cowfish?

[rokcrawla]

My fiance has fallen in love with cowfish, we currently have a 55 gallon aquarium with a huma trigger and a damsel and I just started what will be a 10 gallon reef tank when it is done cycling. Would a cowfish be suitable for either of these or do we need to hold off on that one until we get a bigger tank? How big do they get? Ive heard they can be poisonous can someone elaborate on this? Theyre really cool looking but thats about all I know about them, please educate me.

thanks,
Josh

 

[HoopsGuru]

There are several cowfish species, but I would not add any to your 55g tank. The humu trigger, as it gets larger...max out the bio-load for your tank. Otherwise, if the 55g was empty, a Thornback could probably do o.k. in a 55g...but I believe a bit larger than minimum is always preferred. A 125g or so would be a very nice setup for most cowfish species.

Cowfish can exude a toxin (ostracitoxin) if stressed. It is a defense mechanism in the wild, but obviously deadly in a contained area like our tanks (even to the cowfish). However, in the proper environment this should not be an issue, and I know of a few people that have kept them without a single incident.

HTH

 

[hisc1ay]

Those are the coolest looking fish. I hadn't seen one until the last time I was at the LFS, and it was about 5 inches long. I went back yesterday and they had one that was a little over an inch long. They're so cute. They look like some type of tropical fruit to me, though.

-j

 

[Clown Monarch]

I saw one at the LFS that was incredibly tiny - about the size of your pinky fingernail. My girlfriend fell in love with it too.

 

[seafan]

I caught a 14in warbled cowfish here in Florida, so they definitely have the potential to grow large.

 

[hisc1ay]

You can catch them in the US?! Like on a hook? Sweet...

I wanted to post a picture for anyone who doesn't know what this is...
http://www.divegallery.com/cowfish_pair.jpg
(I decided not to post the pic, but a link instead, because it's large)

They look like aliens. So cool!

-j

 

[Corty]

I originally saw these on LiveAquaria. I saw them live for the first time in an LFS a few weeks ago. Nifty little critters.

 

[blorkiemom]

They are adorable, except for that poison part. My husband really, really wanted one and I had to say no. Sad husband. If it's any consolation to wanna be cowfish keepers, I did do some reasearch on them and apparently they get less cute (in color and "horns") as they grow. So a 1-inch cowfish may be the cutest ever, but a 10-inch maybe not so much.

 

[amphibianboy528]

cowfish are poisonous,so don't put them in a tank with curious tankmates that will bite the cowfish.The poison from the wound will cause a tank wipe-out.Otherwise they are cute and interesting pets.

 

[revhtree]

I have caught a few before off a pier, before I started my aquarium. I dont know what I would do now, if I caught when of these guys.