ALBANY -- A South American fish sometimes called the "vegetarian piranha" got hooked by an angler in the Hudson River over the weekend, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The fish, called a pacu, is a cousin to the infamous flesh-eating predator, but instead eats plants and is not a threat to humans or other animals. It likely got into the river when someone dumped out the fish from a home aquarium.
Albany resident Steve Oathout said he was fishing off the Watervliet bike path Saturday evening when he caught the unusual flat fish, which was gray with a red underbelly. He took a picture and released the fish, which was about 16 inches long and weighed three pounds.
Reports to the DEC of pacus, which are widely available in aquarium shops, being caught in Hudson and Mohawk rivers average about one a year, DEC spokeswoman Lori Severino said.
The pacu looks similar to the piranha, but is larger and can grow to about the size of a turkey in its native habitat of Brazil. The pacu does not share the razor sharp teeth of its cousin.
But the piranha and the pacu have something in common -- neither fish can survive the colder waters of upstate New York in the winter.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Vegetarian-piranha-hooked-in-Hudson-1584936.php#ixzz1TDmir3pF
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