Checkout the box fish...so cool!

[hawaiianwargod]

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Islandmindanao/Roliesreef00031.jpg

[boxfishpooalot]

Sweet! Here is mine :) A big pig. This fish is 5" head to tail.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/salwaterfish123/Picture004-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

[awestruck]

Aw, I am sooo jealous! Boxfish are one of my favorites but my largest tank is only a 58g. so I won't keep them. However, thanx for the great pics.! :)

[Freed]

These won't harm any corals?

[awestruck]

Many people have them with no problems whatsoever. In fact, Dr. Holmes-Farley has one and so far he has had no problems!

[Freed]

Do they have to be a certain species or have certain markings to be reef safe?

[cristhiam]

very nice! mine just turned 1. he is in my 125 mixed reef, with sps, lps, clams and softies. it leaves the clean up crew alone, he likes to eat all the time, I feed mine home made food with, selcom, mysis, krill, squid, garlic, scalops, shrimp, formula 1, 2, plellets, flake and loves to eat nori sheets and red algea a total pig :)
the key to success IMO is space and it has to be one of the first fish to go in, after he settles then add othe fish. Mine has adjusted to the flow in the tank and competes for food with no probles, look at my signature for his tank mates. Also Dr. Randy was the inspiration to get mine, I've allways wanted that fish. They have lots of personality, mine some times blows water out, and follows you around begging for food, likes to swim with his horns out of the water prertty funny. There are other species that dont grow large and should be fine in tanks 55 and up, the helmet I think is one of them.

[cristhiam]

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~pinatas/10months/DSC00044.jpg http://www.home.earthlink.net/~pinatas/images/backyarddigans%20003.jpg
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~pinatas/images/backyarddigans%20004.jpg
Full tank
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~pinatas/stand1.jpg
And a cool video at feeding time!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEwVS9f9kjE

[andyjd]

very cool, i want one in my next tank

[hawaiianwargod]

Amazing pics...thanks guys for sharing!

[boxfishpooalot]

although the one with horns seems to be reef safe, the one I got that I posted is definitely not(yellow spotted boxfish/polka dot). He samples everything in the tank. Ate all my xenia too! I dont recomend boxfish of any kind if you want inverts or corals.

[rustybucket145]

I've got a thornback cowfish. Similar to the longhorn but without the long horns! :D

He is absolutely a hoot to watch. I don't have any pics of him here at work but this is what he looks like.

http://www.starfish.ch/photos/fishes-Fische/boxfishes-Kofferfische/Lactoria-cornuta4.jpg

[SptfireXIV]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9689408#post9689408 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rustybucket145
I've got a thornback cowfish. Similar to the longhorn but without the long horns! :D

He is absolutely a hoot to watch. I don't have any pics of him here at work but this is what he looks like.

http://www.starfish.ch/photos/fishes-Fische/boxfishes-Kofferfische/Lactoria-cornuta4.jpg

Where in the world did you find him? I've been looking for one for ages now!

[Freed]

Rustybucket, is yours reef safe?

[cristhiam]

that's is an awsome boxfish, rustybucket145

[AquaReeferMan]

Yeah I have been looking for the thornback for a while now as well. They only get to be around 5". One of the main reasons they are not reef safe is because when they are really stressed or die they release a poisonous substance called ostracitoxin. That can wipe out a tank rather quickly.

[SptfireXIV]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9691884#post9691884 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AquaReeferMan
Yeah I have been looking for the thornback for a while now as well. They only get to be around 5". One of the main reasons they are not reef safe is because when they are really stressed or die they release a poisonous substance called ostracitoxin. That can wipe out a tank rather quickly.

From what I've read it won't have a direct effect on corals though.

[cristhiam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9692235#post9692235 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SptfireXIV
From what I've read it won't have a direct effect on corals though.
Also rare but possible, I only found 1 or 2 cases in RC whe I was researching them, also some died with no effect on the other fish/corals.

[spleen93]

I love cowfish. :) They're very cute with their horns.

Spleen

[jpa0741]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9689314#post9689314 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boxfishpooalot
although the one with horns seems to be reef safe, the one I got that I posted is definitely not(yellow spotted boxfish/polka dot). He samples everything in the tank. Ate all my xenia too! I dont recomend boxfish of any kind if you want inverts or corals.

Here is a pic of mine I have had 1 year in my reef. Never any problems with any corals, clams, inverts.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/jpa0741/100_1755.jpg

[boxfishpooalot]

Your just lucky right now. Perhaps its too small right now. IIRC in their juvenile form they spend most of their time living at sea grass beds eating crustaceans and seagrass. As they mature they move out to the reef .Which then they have a bigger set of teeth and new food to sample. Oh I remeber the the yellow days...... cute but just wait.

:)

[HolyScoly]

GREAT PICS i have a question how big of a tank do u need to keep boxfish?

[SptfireXIV]

Depends on the fish, most grow to be huge.

Has anyone tried an O. meleagris (blue boxfish, hawaiian boxfish) in a reef tank?

[cristhiam]

depends on the species, some are medium size and some grow ut to 18 inches. this website shoud give you more info www.cowfishes.com

[reefmutts]

Where did you get him?

I looked on Liveaquaria,but none to be found!

[SptfireXIV]

These fish are also definitely not something that you simply pick up on a whim, the entire tank needs to be planned around them.

They need low flow spots that they can retreat to since they're poor swimmers. Along the same lines, your water flow needs to be set up so theres no chance of the fish getting sucked into a powerhead. Aggressive tankmates should be avoided at all costs. Cleaner shrimp can irritate these fish fairly easily, so if you have both, make sure the cowfish can easily stay away from the shrimp if it chooses to do so. They're messy eaters, so make sure your skimming is good. Etc, etc.

[AquaReeferMan]

Heres a link from liveaquarias divers den. If I had the money I would buy it up.
http://liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=19083&siteid=20

[cristhiam]

I got mine at the LFS, around this time, I've noticed that is kind of a seasonal fish. I agree with that the tank needs to be planned around the cowfish. When mine was small it was getting stuck on the modded MJ1200s, I had to cover them with pvc an drill lot of holes so there is not too much suction on them, but after it got bigger/stronger I removed the covers and it was able to pulled him self out of them, also they adjust to flow mine swims all over but I have a few zones that it's medium flow that he hangs around at, not a poor swimmer. Here is the video that shows he has no trouble with the flow or competing for food. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEwVS9f9kjE

[reefmutts]

Good points! I do have cleaner shrimps and lots of flow so a cowfish will not work. Very cute looking specimen. I'll have to reframe from it until I decide to setup a reef around cows!

Thats why I love this site. There is tons of information, Thanks

[rustybucket145]

I got mine at the LFS when he was probably under an inch long. So far he has not bothered any corals or other fish. He gets along nicely with my niger trigger and my yellow tang. My Falco Hawkfish is kinda spooked by him and will strike a defensive posture occasionally.

The Cowfish in the Boxfish family can possibly (but rarely) release a toxin into the water through their skin. They do this only in extremely stressfull situations and mostly only when they are about to be eaten by another fish. the main way to defend against this is to run carbon in the tank 24/7 which I do as a safety precaution. It will effectively remove the toxin should a toxic event ever occur.

[SptfireXIV]

Do you remember the time of year? These fish seem to be seasonal.