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Last night when I was turning off the lights in my main tank, I noticed that the California Roach in there (as a companion for my Fathead Minnow) had a pretty bad prolapsed intestine. The fish was swimming around and acting perfectly fine, but the anal region looked really bad. I was going to make a post about it here, but I was about half-asleep at the time.

This morning when I went to check on the fish, I was surprised to find that the prolapsed intestine was nearly gone... It looked like it had retreated back into the body. Needless to say, the fishes' vent is still pretty swollen, and at certain angles I can see the intestinal tissue inside the fish (I think the anus is a bit stretched out). The fish is still acting perfectly normal, but I am not feeding it for now.

Is this the normal healing time for a prolapsed intestine? I was under the impression that it took a few days at the least, and occasionally it doesn't heal at all and the fish ends up dying. How long should I wait before feeding the fish? Also, what sort of thing could have caused a prolapsed intestine? I haven't fed the fish anything weird.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Here's a crappy picture for your enjoyment. Notice how there is no longer any rectal tissue outside the body, but the general area is still swollen.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Ahh! It came back!

Is there anything I can do for the the fish? It holds its pelvic fins far apart, so I'm guessing it's pretty painful.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Hi Natalie,
Ive had that happen to several guppies and
several ottos, and none of them survived very long.
Always the intestine ruptured and the fish died within
seconds afterwards.


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Just a few seconds? You you must have watched it actually happen?

This fish got the prolapse (as far as I know) last night, and since then it has been acting normal except that it appears to be in pain around that area.

I've always read that prolapses (in fish, at least) just pretty much have to heal themselves, and if they don't then the fish dies. I'm pretty sure the Roach tried to defecate before it fully healed, which is what caused the prolapse to return. I'm hoping that by not feeding the tank, the fish will have a chance to heal better.

I guess I'll just hold off on feeding until the fish either gets better or dies...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

OK, the fishes' rectum retreated back into the body again. Let's hope it stays that way this time. The fish is starting to act exhausted (not swimming around as much), but his colors are still bright and he's still picking at plants and stuff.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

With the last otto it happened to I did actually watch.
I noticed it at feeding time in the evening.
While I was watching the fish eat, the otto refused to eat and became very upset suddenly, then the intestine actually ruptured, like a bubble popping, lots of yellow liquid came out, and the fish flipped belly up and was dead.
It was an awful horrible thing I wish Id never seen.
The otto was like this for maybe....12 hours or so,
cuz it wasnt like that at the earlier feeding in the morning.


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So they had the prolapse for a while before, and it ruptured later?

I don't quite understand what could rupture, though. In a prolapse, nothing in the intestine is blocked, it's just that the rectum sort of turns inside out and protrudes.

With your fish, it sounds like it might have had like an abscess that was filled with yellowish fluid that ruptured.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Natalie,
the prolapse happened about 12 hours before the fish died.
It looked exactly as in your pics as well.
I think the rupture was from the fish trying to poop
and being unable.


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Hmm... That's pretty weird. From what I've been reading, most fish actually survive prolapsed intestines.

Well, the prolapse in my fish hasn't come back again as of this morning, so I'm hoping it might have healed a bit. The cloacal area is still swollen, but the fish is swimming around more.

I guess I'll just hold off feeding for a few more days.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I believe the fish is still healing. Some of the swelling looks like it has gone down.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I lost my Moorii to this. What i found out, through the time it was ill, was that the biggest problem is secondary infection. If the prolapse is caused by a blockage then chances are whatever is in there will cause a secondary infection. Have you started treating with any med's? It might be worth trying a course of gram negative antibiotics to treat any possible internal infections.

I have not used any meds yet, mainly because the fish just didn't appear to be sick. Despite the fact that its rectum was hanging outside of its body, the fish was still swimming around and chasing the other fish.

The Roach is still healing. The swelling has mostly gone away and much of the redness is gone as well. I'm fairly certain the fish will be fine within a week.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Just another update, and hopefully the last: The fish now appears to be perfectly healthy, and is eating again. The vent area does not appear to be swollen anymore.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.