Cowfish/Boxfish aficionados

[SecretiveFish]

I have been bitten by the cowfish/boxfish bug! However, there does not seem to be an abundant amount of information available about these guys except a lot of "Stay away!!!" The most extensive information I was able to find was on WetWebMedia, but I still found it lacking about suggested tankmates, feeding, longevity, and toxicity. Do you know any sites that provide this information?

More questions:
- How long have you successfully kept one in your system? What kind of boxfish was it?
- What did you feed it?
- What was the size of tank you kept one in?
- What tankmates did you keep with the boxfish/cowfish?
- Have you kept more than one in a system?
- Did you run carbon?
- Did you experience the toxicity that I have read about?

[ashtree68]

Tagging along...

[fish stalker]

Hope this helps :)
I have had three long horn cowfish and one spotted box fish. My first cow fish I grew from a tiny baby till quite large. They grow fairly quickly. I had it in a 30 holding tank then a 72. This was a very interactive fish always wanting food. They can bite and this one drew blood when I wasn't paying attention during tank maintenance when it thought my fingers were tasty looking. Tank mates were blennies, valentini puffer, springers pseudo, mated black and white clowns and a marine betta. I lost this one after a state to state move. It made the move ok but died a week later from some kind of skin infection where it had white slime like skin flaking off it. I tried various antibiotics in it's q/tank but no luck. The puffer with it was fine. I wasn't running carbon at the time because of the meds and it wasn't in the tank long after it died plus I did a 50% water change.
The next cow fish went into a q tank and died within a day from ich. It didn't have signs of it in the lfs but was obviously infected as the box fish also came from the same shipment and died shortly after before treatment could take.
My third is alive and growing. I put it straight into a holding grow out tank. It has shown signs of spots on it's fins but eating well. I have had it for a few months and will be needing to decide on treatment before moving it to it's larger tank. These fish are skittish in the beginning but very interactive when they settle in. Spitting water and begging for food :). They love picking at rock and sand. I'm still deciding on future tank mates at this stage. I think this is a great fish if you cater to its needs and plan your tank accordingly.

[fish stalker]

Should add it eats anything I put in except for pellets

[Monkeyfish]

I currently have a tetrasomus gibbosus (camelback cowfish) in a 180g reef (soft corals only). The other inhabitants are peaceful fish; anthias, tasseled filefish, OSFF, cherub angel, radiant wrasse, CBB and gray poma. Everyone gets along fine. The cowfish does not pick at any of the corals to any noticeable degree and eats almost anything I feed the tank including pellets. He loves live blackworms. The cowfish has almost grown slowly since I bought him about 5 months ago. He was less than 2 inches when I purchased him and now measures about 2.5 inches.

[SecretiveFish]

Thanks fishstalker and Monkeyfish!

Last week I got a scribbled boxfish who is currently residing in a 10g quarantine and am debating about the best place to put him after he makes it through. He just started eating frozen blood worms (did not go for the frozen mysis...) day before yesterday but is still extremely timid.

The available options for him are a 57 gallon with a pair of oscellaris clownfish or a 150 gallon reef with a yellow eye kole tang, lawnmower blenny, matted filefish, green mandarin, marine betta, indigo hamlet, longnose hawkfish, swallowtail hawkfish, and a large blonde naso tang (this fish has outgrown our tank and is going to be rehomed in the near future). The aggressors in the 150 are the kole tang and the lawnmower blenny, everybody else is really chill. I think I may put the scribbled boxfish in the 57 for awhile, at least until I re-home the naso tang. Thoughts?

My grand plan (although may not be feasible which is why I am collecting more information) is to have 3 cowfish/boxfish in the 150 along the current inhabitants, minus the naso tang. Thoughts? I had a tetrasomus gibbosus but lost him during a business trip. I really want another but can not get a hold of one.

[Monkeyfish]

Boxfish/cowfish tend not to like each other unless they're a mated pair. For example, if you have a longhorn in the tank it'll attack any other boxfish that you introduce.

[seanothon]

I have a Cowfish that I have had for about a year and a half.
It has grown to about 10" and I have fed it Spectrum pellets the majority of the time I've had it. It also loves the occasional cocktail shrimp.
Started in a 90gl and its currently in a 120gl but could use an uptank soon.
It's currently living with a stripped burrfish and an emperor angel. Both are smaller than the cow; both around 6"-7". I had a cortez wrasse with it before but the wrasse started to nip and tear the cowfish's tail fin.
I have always avoided adding another boxfish (despite really wanting to on several occasions) because of the way I saw the cow react after I added the burrfish. It got extremely aggressive towards it and took some chunks out of it. Those little mouths can do some damage. I ended up separating the two in the same tank with egg crate for a few months. I reintroduced them about a month and half ago and everything has been fine between the two, so i guess the cowfish got used to sharing its tank. I don't know if it would be the same story if it was another boxfish so I don't think I'll chance it.
I do not and have not run carbon but I don't see what it would hurt.
I have never seen anything that looked like my cowfish had released any toxins and furthermore, I have ever heard a firsthand account of this happening. I have a friend who works at a LFS that says they have boxfish die in the tanks from time to time and have never had any repercussions.

I would caution you to wait for a healthy specimen before you purchase one. I have seen them starve themselves and go down from ich many times. I waited a while to settle on mine and it sealed there deal when it tried to eat my finger through the glass. Even with precautions I've had to treat mine for ich two separate times.

[seanothon]

Oh and this is a really good report from ~ocean. I'm not sure if he/she is a user on here but its full of great info http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?269082-My-crazy-report&highlight=

[LisaD]

I have Ostracion solorensis, forget what the common name is. It's a really nice fish, and doesn't get very big. I recommend it - mine is currently with a mombassa lionfish, radiata lionfish, marine betta, poma angel. It holds its own and eats like a pig. :)

I've also kept this fish in the past with dogface puffer, sharpnose puffers, green wolf eel. It's a spunky fish, not aggressive. Could get picked on because it is not a strong swimmer, so watch aggressive feeding or fast swimming tankmates.

[SecretiveFish]

Thanks for all of the information! I feel better about keeping them now.

LisaD, I think the boxfish I have in quarantine is an Ostracion solorensis (labeled as a Scribbled Boxfish) too, so I am extremely glad to hear your fish is doing well. It gives me hope that mine will be around for awhile. This is actually the second scribbled boxfish I have tried; the first died within 24 hours of being in the quarantine tank and had visible ICK when I bought it. The LFS replaced that fish with the one I have now. I did not realize that boxfish were so susceptible to ICK, but you learn something new everyday!