The Puffer Forum

I think my Porcupine having hard time to Poop.. everytime he poop.. there is this pinky poop thing or could be the fish buttocks coming out from the hole on the anus.. then the Porcupine swim very fast and poop just a little bit.. after a while.. the pinky stuff slowly will go back into the anus of the fish into the fish body, then the fish will shake a little bit.. it's like he is having problem poop properly .. I fed him raw shrimp, brime shrimp, clams and bloodworm. He doesn't like mysis, veggie or any other food.. so I am thinking the fish didn't consume any veggie, might having hard time to poop... any medication for that?

The fish buttocks?

well when you look from the back of the porcupine just at the bottom area near the tail.. you see there is tiny hole.... so I call it the fish anus..where the Poop come out.... from time to time.. I see a pink marshmallow looking like thing out from that hole and it's around 1cm wide/diameter.. I am not sure it's a hidden buttocks cheek that will come out when the fish try to poop or it's actually a big Poop that having difficulty come out from the fish anus.... when the fish try to poop..that pinky thing will show up outside the body..then after the fish swim around for a bit..then it shrunk back into the anus..

I am lost cause I am not porcupine specialist so I don't know is the porcupine come with a hidden buttocks cheek that will come out during poop time or it's something else... like a poop or something

1tbsp Epsom salt/5gal.

Will the Epsom salt effect anything in my tank? I got 2 Cleaners, 1 Peppermint, 1 Coral Banded Shrimp, 1 Trouchus snail and 1 Turbo.. also some SPS, LPS, Zoos and mushroom in there...

I can buy Epsom Salt from Drug store right? What about those from beauty or bath shop?? I don't want to get something will poison everything in the tank.. so what is your recommendation for pure Epsom Salt

I can't tell you for sure about that.

walmart or any drugstore/pharmacy should have plain old epsom salt. It'll either come in a box or bag. Ask the pharmacist, they'll point you in the right direction. Once you see the packaging you can tell if it has any additives in it.

I'm pretty sure it's harmless to inverts.

If it is truly constipation - Epsom salts can help. A large water change can also help.

I am concerned as what you are describing sounds like an intermittent prolapse of the intestine/rectum.

This can be seen with intestinal parasites, intestinal blockage and mycobacterium marinum.

If the puffer is in with other fish - especially rabbits, other puffers, tangs - it really needs to be moved to a separate tank as these fish will bite, nip at the prolapse causing further damage/swelling.