Glenn Salyer was out on Mississinewa Lake in Peru, Indiana trying to hook catfish with raw chicken soaked in strawberry Kool-Aid. He caught something else.

On Monday, the 49-year-old Peru, Indiana native pulled out what was later identified as a pacu – an omnivorous freshwater fish related to the piranha, and typically only found in South American countries like, ironically, Peru.

Salyer, a retired fireman, said he didn’t know what to make of the strange fish, which has human-looking teeth.

“I didn’t want to touch its mouth and didn’t know how I would eat it because I didn’t know what it was,” he said.

After wrapping up fishing for the day, Salyer took the fish to the local branch of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to see what they could make of it.

Corp officials eventually identified it as a red-bellied pacu, which are common in rivers and streams around the Amazon River and can grow up to 3 feet in length and weigh more than 50 pounds.

Salyer said they recommended he take the fish to Woody’s Spillway Camp and Bait shop near the lake, which they knew had a 125-gallon aquarium that could hold it.

“I was pretty excited about the whole deal,” he said.

William Foust, the manager of the store, said he was excited when Salyer came through the door with the Pacu.

They put it in the aquarium, and the fish has been there ever since. Foust said he plans to let the pacu live out the rest of its life at the store.

So how did an exotic fish found only in lakes and rivers in places like Peru, South America end up in a lake in Peru, Indiana?

Indiana conservation officer Jerry Hoerdt said it’s likely the fish was dumped in the reservoir by its owner, who may have given up taking care of it.

There’s also a chance it may have swum from a nearby pond through floodwaters that surrounded the lake for around two months this year.

Hoerdt said it’s impossible to know exactly how the pacu got there, but one thing’s for sure – it’s good that it’s been caught.

“These are an invasive species, and any invasive species is one too many,” he said. “We want to keep out any kind of invasive species.”

There wasn’t much chance, though, that the fish would have caused any problems for the local fish habitat, Hoerdt said. Pacu are warm water fish, and it would have eventually died in the lake over the winter.

Salyer said he plans on fishing a lot more at the reservoir during his retirement, but he expects Monday’s trip will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“I’m guessing I’ll never catch anything like that again,” he said.

“But who knows? Maybe I’ll catch an alligator sometime,” Salyer added with a laugh.

Carson Gerber writes for the Kokomo (Ind.) Tribune.