Regal Angelfish Intestines Popped Out?

[kboogie]

My Regal Angelfish just developed this condition today. It looks like her intestines have popped out of her butt. Is my assumption correct? Is there anything I can do? Is she a goner?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My Regal Angelfish just developed this condition today. It looks like her intestines have popped out of her butt. Is my assumption correct? Is there anything I can do? Is she a goner?

Whoa - that does look like a cloaca prolapse. I’ve never seen on on an angelfish before. In sharks and rays, they often retract them, not sure about in bony fish though.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Oh no - will up to the fish to retract it.
Is it still eating ?

 

[kboogie]

Oh no - will up to the fish to retract it.
Is it still eating ?

It is barely eating. Until yesterday she was a pig and was not afraid to push her way to the algae clip. Now she doesn’t go after the nori and barely eats.

 

[vetteguy53081]

It is barely eating. Until yesterday she was a pig and was not afraid to push her way to the algae clip. Now she doesn’t go after the nori and barely eats.

Yes- this condition is irritating it and making it literally impossible to pass food. Often straining to get rid of stuck food portions as well as an unknown internal parasitic infection will cause this. There really is no treatment for this but you can treat fish with seachem kanaplex to prevent area from getting infected if not already.
Should this fish eat again, you can feed it brine shrimp soaked with selcon vitamins to help with retraction.

 

[kboogie]

The good news is this morning it was gone. Also, she is eating, not as aggressively as before but a lot more than yesterday. I'm going to monitor her closely.

 

[kboogie]

Today is a frozen food day where I feed a smorgasbord of frozen cube Hikari Mega Marine Angel, Mega Marine Algae, Hikari Spirulina Mysis, Pro Salt Clam strips chopped up, a little bit of Rods Fish Food. All of this is soaked with Brightwell Vitamarin-M. This is my weekend treat for the fish, normally I feed freeze-dried calanus, mysis, and plankton, vacuum rehydrated with a mixture of Birghtwell AminOmega and Vitamarin-M along with diced nori (2mm by 7mm). I also provide tightly rolled-up nori on two algae clips on either end of the tank.

The Regal Angelfish is barely eating, maybe three small pecks of frozen mysis. She is pecking at algae on the rocks but the loss of appetite is concerning.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Today is a frozen food day where I feed a smorgasbord of frozen cube Hikari Mega Marine Angel, Mega Marine Algae, Hikari Spirulina Mysis, Pro Salt Clam strips chopped up, a little bit of Rods Fish Food. All of this is soaked with Brightwell Vitamarin-M. This is my weekend treat for the fish, normally I feed freeze-dried calanus, mysis, and plankton, vacuum rehydrated with a mixture of Birghtwell AminOmega and Vitamarin-M along with diced nori (2mm by 7mm). I also provide tightly rolled-up nori on two algae clips on either end of the tank.

The Regal Angelfish is barely eating, maybe three small pecks of frozen mysis. She is pecking at algae on the rocks but the loss of appetite is concerning.

Just keep feeding it what it will take. There is Not anything you can do if it is mechanical damage, sorry.
Jay

 

[kboogie]

I am happy to report that my Regal is back to being a good eater. She was almost in full vigor during today's feeding. She ate many different-sized items and chased down food in the current whereas during her spell she would only eat a few pecks of the smallest things if anything at all. She is also first to the algae clips. I think I got lucky but I will continue to monitor her.