Why can't you pee in the Amazon River?

There are many troubling stories from the region regarding human run-ins with the candirú
candirú
Description. Candirus are small fish. Members of the genus Vandellia can reach up to 17 cm (7 in) in standard length, but some others can grow to around 40 cm (16 in). Each has a rather small head and a belly that can appear distended, especially after a large blood meal.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Candiru_(fish)
. It is not uncommon for people swimming or bathing in the river to urinate while in the water, an action which creates tiny water currents that are rich in urea and ammonia, much like an exhaling fish.
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Can fish swim up your vagina?

All that repetition gives the impression of well-established scientific truth. In fact, there's every reason to believe that the tales of the creepy candiru are a myth. The legend of a fish that would swim up a urine stream and attack an innocent peeing Amazonian is centuries old.
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Why candiru swim up urine?

Supposedly, the fish mistakes urine for water expelled from the gills of marine life. To the extreme agony of the unlucky person, the Candiru swims up… into their genitals. Spines on its head make it very difficult to extract.
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Can candiru swim up urine?

According to Samad, the patient claimed "the fish had darted out of the water, up the urine stream, and into his urethra." While this is the most popularly known legendary trait of the candiru, according to Spotte it has been known conclusively to be a myth for more than a century, as it is impossible because of simple ...
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Can things swim up your pee stream?

First thing's first, according to all known laws and rules of fluid dynamics, swimming directly up a stream of human urine is impossible.
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THIS is Why You DO NOT Urinate in the Amazon River



Is it OK to pee in lakes?

No, you should not pee in lakes and pools. Because they're smaller than oceans, urine can make up a larger percentage of the water in lakes and pools. Business Insider explains that urine can cause algae blooms in lakes, which can poison fish.
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Can you swim in the Amazon River?

Last year on April 8th, Slovenian marathon swimmer Martin Strel became the first man to swim the entire length of the Amazon River from headwaters in Peru to the Brazilian port city of Belém: 3,274 miles. It took him 66 days with a support crew of near twenty people following him in a boat for protection.
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How big is a candiru?

By any definition however, the Candiru is a very slender, translucent fish, growing to about 15 cm in length that is only found in the Amazon River.
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What do candiru feed on?

candiru, (Vandellia cirrhosa), scaleless, parasitic catfish of the family Trichomycteridae found in the Amazon River region. A translucent, eellike fish about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long, the candiru feeds on blood and is commonly found in the gill cavities of other fishes.
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Is there such thing as a vampire fish?

On the freshwater side, the vampire fish is a nickname for the payara, an abundant gamefish found in the Amazon Basin. While this large, 1.5-to-3 foot fish does not suck the blood of its prey, its six-inch-long fangs, which protrude from an undershot jaw, result in a face only a (payara) mother could love.
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How do you prevent Candirus?

These fish may not prey on victims through scent, but they can detect movement. If you're in a large pool of candiru, stay still, and you may stay off their radar. Try tossing a nearby object away from you to disrupt the water. But if this fish does attach itself to you, try moving to the shore.
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How do fish pee?

A lot of fish get rid of the pee through an tiny opening, called a pore, that's near their rear ends—and in some fish, waste also goes out through the skin or the gills. When a fish pees in a coral reef, the corals wave their tentacles around like tiny arms to grab nutrients from the pee and absorb them.
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What type of fish is attracted to urine?

The candiru (carnero in some Spanish‐based accounts) is known as a little fish keen on entering the nether regions of people urinating in the Amazon River.
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How do candiru reproduce?

Reproduction. It is assumed that candiru breed multiple times during their breeding season. Breeding season for this species is unknown but females with ripe ovaries have been collected in December.
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Are fish attracted to pee?

As such, urinating in the water would not attract the fish, and it would not be any more dangerous to pee in the water than just swim in the water. That may not sound too comforting, but it does mean that the fish is more likely to attempt to lodge itself into a larger opening, which would make removal a bit easier.
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Can you drink Amazon River water?

Yes, there is a lot of water in the Amazon River basin, but it's no longer safe to drink.
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Are sharks in the Amazon river?

Sharks only live in the sea … don't they? We know that when the first Spanish explorers saw the mighty Amazon River they called it “The Great Inland Sea”, but it is full of freshwater. So are there sharks in the Amazon? Surprisingly, the answer is YES – bull sharks.
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Is the Amazon river Dirty?

The Amazon river carries a lot of sediment (particles of mud and sand), which gives the water a muddy-brown color. Its largest tributary (branch), the Rio Negro, or black river, is filled with chemicals washed out of soil and plants, making the water very dark.
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Can sharks smell pee?

A shark's sense of smell is powerful – it allows them to find prey from hundreds of yards away. Menstrual blood in the water could be detected by a shark, just like any urine or other bodily fluids.
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How much of the ocean is pee?

The NOAA estimates the oceans at 321,003,271 cubic miles or 1.338e21 L (1.3 sextillion). Dividing those out and you get 0.0002%, or 1 in 500,000 parts Human pee.
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How can a girl pee in a water bottle?

To use the bottle, just kneel and place it under you to create a full seal before you pee. You can also use a pee funnel to pee into the bottle if you prefer. If it's cold, you can do all of this in your sleeping bag. This method is also a good one to practice at home in the shower before going on a major trip.
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Do spiders pee?

Spiders don't produce urine like we do, but produce uric acid, which doesn't dissolve in water and is a near-solid. Spiders have this alternate form of waste because they can't afford to lose as much water as we do.
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Can a fish fart?

Most fish do use air to inflate and deflate their bladder to maintain buoyancy which is expelled either through their mouth or gills which can be mistaken for a fart.
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Do ants pee?

No, ants do not pee. In fact, most insects don't pee. All the waste that needs to be expelled comes out of one hole as one waste. Their poops aren't wholly solid, though, because there is a moistness to them due to liquid content.
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