Acanthostracion quadricornis is the “Correctly Pronounce a Binomial Nomenclature Challenge” for today. The first bit (Acanthostracion) is Greek and basically means thorny shell. This makes sense as all the fish in this genus have external, rigid, bony armor, composed of oversized scales that form a protective box for them to live in. It’s why they are often called Boxfish. The species portion of this name is quadricornis, which translates into English as something like “four horns.” Two of these horns are at the bottom rear of this boxy shell, just in front of the fish's anal fin. The other two horns are at the very front, just above their eyes, giving them the cow-like horns that are the genesis of their other common name, “Cowfish.” This specific fish is most often commonly called the Scrawled Cowfish, though it also goes by Shellfish, Boxfish and Trunkfish in English, with dozens of other names and translations around the world.
Scrawled Cowfish spend most of their day swimming around grazing on pretty much anything they can get into their mouths; small invertebrates like snails, shrimp and worms are all on the menu, but so is algae, diatoms, and according to some reports, also cyano. Unfortunately, for those of you who'd like to see this in a reef tank, they are also going to nibble on coral polyps, clams, gorgonians, and everything else that seems like it might be tasty. This wild feeding behavior means they will see many different things as food, but it also means they need to be fed multiple times a day. Here we love to use the Nutramar Algae and Color Boost Shots, to give our Acanthostracion quadricornis something to graze on, but we also feed them the Pellet, along with a mix of meaty foods from Gamma including Mysis, Chopped Prawn, Chopped Mussel, Brine Plus Spirulina, Brine Plus Omega 3, Mosquito Larvae, Bloodworms and others. These are shy fish, especially initially, and so you may need to give them some live Brine or Glass Shrimp with their frozen food to get them to come out and eat. Once they recognize you as a feeder, not an eater they'll be much bolder. Click here to learn more
Scrawled Cowfish spend most of their day swimming around grazing on pretty much anything they can get into their mouths; small invertebrates like snails, shrimp and worms are all on the menu, but so is algae, diatoms, and according to some reports, also cyano. Unfortunately, for those of you who'd like to see this in a reef tank, they are also going to nibble on coral polyps, clams, gorgonians, and everything else that seems like it might be tasty. This wild feeding behavior means they will see many different things as food, but it also means they need to be fed multiple times a day. Here we love to use the Nutramar Algae and Color Boost Shots, to give our Acanthostracion quadricornis something to graze on, but we also feed them the Pellet, along with a mix of meaty foods from Gamma including Mysis, Chopped Prawn, Chopped Mussel, Brine Plus Spirulina, Brine Plus Omega 3, Mosquito Larvae, Bloodworms and others. These are shy fish, especially initially, and so you may need to give them some live Brine or Glass Shrimp with their frozen food to get them to come out and eat. Once they recognize you as a feeder, not an eater they'll be much bolder. Click here to learn more
