The Candiru acu (Cetopsis) Pronounced 'Can-DEE-roo A-soo' This fish is officially spelled Candiru açu in Portuguese, is a genus of parasitic catfish that dwells in the Amazon basin.
River Monsters[]
Amazon Flesh Eaters[]
In the River Monsters Season 1 episode Amazon Flesh Eaters The Candiru Acu was featured as being the perpetrator for a grizzly attack on a human in which the human was entirely hollowed by a swarm of these fish. It appears that such cases are not uncommon as several other reports have been seen of people with "bullet-hole-like" wounds who turn out to have lost the vast majority of their organs and muscles.
Amazon Apocalypse[]
This fish was briefly investigated by Jeremy in the episode Amazon Apocalypse. A man had caught a fish, but while he was gutting it the fish was eaten by these little monsters. Jeremy thought that the Candiru Acu could be behind the attacks and tried to find out by putting in lots of meat. However, he decided they were not the culprits because they can neither dismember humans or pull them under the surface and drown them. They were however accused of eating the people once they were already dead but this did not have much of an impact.
Description[]
The Candiru Acu is a parasitic catfish that has perpetrated grizzly attacks on humans. It eats flesh out of other fish and animals and even humans if they get the chance.
While also called "Candiru", it is in a completely different genus than the Candiru. Candiru acu are much larger than Candiru, and therefore are not blamed for the same urethral attacks as the Candiru however can still do horrific attacks.
Trivia[]
- It is sometimes accidentally referred to as the Candiru Asu instead of Candiru Acu. Even the official River Monsters website makes this mistake.
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