Do Not Mess With Fish 70!

and you thought fish were fun! well fisheries workers in Devon did not when they found what they mistakenly thought was a piranha in their nets, at the East Okement tributary of the River Torridge, the 35cm (14in) fish was spotted by Bob Collett, Dave Hoskin and Eddie Stevens during a sampling trip on the river, the Environment Agency said the average size of a piranha was 15 to 20cm (6in to 8in), making the fish found on the East Okement an exceptional size, just a pity they did not know what they were talking about, the fish they thought they had was a Red-bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri, but what they did have was actually a Red-bellied pacu, Piaractus brachypomus, which is herbivorous, never mind, never let the facts get in the way of a good story! but just to put the record straight it was a fish dumped into the river by a aquarist, chances are that it was dead when caught, unfortunately this will always be a problem with fish that grow to large, irresponsible people just throw them away.