Box and cowfish

[matt62950]

Hello, I’m wondering about cow fish and box fish but mainly box fish, I’ve heard they can release a toxin if stressed and kill the entire tank is this true? Also wondering good tank sizes and mates for these kinds of fish, I’ve heard the cowfish can do good with other fish if they are chosen correctly but haven’t heard much about box fish, I know the cows get big but would they be able to live together in a big enough tank? Also would a box fish do better in a smaller tank by itself?

 

[Tahoe61]

Both are extremely poor choices for the vast majority of hobbyist. Unfortunately their mechanisms of movement do not lend well to a reef tank.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I have a cow fish I bought as a baby the size of a quarter. In about 1.5 years or so he is now maybe 7” end to end.
I have heard of the toxin thing but from what I understand, it’s kinda like zoas in the sense that they may all have palytoxin, but most are pretty harmless with proper precautions. I THINK Cowfish and yellow box fish may be the least likely to cause a problem.
My Cowfish started off in my 65 gallon but as it has grown I moved it to my mixed reef 180 gallon. It likes to eat leathers. My beautiful big toadstool and devils hand are like stumps now. But everything else is ok.
It eats like a pig. Loves nori and the biggest chunks of frozen mysis or whatever the better.
It is truly like a puppy in the sense that it follows me around. Anything that goes into the tank it wants to taste. It tries to sample my clear siphon tube during a water change at least twice.
It also likes to spit water out of the tank onto the floor.

 

[mrpontiac80]

Both are extremely poor choices for the vast majority of hobbyist. Unfortunately their mechanisms of movement do not lend well to a reef tank.

I was worried about this moving it into my 180, as I have lots of sps and flow. 4 gyres and a few tangs and such. Surprisingly he does very well overall in my system. He moves slowly but he can move quickly when food is fed now

 

[Fury808]

Do you think you will need a bigger tank tha 180?

 

[mrpontiac80]

Do you think you will need a bigger tank tha 180?

Not sure honestly. They get big but it’s not like he paces the tank. More like just hangs out

 

[landlubber]

Both are extremely poor choices for the vast majority of hobbyist. Unfortunately their mechanisms of movement do not lend well to a reef tank.

this was my experience too.
In a slow moving softie or lps system I could see it being a possibility but the flow required for sps just resulted in the little fella getting blown around if it left the safety of the liverock.
Personally I see it as a species that you build the tank around as your feature fish as opposed to a mixed fish mixed reef style scenario.

 

[matt62950]

Both are extremely poor choices for the vast majority of hobbyist. Unfortunately their mechanisms of movement do not lend well to a reef tank.

I was mainly thinking of keeping them alone in there own tanks but i was going to attempt one in a 125 predator type tank but if that isn’t working for it I’ll move it to A a solitary tank as well

 

[matt62950]

this was my experience too.
In a slow moving softie or lps system I could see it being a possibility but the flow required for sps just resulted in the little fella getting blown around if it left the safety of the liverock.
Personally I see it as a species that you build the tank around as your feature fish as opposed to a mixed fish mixed reef style scenario.

Yes, this is my plan definitely not keeping one in any reef tank whatsoever only Fowler, and honestly am only trying one in a community predator style tank to see if it works and if it doesn’t he’ll get removed to a solitary tank, any recommended minimum tank size for just a single frogfish? Also would they eat a cuc of I tried to add snails or crabs?

 

[landlubber]

Yes, this is my plan definitely not keeping one in any reef tank whatsoever only Fowler, and honestly am only trying one in a community predator style tank to see if it works and if it doesn’t he’ll get removed to a solitary tank, any recommended minimum tank size for just a single frogfish? Also would they eat a cuc of I tried to add snails or crabs?

Honestly i've never kept a frogfish but personally would aim above the Liveaquaria minimum tank size recommendations and consider a 40 gallon breeder or above.
As for CUC, you're going to find most predatory fish will be labeled "unsafe for invertebrates" and while experiences will vary its more of an admission that the fish you're considering may occasionally thin out your snails, crabs and shrimp.
That being said, make sure to do your research when picking the CUC fas it will likely be disclosed if the invert you're considering may be a natural food choice for the fish. Hawkfish and shrimp or Triggerfish and snails come to mind.

 

[revenant]

Here's some good info about them: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/box-cowfish-what-you-need-to-know.1019626/

loads of bad and false info about them running around.. this write-up should clear things up.