Men of the World Fear This Fish More Than Anything Else

if you were approached by this fish while paddling you'd hardly be scared right after all how much damage could the little guy do well that's where you'd be dead wrong especially if you're a guy this tiny fish as you'll soon discover terrifies men more than anything else but it's far from the only horrifying creature of the depths from paralysis inducing horse to fish that'll literally impale you coming up are some aquatic atrocities that are about to haunt your worst [Music] nightmares the karoo lurking in the basins of lowland Amazonia and countries such as Bolivia Brazil

and Peru is a deceptively fearsome creature called a karoo or velia Sosa fish this species of parasitic freshwater catfish typically grows to just an inch or so but as us guys know it's not size that matters it's how you use it which is certainly the case for the karoo as a hematop fagus it feeds solely on the blood of other fish hardly a mystery why it's often dubbed the Vampire Fish then targeting larger fish it parasitizes their gills and latches itself in place using the spines located at either side of its head from there on

it's an all you can eat blood buffet for the karoo but it seems it's not just Amazonian fish that should fear this blood sucker men should too sometime during the 19th and early 20th century accounts of karoo fish attacking men in Amazonian Waters began to grow attacking hell you're probably wondering well word on the river was that when men urinated in the water the urine would attract the karoo so much so that the fish would and there's no Pleasant way of saying this swim right up the man Long John Silver if you're quiet enough you

might hear the Shivers of all the men watching this video right now once there the parasitic fish would hook itself in place with its spines and become near impossible to remove without surgery where she had once fully inside the fish would allegedly lay eggs in the man's bladder and eat away at his organs ultimately proving fatal yikes but as spine chilling as all this sounds you'll be pleased to know there's a whole debate as to whether any of it is even true most reported cases happened in the 19th century and are purely anecdotal from natives

telling the stories to European explorers with this in mind there's no hard evidence for any of it that said in 2009 the wildlife documentary show River Monsters interviewed Brazilian man Sylvio Barbosa who was allegedly on the receiving end of a nasty karoo attack back in 1997 according to Sylvio he'd been chilling around the Amazon River at otara when he felt Nature's calling and took a tinkle into the water the next thing he knew there was a sudden pain and on looking down Sylvio realized the there was a tail hanging out of his you know what

unable to remove it himself Sylvio ran to get medical attention the show even spoke to the urologist who dealt with Sylvio Dr Anor samat apparently by the time he saw Sylvio the poor man was swollen feverish and in a very bad way but with the help of some tricky surgery the karoo was eventually removed phw River Monsters is held in quite a high regard when it comes to credibility meaning this account of a karoo attack is the only one that holds any real weight behind it but alas Sylvio is going to have to try harder

than that if he wants people to believe his Urological troubles most reputable sources including healthline.com just aren't buying it there are too many inconsistencies in his story both the size of of the fish and certain details about sylvio's life differ in the urologist report compared to what Sylvio has since said not only that but experts point out that for the fish to successfully Ascend up a stream of urine as Sylvio insists it did it had to be propelled with immense power something the karoo just doesn't have that plus the fish's size relative to the no

offense fellas the tiny opening would make it pretty much impossible for it to burrow itself in there oh and remember the whole it's attracted to your pee thing yeah that was discredited way back in 2001 with all this in mind it seems more likely that Sylvio and his urologist's appearance on River Monsters was a chance to tell the tall tale for a quick Buck even so we might never know for sure so fact or fiction I'd be interested to know your thoughts down in the comments given the evidence I'm earing on the side of urban

legend though that said you certainly won't catch me tinkling in in the Amazonian Waters no sir re parasites we often associate water with fish but there's a whole bunch of other creepy creatures lurking in there including some very nasty parasites allow me to introduce you to guinea worms native to Africa these water parasites begin their life as minuscule larvae and infect microscopic Copa Poots or water fleas that reside in stagnant water consequent ly people without access to Safe Drinking Water might accidentally ingest these Copa pods and in turn guinea worm larvae once in the host

digestive system the Copa Poots die yay but the gidy worm larva on the other hand Thrive oh no over the ensuing months two of the larvae mate and the male dies the female however blooms into a 3T long worm with the girth of a cooked strand of spaghetti but if you're in infected with one of these grotesque creatures you probably won't even know about it until a year or so after you swallowed it that's because around this time your little friend will have slithered all through your body's connective tissues and eventually arrived at your lower

leg or foot then a painful swollen blister will appear and you might feel feverish finally the worm will Weedle its way out of your skin doing its best here's Johnny impression it's a to find water and release the larvae it's been cultivated getting inside your body I'm getting serious heie jeebies here with its head blistering through the only option is to painstakingly pull the sucker out which I hear can take anywhere from several hours to several weeks but you want the really bad news considering symptoms don't show for a whole year you might have one

lurking in you right now and the guinea worm isn't the only parasitic worm prowling the waters behold old blood flukes these gnarly little creeps cause a disease known as schistosomiasis which affects almost 240 million people worldwide second only in numbers to malaria laral forms of the parasite live inside freshwater snails in some countries in Africa southeast Asia and elsewhere after developing a forked head the blood flukes leave their snail hosts and live in the water itself if a person enters infected Waters the parasites can penetrate their skin with that forked head from there they migrate

through the host tissue eventually blooming into adult worms they grow up so fast the worms then mate inside you producing eggs which travel to the bladder or intestine and are usually passed through urer stool often however these eggs become lodged in the intestin or bladder causing inflammation and scarring other shista suasis symptoms include abdominal pain diarrhea and in more Progressive cases even bladder answer Cy if you are unfortunate enough to get it though it's not all doom and gloom the disease can be treated by a course of the drug pric quantel but ideally it'd be

nice to not have parasitic worms mating and waiting through your insides in the first place right putting our feet back on land for a moment but still keeping things parasitic and wormy let's turn our attention to possibly the most disgusting creature yet parasitic round worms this parasite's laral form is is carried by mosquitoes and deposited on humans when they buy once on the skin the lava burrow inside and migrate to the host lymphatic vessels where they grow into adult worms this inflames the lymphatic system which is not good at all essentially the lymphatic system is

a network of organs vessels and tissues that move a thin watery substance lymph into different areas of the body it's a vital part of the immune system because lymph removes harmful substances from your cells and deliver nutrients and proteins however when infected by round worms it can't function properly a disease known as lymphatic filariasis or elephantiasis because your body becomes unable to drain lymph it builds up particularly in the lower body and results in mass swellings and enlargements if left untreated this can eventually become so severe that sufferer's kidneys and entire immune systems are seriously

damaged luckily certain drugs and chemotherapy can help during the earlier stages however in many cases surgery is necessary but as Sebastian from The Little Mermaid once said it's better down where it's wetter so let's head back onto the sea and check out our next nautical tear which goes by the name naria fer oh and not to be dramatic it's more commonly known as the braining amoeba maybe Sebastian was wrong megaria feri is a single cell microorganism that primarily feeds on bacteria and is typically found creeping in warm ponds lakes and hot springs around the world

the one and only way the amoeba can make its way into the body is via the nose when a person is submerged in contaminated Waters once inside the amoeba makes a beline for the brain which is where it gets down to business between 2 and 5 days post initial infection a person will begin to experience headaches fever nausea and vomiting as the infection progresses or rather the amoeba eats away at the brain symptoms develop into confusion seizures hallucinations and even coma and while the infection itself is rare it takes just 5 to 22 days to

prove fatal and it's fatal in a whopping 97% of cases terrifying huh though the terror I'm afraid doesn't stop there I've got one more water-based parasite for you the aan theba and chances are you've already been exposed to it found worth worldwide and tap water and chlorinated swimming pools as well as soil air conditioning units and even contact lenses this single celled monster gets around luckily for most of us it's only usually dangerous to people with an already weak immune system but for those people the consequences of exposure are brutal entering Through The Eyes wounds

or nose a canth amoeba causes a serious infection of the brain and spinal cord known as granulomatis Amic and sephtis or GAE for short the amoeba makes your brain swell and leads to all kinds of nasty symptoms confusion changes in personality seizures and even Paralysis on one side of the body then in 95% of cases you kick the bucket and while if identified there are some antifungal drugs that have proven effective in Trials most cases are unfortunately fatal because of course they are billfish brutality billfish if you aren't familiar with the term covers a whole

bunch of saltwater predatory fish that are characterized by their long and pointed bills like swordfish sailfish and Marlins and if you're not wary of these guys their razor sharp appendages might have you looking like a human Kebab swordfish for example are large and Powerful Predators who use their bells to attack and mercilessly slice open their prey if provoked that same aggression can be directed at us humans which is isn't usually an issue as they live in such deep Waters but it's not unheard of back in 2015 47-year-old Hawaiian fisherman Randy Lane jumped off hanuk Kahu

Harbor in an attempt to spear a swordfish that had been spotted in the waters after spearing The Fish though disaster struck enraged the provoked Predator started thrashing around and delivered a fatal blow with its three-foot Bill damn that's awful but it serves as a harsh L to all of us don't mess with swordfish unfortunately it's far from the only instance of billfish brutality when a 40-year-old Indian man Molly jaana and his Pals were deep sea fishing in the Bay of Bengal back in 2022 they started having difficulty pulling one of their Nets in knowing there

must have been something huge in there Molly jumped into the water to check it out big mistake as Molly swam over to the net he was shocked to find a black marlin colossal billfish capable of reaching over 15 ft in length even worse the terrifying creature escaped the net and came right for Molly black marlins can swim at an alarming 30 mph so Molly had no time to react before it pierced him with its sharp bill despite his Pal's best efforts to save him he sadly didn't make it this next fish the needlefish isn't technically

part of the billfish family it belongs to the Bel on die family which also have sharp bills however while needle fish are much smaller growing up to just 37 in the small are just as mighty though they're not aggressive if startled they're prone to leaping out of the water which can result in someone near by getting impaled sounds unlikely you say but it's actually happened quite a few times back in 2020 16-year-old Muhammad adul was fishing when one pounced out of the water and landed right in his neck miraculously Muhammad survived the blow and made

it all the way to the hospital where the fish was surgically removed others however haven't been so fortunate in 1977 a 10-year-old Hawaiian boy tragically passed after one pierced hem straight in his eyeball man I can't imagine a much worse fate and again in 2013 a Saudi man also lost his life after suffering one to the neck so unlike the candy Ru there's no doubt this is one fish you want to stay far far away from from driver ants putting our feedback on dry land briefly But continuing the theme of Horrors that can get inside

you let's have a look at driver ants ants you Scuf well hate to break it to you but these bad boys are capable of some serious damage dwelling primarily in Central and East Africa these aggressive carnivores live in colonies of up to 22 million should they perceive you as an aggressor the entire Colony might start a swarm and if they manage to catch up with you you're in serious trouble as well as potentially suffocating you with sheer numbers they're extremely strong locking Jaws mean they pack a painful bite in fact their jaws are so strong

that in East Africa tribes use them like stitches if they get wounded they get an ant to bite both sides of the cut then break off the body the seal can last days the ants aren't always so helpful though with enough numbers they can actually dose devour a human there have been several reports of inebriated adults or infants suffering this exact fate yikes millions of ants swarming all over you crawling inside every orifice oh God why though if it's any consolation humans aren't exactly their favorite dish in fact according to Forbes it's possible that they

only see humans as a threat and not food meaning that while they might kill you they won't necessarily eat you great never nevertheless it's pretty terrifying to think that death by ant is technically possible my toxic trait is believing I'd be able to just stamp all over the little suckers spiked monstrosities with their smooth slimy scales it's safe to assume that most fish are soft to the touch however some species are so prickly they're deadly take the aply named crown of thorn starfish native decoral reefs across the Indo Pacific this little well packs a powerful

prick thanks to its upper surface being riddled with spiky venomous Thorns if you're scuba diving and accidentally touch them they'll cut straight through your wet suit and the starfish's saponins will enter the wound saponins are toxins that cause immediate stinging pain nausea and tissue swelling that can last over a week not to mention the spines themselves can become embedded in your body sometimes requiring surgical removal now the good news say run-ins with this guy aren't fatal and can usually be treated with cleaning ointments and antibiotics still if you're ever checking out a cool coral reef

on vacation I'd stay well away from the starfish likewise you might want a steer clear of sea urgant over 1,000 different species dwell across the oceans and they can all be identified by their huge spikes almost resembling the spiky variant of the Karen cut but much like if you touch a Karen Spike some sea urchins such as the the aino thadine tuop nus and tripus will sting you jabbing you with their venom in most cases this will cause swelling pain muscle aches and tiredness but in extreme cases can lead to breathing difficulties infection and even

death thankfully though that's real worst case scenario type stuff most urch instincts can generally be treated with pain relievers removing the spines and a good wash better still watch where you put your feet when you're paddling in the sea and avoid them all together however not all Marine prickles are so easily treated introducing the stone fish one of the world's deadliest fish named for its impressive camouflaging abilities this tropical fish is relatively small growing to just 20 in long but with its Mohawk of venomous spines the creature actually yields enough toxin to finish off an

adult in just 1 hour administering what's known as verotoxin the recipient will experience intense pain respiratory weakness and paralysis potentially even ending with their demise there is an antivenom however it has to be given before the paralysis kicks in or its lights out and you should also be aware of the in-laws stonefish are closely related to the similar looking scorpion fish yeah they're not exactly the best looking family but while the scorpion fish isn't as deadly it also packs a mega painful prick yep a finin shake with one of these guys can leave you with

breathing difficulties nausea diarrhea seizures and even paralysis most people can be treated by simply removing any spines and cleaning the wound with soap and hot water but it's an ordeal you really don't want to put yourself through unless you're on Australian TV show King of pain of course the show follows a group of guys intentionally getting stung and bitten by various Critters yeah I have no words either having willingly put themselves at the mercy of the scorpion fish they sure enough received a sting that left them wishing they'd never been so stupid in the first

place this is perhaps the most Australian thing I have ever seen now if you've made it this far I'm going to assume you're enjoying yourself don't want the fun to end drop a like And subscribe that way you'll never miss any of my videos but for now let's check out some more scy fish sea lamp Ray I'm often told I have a face only a mother could love which is completely false my mom hates me however this next sea creature is so ugly that it virtually has no face at all looking like something that swam

right from the depths of hell this is the sea lamp Ray native to the Northern Hemisphere this parasitic demon spawn shares the nicknam vampire fish with the karoo considering it also has a taste for blood which if you remember makes it a hematop fagus as it slinks through the northern and western Atlantic Ocean the sea lamp rate prays upon other fish latching on to them with its Vortex of razor sharp SU fing teeth after attaching it uses its rough tongue to bore at their flesh and then drains away their body fluids you can set aside

any dramatic visions of being hunted down by one of these parasitic blood suckers though experts ass sure that they're relatively harmless to us and prefer cold-blooded fish to warm-blooded mammals that said lamp Ray attacks aren't unheard of as well as the Atlantic Ocean they also lurk in America's Great Lakes the famous Canadian long-distance swimmer maryn Bell success swam the 32m width of Lake Ontario in 1954 when she was just 16 years old she said lamp's constantly attaching themselves to her swimming suit and trying to feed on her was one of the biggest challenges of the

swim that's not like a few leeches clinging to you either sea lamp Rays grow to a daunting 3 ft long like this monster that washed ashore in the Netherlands back in 2023 yeah I'm still not convinced this isn't a demon that escaped the depths of hell deadly sea snakes it's no secret that snakes are one of the most feared animals in the world but if it wasn't bad enough having to dodge them on land some species have even colonized the ocean and many of them you wouldn't want to meet there are over 60 different species

of sea snake though they don't have gills instead they must come up to the surface to inhale air the average sea snake has adapted to hold its breath for 30 minutes at a time with certain species lasting as long as 8 hours as well as most being able to absorb oxygen through their skin all have one huge long on their right side that's almost the entire length of their body this allows them to use it like a tank of oxygen for extended Dives but what if you bumped into one on a swim well one of

the most venomous is the belur sea snake just one drop of its venom and you'll be a goner within minutes in fact a single drop is so potent it can wipe out an insane 1,800 people jeez fortunately belur have a relatively timid and calm temperament and usually need to be severely provoked in order to attack even if they do they only inject their venom about one in every four bites still if you're a fisherman you should stay vigilant as the majority of attacks occur when the snakes get tangled in a net in general experts agree

that sea snakes are fairly unaggressive with one huge exception the beaked sea snake described as aggressive and readily provoked by the Marine education Society of australasia this monster of the ocean should not be messed with while attacks are still rare it's responsible for a whopping nine in every 10 sea snake related deaths if you get on the wrong side of one of these beasts it'll Dart toward you and sink its powerful fangs in to deliver a dose of debilitating Venom well not quite as potent as the belgers it'll still cause serious damage to your Di

FR and can lead to respiratory failure paralysis and death Cy land or sea it seems there really is no escaping the snakes the nightmare fish to look at it the double bar rabbit fish might seem completely harmless however in truth this indopacific brute is about to become the fish of your worst nightmares quite literally while it's difficult to see they actually have venomous spines on their dorsal fence which when under stress they'll point at any fish or hand within Fin's reach and if you touch one you're going to be in a whole world of pain

that said the Venom itself is pretty inconsequential and can usually be treated simply by placing the affected area under hot water problem is if you're having a nice swim and get suddenly plunged into excruciating pain it could easily make you panic and drown the spines aren't the only issue though more dangerous is actually eating the fish which will give you the bizarre effects of catura poisoning see bottom dwelling Shore reef fish like the double bar rabbit fish feed on toxic algae known as dagates these dagates contain sigu toxin which builds up in the fish over

time and makes them incredibly dangerous to digest interestingly Dino flates can sometimes be seen as red patterns in the sea a phenomenon known as a red tide this happens when they go through a huge growth period called a bloom Bo when fish like rabbit fish feed on this toxic algae they themselves become contaminated though they don't get symptoms if we then eat the fish though it's a whole different story you might suffer diarrhea vomiting itchiness dizziness hallucinations and Nightmares that can last for months quite literally as I said earlier making this the fish of your

worst nightmares and with that that's all for me today let me know which creature creeped you out the most and don't forget to like And subscribe thanks for watching [Music]