cow fish care

rosa55 · Sep 28, 2021

Hi everyone, Im about to adopt a cow fish for my aquarium and i wanted to know if it is necessary to buy a uv sterilizer and what type should i buy ?

Miami Reef · Sep 28, 2021

rosa55 said:
Hi everyone, Im about to adopt a cow fish for my aquarium and i wanted to know if it is necessary to buy a uv sterilizer and what type should i buy ?

UV sterilizer not needed. Is this for the reported toxins they may leach out? UV won’t do anything for that, but running activated carbon 24/7 can help.

I read online that it’s rare for cowfish to release their toxins unless they became super stressed out (like getting sucked into a powerhead alive). Many times they just die without any negative consequences to the tank.

^ second paragraph is my opinion based on what I’ve read on forums.

Also, I think a cowfish may be prone to ich (need to double check me on that) so a UV sterilizer *may* help with management if you aren’t doing a full QT.

sunken3 · Sep 28, 2021

i can attest to the ICH thing.. they definitely seem prone, but easy easy to treat. I have screwed up QT'ing a few times and had to catch and move my cow fish into QT 2x now. he is easy to catch (not too fast and easy to entice with food (like a dog)). I used cupramine, while using the tank transfer method, then prazipro.. he is a champ and never seems bothered. easy care and newer nuked my tank.

i hear the similar yellow cube fish is NOT the same from a nuking standpoint, but have never had a problem myself over the years.

sunken3 · Sep 28, 2021

that said I do run carbon.

billandwende · Oct 17, 2021

I've had a Longhorn box fish 3 years now. In all that time I've had no issues at all. Ich isn't an issue if you have good QT protocols. I think the toxin issue is greatly exaggerated. The experts say that over time a box fish will even poison itself. I run no carbon and rarely do water changes on that tank, not that I condone my own lack of good husbandry. The fact is I've kinda neglected that poor fish and it's still going strong. Give it a shot, they are a pretty cool fish.

thm1121 · Jan 23, 2022

Hi
We had to let our tank sit fallow due to velvet but are ready to add fish back to the tank after QT. What we have added so far is a black storm, orange storm, 3 bangaii cardinals, and 5 chromis. I would like to add a cowfish but want to make sure those tank mates are ok and does anyone have advice on how to introduce him to the tank after QT? Any advice you can give would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tiffany

billandwende · Jan 25, 2022

thm1121 said:
Hi
We had to let our tank sit fallow due to velvet but are ready to add fish back to the tank after QT. What we have added so far is a black storm, orange storm, 3 bangaii cardinals, and 5 chromis. I would like to add a cowfish but want to make sure those tank mates are ok and does anyone have advice on how to introduce him to the tank after QT? Any advice you can give would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tiffany

None of those fish should pose an issue to a cowfish. Be sure you don't have crazy high flow and you should be fine. If possible I'd introduce the cowfish first. If not, then I (with any new fish) total black out day 1. Then add new fish on day 2 and keep dark. day 3 turn on lights and feed more than usual. Observe closely and if there is any aggression add more food. Still have aggression black out for another day and repeat. If things still are going wrong try rearranging rock work and water flow.

In all honesty I think you'll have no worries adding this fish. Usually you get aggression with fish the look alike. nothing else looks as cool as a cowfish.

thm1121 · Jan 28, 2022

billandwende said:
None of those fish should pose an issue to a cowfish. Be sure you don't have crazy high flow and you should be fine. If possible I'd introduce the cowfish first. If not, then I (with any new fish) total black out day 1. Then add new fish on day 2 and keep dark. day 3 turn on lights and feed more than usual. Observe closely and if there is any aggression add more food. Still have aggression black out for another day and repeat. If things still are going wrong try rearranging rock work and water flow.

In all honesty I think you'll have no worries adding this fish. Usually you get aggression with fish the look alike. nothing else looks as cool as a cowfish.

Thank you for the feedback. I don’t think we have crazy high flow but we have quite a bit of euphyllia that like flow so there is flow in the tank to keep them happy.. maybe when I add him start with low flow then add a little each day until we are back to where we were? I am super excited to get a cow fish and just hope I can give him a great home!

billandwende · Jan 28, 2022

It's not that a cow doesn't like flow. It's that they can not swim in it. They have very limited propulsion and they are basically a cube. The flow will push them around and exhaust them. Just keep an eye on it and adjust as needed. I have areas of high flow and the cow gets shoved away when it wanders to closely.

thm1121 · Jan 30, 2022

billandwende said:
It's not that a cow doesn't like flow. It's that they can not swim in it. They have very limited propulsion and they are basically a cube. The flow will push them around and exhaust them. Just keep an eye on it and adjust as needed. I have areas of high flow and the cow gets shoved away when it wanders to closely.

Haha they are like a little box. I will definitely watch that in the tank. Hopefully yours avoids the “high flow” areas in your tank and you have found the happy medium. I’m hoping that is what I can find as well. Thanks again for your information and advice.
Tiffany