The Myth of the Candiru
It’s probably the first or second question we get when we tell people about our fishing trips to the Amazon region: “What about that little fish that crawls up your pee hole and gets stuck?”
They’re referring to the Candiru (AKA, toothpick fish or vampire fish), a little species that does indeed reside in that part of the world. The rumor is that if you get in the water, they smell the urine, seek out its source, crawl inside, and then stick out a spiked back fin that prevents them from backing out or otherwise being extracted. Misery ensues. Men in particular seem to groan and cover up their ‘nads even when thinking about the possibility.
Look, it’s not a particularly hard-to-believe tale. Everything in that region seems to have teeth or spikes or some other ability to semi-passively inflict harm. I recall on one trip to the Rio Negro I grabbed what looked to be a soft and silky blade of grass and it sliced my hand open.
There was even an episode of Grey’s Anatomy dealing with this alleged nightmare.
While I do believe you should be careful on any trip, and especially to remote regions where medical care may not be immediately available, and especially if it involves your pecker, it turns out this one is not true. In fact, researchers who’ve looked into the matter stated that even if a person were to urinate while "submerged in a stream where candiru live", the odds of that person being attacked by candiru are "(a)bout the same as being struck by lightning while simultaneously being eaten by a shark."
If you’d like to learn more about this species, check out Stephen Spotte’s book, “Candiru, Lie and Legend of the Bloodsucking Catfishes.”
There are plenty of other articles talking about this topic:
Inside The Legend Of The Candiru, The Amazon Fish That Allegedly Targets Men’s Penises
Candirus Probably Won't Bother Your Urethra But They Can Burrow Through Your Skin
Fact Check: Will A Fish Swim Up Your Urethra If You Pee In The Amazon?
Ray Troll has a great poster of “The Seven Plagues of the Amazon River” that includes the candiru, too.
