# Possibly prolapsed anus?



## scrivz (Dec 2, 2008)

Hi folks. I was hoping to get some opinions on my female _Thorichthys ellioti_. She's not having the best luck these days...

After being very nearly killed and losing her entire tail to her male counterpart about a month ago, she has been recovering in a 10g hospital tank that she has all to herself. She has managed to regrow her tail (though it's a bit crooked) but now seems to have something protruding from her anus. Is this a prolapsed anus?

She's pretty low-risk for worms--she was tank-born and raised, was treated for worms with prazi during QT after I got her, and there have been no new tankmates in the past six monts. There aren't any other fish in her old tank that look ill in any way. Also, her protrusion is white, not red, as I would expect with worms...

Here's a couple of pictures.



















Some info:
- 10g bare-bottom hospital tank, no tankmates
- NH3/NO2/NO3 - 0/0/5 ppm
-Food - Dainichi cichlid color supreme pellets
- Still pooping but maybe less than usual, no white stringy feces
- Still eating, but less since she's been moved to the hospital tank
- Her abdomen looked pretty full a few days ago but actually looks pretty normal right now aside from the protrusion.
- She's about 3" standard length and is about two years old. Has never laid eggs.
- She's looked stressed ever since she was shredded by the male _T. ellioti_; fairly pale/faded colors and prominent horizontal markings

Since being in the hospital tank she's had a few weeks of salt treatment at 1 Tbsp/5 gal, a week of mela/pima combo, and that's it for medications/additives.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks for looking.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

It's hard to tell without seeing her belly whether that's her ovipositor or anus. But either way, it doesn't look swollen or infected, and may retract on its own. Perhaps switch to Epsom salt (a gentle laxative) (50% WC, then add 2 TBS to the 10 gallon tank) in case she's having GI distress. I'd keep her in the QT tank for a few more weeks- keeping her under less stressful conditions is best right now.

Good luck!


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## scrivz (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks for the reply, triscuit. I was leaning towards using some mag sulfate (epsom) to see if it would relieve this and you've confirmed that it might be a reasonable way to go. Thanks much.


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