boxfish

ozzfan84

Member
Hello. Quick question. I bought a box fish from my lfs, bu ti dont know the type (hes yellow with black spots)Hes soo small that I can hardly see his fins, about half the size of a marble. I have him in a small tank with a picasso trigger that is afraid to go near him. I know about the poison in the liver, but would still like to try and raise one. Has anyone ever had one successfully? Also, are there any special care tips? thanks
 

big dave

Member
You bought a yellow boxfish(Ostracion Cubicus). Yes I have a few hints for you. IME keep them in as peaceful of a tank as possible. Triggers are by far out of the question. More suitable for tanks with boxfish would contain large combtooth blennies, gobies, clownfish, and other small peaceful fish. As far as food goes, DO NOT feed them food that floats on the surface because they will get swin bladder infections from inhaling air. They will need a large tank (100+) because they get around a foot long and aren't the most graceful of swimmers. Keep LR to a minimum but have 1 or 2 big caves they can fit in and turn around in. They will usually eat anything including: all frozen foods, live brine shrimp, prawn, scallop, mysis, clams, and some algae(seaweed selects) and you may also want to include Ocean Nutrition's Angel Formula food because it contains sponge which boxfish are known to eat. Also, many people recommend keeping some form of carbon filtration in case they "nuke" and release toxins. This will give you the chance to do a major water change to rid the tank of toxins if it "nuked" when you aren't home. They are also prone to ick so garlic soaking food is also recommened. Just my 2 cents hope this helps you keep these really cool fish! -Big Dave
 

ozzfan84

Member
thanks for all the info, i took out the picasso and put in a percula clown. He seems to have a large appatite for such a small fish. I read they should be fed about 3x a day. Is that true? I dont want to overfeed him
 
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