "2001-09-07T20:23:18Z")
Maybe Amazonian mammals don’t pee in the river? Many mammals pee to mark their territory (in addition to the other reason, of course). You can’t mark your territory by peeing in a river. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-revisited/80132.md?page=2)