I am worried about my porcupine puffer fish. He is sleeping WAY more than usual and just doesn't seem right. He will come up to greet me and eat (he is hungry), but then goes back to sleeping on the bottom of the tank. I can't see any parasites or cuts but I know him, and this is not his usual behavior. Something is wrong.
I have had him for about 8 months. His only tank mate is a flame hawkfish, who appears totally healthy. They have lived together the whole time. I have live rock, a Penguin Biowheel and a heater.
I feed my puffer krill (with Selcon vitamins) and also half clams (which he doesn't like at all but will eat if he gets hungry). Right now, his appetite is strong, and he is consuming food without any issues.
Per my API Saltwater Master Test Kit, the ammonia is 0 ppm, nitrite is 0 ppm, pH is 8.4 (maybe 8.5, but not 8.6) and the nitrates are less than 5.0 ppm. The temperature is and the salinity is 0.24.
The only change:
Over the past two months the tank had developed a REALLY bad GHA problem. After doing a lot of reading about how to treat it, I took the live rock out and hand removed all the algae (there was ALOT). I did a 30% water change. I have shortened the amount of time that my tank light is on. I added a bag of phosphorous absorbing beads into the filter to absorb excess phosphorous. I ordered a phosphorous test kit off Amazon and it should be here any day. Since that effort, the puffer has become lethargic, so I wonder if I did something wrong. Could the phosphorous absorbing beads make him sick? IMO, my water parameters are good and the other fish is fine so, I don't know where to look next. Porky is not just any fish to me. He is a pet and I truly love him. I want to do everything I can to make sure he is ok.
Any ideas on what I can do?
I have had him for about 8 months. His only tank mate is a flame hawkfish, who appears totally healthy. They have lived together the whole time. I have live rock, a Penguin Biowheel and a heater.
I feed my puffer krill (with Selcon vitamins) and also half clams (which he doesn't like at all but will eat if he gets hungry). Right now, his appetite is strong, and he is consuming food without any issues.
Per my API Saltwater Master Test Kit, the ammonia is 0 ppm, nitrite is 0 ppm, pH is 8.4 (maybe 8.5, but not 8.6) and the nitrates are less than 5.0 ppm. The temperature is and the salinity is 0.24.
The only change:
Over the past two months the tank had developed a REALLY bad GHA problem. After doing a lot of reading about how to treat it, I took the live rock out and hand removed all the algae (there was ALOT). I did a 30% water change. I have shortened the amount of time that my tank light is on. I added a bag of phosphorous absorbing beads into the filter to absorb excess phosphorous. I ordered a phosphorous test kit off Amazon and it should be here any day. Since that effort, the puffer has become lethargic, so I wonder if I did something wrong. Could the phosphorous absorbing beads make him sick? IMO, my water parameters are good and the other fish is fine so, I don't know where to look next. Porky is not just any fish to me. He is a pet and I truly love him. I want to do everything I can to make sure he is ok.
Any ideas on what I can do?