What could go wrong?
When a mother in Maine Township, Illinois noticed that her 18-month-old daughter’s finger was missing, her first thought, the news item tells us, was that the family pit bull did it. Sure, always blame the pit bull. Pit bulls are no more likely to chomp and infant than any other dog, but if the mother assumed that, why was the toddler permitted to have unsupervised contact with the dog? Well, you see, this particular family never heard of the concept of “child-proofing.” Given the real reason for the toddler’s amputated finger, I’m sure other thoughts were going through her mind, like…
.…”I wonder if she did that with the power saw we always keep plugged in for emergencies?”
…..”Maybe that zombie we keep chained in the basement bit it off?”
….”Has she been in my scalpel collection again?”
But no. The real reason that the girl was missing her finger was that she had stuck it in the fish tank, where Mom kept her pet piranha.
If this kid makes it to 12, she’ll be lucky.
Meanwhile, the parents should alert all those kind contributors to weepy bus monitor Karen Klein, who will doubtless send the parents contributions out of sympathy because that mean piranha mistreated their child.
Ethics Alarms 
Why, in the Name of God, would anyone keep a piranha in a fishtank? As a conversation piece for visitors?? I also thought that it was illegal to import them without a license. Like other “exotic pets” (such as anacondas!) those things can get loose and survive in some of the warmer climates, such as Florida. It’s bad enough that this woman’s irresponsibility has maimed her little girl for life. Now imagine a whole pack of them wading around on an outing “way down upon the Suwanee River”… when the school attacks!
Piranha aren’t really that dangerous. I don’t see a problem with keeping them.
It certainly appears this one was! I repeat my case that, in warm subtropical waters (such as can be found in Florida and elsewhere in CONUS) piranha can breed if set loose. Obviously, a lone piranha can’t. But it only takes two to get a breeding population going. You’re right that the aggressiveness of piranha is overrated. Their threat potential to people and to wildlife, however, makes this a legitimate concern.
According to Wiki, escaped or introduced piranha have been found occasionally in warm fresh waters — including the Potomac River. Why does that not surprise me?