Rocky Rescue For Piranha At Mall Of America
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) -- Despite some people's preconceived notions of piranha, the newest addition to Sea Life Minnesota does not have an appetite for humans.
Curator Carly Byrns said she first saw the piranha at a local supplier and noticed he had a big abdominal mass. They did surgery and made an interesting discovery.
"So, we opened him up and we found that sure enough, his whole tummy was full of rocks," Byrns said.
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Fifty-five small rocks were removed from the piranha's belly.
"And he's actually doing remarkably well. He's actually putting some weight on now, that he doesn't have a full tummy of rocks. So that definitely would help but he's doing really well," she said.
The fish is now in a tank where there are no rocks. And it's still a mystery as to why the piranha ate so many stones in the first place.
"We are not quite sure why, for whatever reason, he felt that rocks were going to be yummy to eat, but he decided to eat them," she said.
To celebrate the new arrival, Sea Life Minnesota is inviting fans to help name the survivor on its Facebook page. You can pick from three choices: Rocky, Rambo or Rock Star, Byrns said.
The piranha will be on display starting on Tuesday, Aug. 23, so guests can learn more about the rock-eating piranha and even see the stitches.
