We have a small porcupine puffer About 1 1/2 - 2 inches. He just got stuck to the feeder/ suction pump for our protien skimmer. The way he was stuck he was upside down belly up. I pulled him off and it looks like his insides are coming out. best case scenario is that where he was stuck was right on his little but and its just poop that is showing. However i dont think that is the case and would be supprised if he made it through the night. Now is the really hard part to forget about the possibility of saving him and focus on the rest of our tank. We have a fish only tank. 70 gallon with live sand and non live rock. It has an older fluval 303 filter and a hang on back CPR Aero force skimmer for filtration. We have a dog face puffer about 5 inches, 2 tomato clowns about 2 and 3 inches 2 diamond back gobies about 3 inches and an algae blenny about 3 1/2 inches. We have read conflicting info on weather or not the porcupine is poisonous and are very concerned about the tank. Before anybody says it we know the tank is not big enough for the puffers at maturity and are committing to upgrading our tank to at least 120 gal. Also some may not think that the 2 puffers are ok together. We have read much conflicting info on this and our 2 fish stores in our area have both said that they are different in shape so it shouldnt be an issue. PLEASE HELP any info suggestions on what we should do are very appreciated. Our fish are not just an interactive picture frame to us they all have names and are our loved pets.

If you have doubts as to what it is exactly that is coming out of your puffer then I suggest putting em in a quarantine tank.

The Porcupine Pufferfish does contain tetrodotoxin, and so if your other fish begin nibbling at him in his weakened state they could die.

If you have a spare tank or even a clean bucket move some of the water to it with the puffer. If you can't spare a filter then do regular water changes.

If you don't have a quarantine tank then run to the pet store and get a breeder net, this will separate your puffer and prevent the others from chewing on him.

Luckily tetrodotoxin is a fragile molecular composition and will break up from the small amounts of chlorine present in all aquariums so it won't make the water toxic.

If it's your fishes guts that are hanging out though it could turn very bad. There could be diseases in your fishes gut that will damage your tank.

As for the fish, if the damage is too bad there may be very little you can do. If you really really love him as a member of your family you can go to a veterinarian and pay for what I could only assume would be very expensive testing and surgery.

Don't give up hope though, my Danio lost an eye a while back and he's still doing fine!