box fish /cow fish

[jester]

ok what is the deal with this fish my lfs said i can have one but i read on the net Dr foster and smith that u need a 150g tank and live rock i have neither and the are difficult to keep someone let me know please they are real cool fish

 

[gooyferret]

They will eat almost all inverts depending on what you get....What size tank you have? If you dont have a tank larger than 100gal i wouldnt recommend a box or cow fish. They get very large and do constantly eat. They will eat just about anything as for inverts: snails crabs emeralds etc....HTH

 

[jester]

ok thanks forget about him for me then

 

[goldy]

i have one that is just a baby.he is only about 2.5 in and we keep him in a 29 gal for now. we have hadf him for 1 year . cowfish grow really slow if you moniter their feeding.

 

[jester]

what else do you have in there with him if anything thanks

 

[steve-s]

Limiting the amounts of food fed to a tank for the health of the fish and environment they inhabit is one thing, limiting their food solely for the pupose of reducing or "stunting" the growth of the animal is not.

Fish stunting is overly common in fishkeeping but IMO a practice that should not be encouraged. It may not be emmediately appearant but fish will eventually develope irreversable health problems as well as a much shorter life span.

Please reconsider this as being not an option.

Cheers
Steve

 

[jester]

you da man box fish is out until i get my new tank thanks

 

[goldy]

he gets plenty to eat they just grow slower. he eats algae all day long and gets pellets and freeze dried krill at night. i'm not stunting his growth . he has eveything he needs, so sorry if i wrote that in a way to mistake it. he is housed with a blue throat trigger , a marine betta, and an ocellaris clown fish. they all do great together . they are all small too.we also have a 180 gal for when they are all big enough.like i said he is a very slow grower.

 

[RodneyCK]

I had a box fish in my 55 gal tank, fish only, and he was the best. Like puffers, you could actually hand feed him. It was if he had a personality. I know, it sounds funny. My friends were the first to notice that he would come up to the glass and follow you, then stare, very Nemo-like that one. LOL It was the cutest thing.

I miss that little guy. I am starting up a new aquarium after several years’ absence from the hobby. I can not wait and you can bet that one of my fish will definitely be a box fish. I highly recommend getting one.

 

[notmuffy]

Wow, I'm glad I read this. I saw a box fish at the lfs and it was about 2 inches long, and in a cubicle with some other fish that are always 2". I never would have guessed they needed 150 gallons! I bet the store people wouldn't have told me either, had I bought him.

 

[frazin]

I have never kept any box fish before but I have considered it. It all depends which box fish you do get such as the: Blue Spotted Boxfish, Pyramid Boxfish or Whitley's Box fish... they only grow to about 4 inches.... Cow fish on the other hand can grow till 19....

Jc

 

[ddcboys]

Alright let me brake it down.. I had a box/cow fish for 2 years. I kept him in a 37 gal tank with only a Little bit of live rock. Now it is true that they will eat Emerald crabs but I NEVER lost a Hermit crab (that I saw) to my Cow fish but my jaw fish is a different story.....but back to the subject at hand. Snails never lost one to him. His territory was the entire top half of the tank. Even when the snails would go up there he just hovered around and chilled out . My levels never spiked until the end when he Died. He used to watch me from the tank and would kiss me..I guess he thought I was food and tryed to eat me through the tank. ALL In ALL HE WAS THE BEST fish that I have had. RIP Marvin

HTH

 

[RodneyCK]

LOL... exactly ddcboys, mine did the same thing. The best part was hand feeding them, although they do have teeth and the little buggers get overly excited during feeding, so expect a few nips. They also spit water when hungry. I just thought he was mad about something...LOL.

As a side, although I had a cowfish helmet *points to avatar*, Foster & Smith suggest that this variety, which are quite beautiful, are appropriate for a minimum tank size of 50 gallons.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=77

 

[silverain420]

OK, jawfish question...

Ok, I am sorry, I have a question for ddcboys. Advisors, if I need to start a new thread, let me know.

Now it is true that they will eat Emerald crabs but I NEVER lost a Hermit crab (that I saw) to my Cow fish but my jaw fish is a different story.....

I am geting a jawfish in a week or so (he comes in thursday, but I am waiting a week or two to take hime home) and was also pondering an emerald crab. They will eventually both go in a bigger tank (qt is 12 gallon) Is that a bad idea? Do jawfish eat emerald crabs? I have never read anything that says they do. But from your experience it sounds like they do. I'll be honest, I only have a 12 gallon now (yes, 1st week of Dec I'm starting at least a 40 gallon tank) and the prospect of snails does not excite me. I would certainly take crabs or shrimp though, are those ok with a jawfish? Any help or advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. I have definately done my homework, but would always love more advice/stories based on experience. [/quote]

 

[steve-s]

It will greatly depend on the size of the crab and jawfish but in all likelyhood, the crab would be more of a threat to the fish, if at all. Jawfish are more of a danger to decorative shrimp than to a crab.

Cheers
Steve

 

[silverain420]

Thanks!

 

[ddcboys]

One morning when I woke up I saw my jaw fish with a crab leg in its mouth like a tooth pick. He was just laying at the fot f his cave looking like "what"?? I started reading as much as I could and found out it is quite the typical behavior.
HTH

 

[RodneyCK]

ROFL!!!