hairtrigger
Active Member
Yeah, so are they? Cause I saw plums in his little nano and now I want one. A cowfish... not a nano. Well, that too... but a nano is a whole different thread. 
Moo. (Cow for thanks.)
Moo. (Cow for thanks.)
Are cow fishes completely reef safe? Moo.
- Thread starter hairtrigger
- Start date
sammystingray
Active Member
I have had many...have plenty of personal experience......the books are right........NOT REEF SAFE. They will bite into a lot of things, especially as they grow. I have a leather still with a funny shape where a cowfish took bites out of it. They also eat any worms they can find, and they even blow jet streams of water into the sand bed to uncover life there as well......cool to watch, but not good. I didn't know he had one in a nano....if it is the common longhorn cowfish seen all the time, then the ALMOST TWO FOOT LENGTH they reach won't leave much room for water. They really love tube worms, so kiss them goodbye, and mine have always seemed to take a liking to snail and hermits as they grew. The last one I had ate four or five silversides whole at each feeding before he outgrow his 75 gallon. NOT REEF SAFE AT ALL. Mostly because they eat too many things you want, and they don't stay the cute little yellow inch long cuties you see at the store.......mine have bitten into many corals with their powerful bird like beak.....don't do it. One plus is that they are VERY VERY easy to catch and remove.
sammystingray
Active Member
I should say on the other hand....they are VERY cool fish, and they are very peaceful to other fish. They have a personality that few fish have, and always stay out front and come to you when you approach the tank. Toxin? we all know it's there, but I have NEVER seen it. I even had a queen angel tear a cowfish apart to the point he had flesh hanging off everywhere on his body.........still no toxins..or atleast nothing noticable. The cowfish eventually healed with scars, and nothing ever died in the tank. I do think the toxin scare is over rated, but I don't think these guys are reef safe AT ALL, and they do grow to almost two feet long.......cool fish, but if the folks with them keep them healthy.....99 percent will have to take them back eventually. They will end up needing atleast 300 gallon tanks in my opinion when full grown at two feet long, and that is only because they swim slow and don't need the space an active two foot long fish would.
hairtrigger
Active Member
Man, that was an awesome account. Thanks Sammy. unfortunately, I don't want to risk my corals becoming dinner for a moo fish. Sad, because I agree that they are super cool looking. I used to want one in my aggressive tank, but they were too passive to keep with my triggers and eels etc. Ho hum. That's life sometimes. I really do need two tanks. Big tanks.
fishtanker
Member
i agree with you sammy on the personality of the the boxfish and cowfish. i have a yellow boxfish who has the best personality, always visible, eats out of my hand, and i can even pcik him up in my hand and hold him out of the water and he has never released toxin either, i also think its overated. he'll have to go back to the lfs eventually cause i don;t have a tank big enough for his 2 feet max length.
vibe
Member
yeah they are know to pick at corals. they also pick at sponges as well. sometimes you get lucky though. i heard they have poison glands also. if they die, the poisin can leak into the water and possibly kill all your fish. but with good care and close watch one them, they are awsome fish to have, its so funny watching them swim through a current. like little air packets they are. good luck to everyone