Lethargic Porcupine puffer in QT

[AdamHorton]

1) Water parameters (picture is attached in case there is any question about liquid test kit color comparisons)
pH 8.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate looks like 10ppm, maybe a little more, not quite 20 ppm
salinity 1.023 SG
Temperature 78.4 F

2) Tank info: 20G high quarantine tank. This porcupine is the only macroscopic life that's ever been in it. No substrate, just some pvc joints for "decoration" which are really a place to hide if he wants it.

3) Feeding: He gets three frozen Krills every day. Water Change Schedule: I did a 100% water change after the fishless-cycle was done (Sunday). None since then but the plan is to do 20% or so every week. All products I've added to the tank: none so far. I use Instant Ocean salt, I seeded the bio-material for my cycle from my 150G Saltwater tank (where this guy will end up). I bought some metronidazole for worms but I haven't used it yet because I haven't seen any signs of worms.

4) Changes in the last week: Adding the fish is the only real change I've made in the last week. I got him on Sunday and it's Thursday now.

5) Aquarium setup/cycle info. I started a fishless cycle in early November of last year using some seed material from my SW tank (established for almost 4 years now). I used pure ammonia from ACE Hardware, no surfactants, the same stuff I used to cycle all my other tanks. After about 7 weeks (this past Sunday) I did my 100% water change since 2 ppm of ammonia was completely converted to nitrates in 24 hours (and I haven't seen a nonzero ammonia or nitrite reading since) then added the puffer. It's been five days since then.

Symptoms: So by the time I got here on my post most of them are gone actually, so maybe this is nothing but I'm going to post this anyways just in case.

After the first night, I turned the lights off in his tank (like the rest of my tanks which are on timers) and when I got home from work on Monday his lights were still off. I turned them on and he was hiding behind the PVC joints, resting on the ground, not really moving that much. I worried a little bit but after 15 minutes and seeing his food bowl he perked right up and ate like a champ and was the same personable fish he usually is. I figured OK, he must have been sleeping and I woke him up. So I got a timer for his lights so they will be on for a couple of hours before I get home.

The other nights this week it was OK, he was waiting for his food when he got home and begged and begged until I gave it to him. It seems the lights are doing the trick.

Today I got home from work and the lights were already on, but he was laying down on the bottom of the tank again. His breathing looked labored and his color was pale and more grey (picture is attached). So I get on here and start to take water tests of the tank. While I'm in front of the tank doing this, he perks up, looks at me, and slowly starts swimming up. He yawns a couple of times and now he's back to his old self. His color isn't completely restored yet but let me check again -- OK he's a little lazier than usual but his color is pretty much back to normal.

Maybe I'm being paranoid. Maybe he's just cranky and lazy and lonely or something and I woke him up, but if something is wrong and he's getting fatigued I don't want to wait and hope it gets better.

I've been looking for signs of worms but I haven't seen any -- I could be missing it, though, all I know to look for is loss of appetite and pooping out worms. He's been eating like a champ since I got him.

Here's the thread about my QT, in case it's relevant: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=33610

Should I be doing anything, or am I just worrying too much?

[bertie 83]

He could simply be bored as they are incredibly intelligent, add a fake plant or something with an odd texture/shape for him to explore. On a side note krill is highly addictive to puffers ( we call it puffer crack) and is linked to lockjaw so it would be worth dropping it whilst you have the chance

[AdamHorton]

After an hour or so, and even with some more people over he seems really lethargic now. I'm actually worried at this point. Hopefully he still wants food, I'll try that in a bit.

[Infinity8]

It very well could be boredom. Have you seen him "pace" at all?

side note- definitely drop the krill ASAP! I'm convinced lockjaw killed my/my exe's porc Duke. It was pretty heartbreaking.

Your little guy looks so cute! are you going to name him?

[AdamHorton]

He isn't "pacing" -- he's just hanging out in a corner of the tank or laying down in one spot. He'll get a little excited to eat (and he does eat) but he seems more lethargic than usual. Perhaps it's boredom, I mean that makes sense, but what do I do about it? I mean I thought I wasn't supposed to add aquarium decorations to QTs...

And if I don't feed him krill then what do I feed him? I have a Red Cherry Shrimp tank in the house but I don't think the population of that tank could solely support this puffer -- I'd really like something frozen to feed him. Suggestions?

He has a temporary name for right now, and I have a name in mind, but I like to give all my fish the chance to earn their names, so it won't be official for a while after he enters the main tank. The default name in case he doesn't earn one is Stewie, but for now I'm calling him Pearl Diver. Both are references to my favorite card/board game Dominion, the video link in the other thread I linked to talks about that because I put a bunch of that stuff on my YouTube channel, but that's not exactly relevant to the fish's health

...but I sure love talking about it

[G S P Freak]

You can feed him all kinds of things that are frozen! Clams (raw w/shell), shrimp (also raw/shell on), squid, etc. Variety it always better; your puffer will be healthier and happier with being fed different foods every once in a while, rather than being fed krill/shrimp for years (variety also helps prevent most vitamins deficiencies from occurring, especially when you add vitamins to the food while thawing!). HTH.
P.S. Treat for worms anyways! Just because you don't see symptoms, doesn't mean they're not there. Better to get rid of them (if they exist) before it even gets to that point. It can't hurt.

[Pufferpunk]

It has been my observation of this species in the wild, that they are nocturnal. Even though they have 4 great forms of protection (puffing, spines, camouflage & HIGHLY toxic) I always see them being very shy & hiding in cubby holes most days. I see way more of them out swimming in the open during the night. How bright are the lights in there?

[AdamHorton]

He doesn't appear interested in people at all anymore, he just hovers in the corner of the tank and he didn't even want to eat tonight.

What's worse is that I'm going to be leaving tomorrow morning and I'll be gone until Monday night. Is there anything I can do at this point?

[Pufferpunk]

Definitely do a WC before you leave.