Cowfish Help!!!!
- Thread starter wdgosnell
- Start date
babyb
Active Member
mine does that somethins when something has changed in the tank but after he gets used to everything he will go back to normal. be careful because if they get to stressed they will put out toxin and kill everything in the tank including himself. i have never had it happen(knock on wood) but just the sound of it sound devistating. i have heard they are shy but my little marvin is far from shy. whenever i am around the tank or in the tank he is right there with me following me aroundbighting air bubbles off my arm, very sweet, although he has gotten me a few times preaty good, he also spits water at me if im not paying attention to him
i hope your cow fish gets better
i hope your cow fish gets better
vaparadox
New Member
I am one of those people who's favorite fish is a Cow. Talk about personality !!!
They do have the ability to change color and spottage like chamelians, so whoever asked about theirs chaning color thats normal. They are shy, but with some fairly
regular human interaction become very sociable. I have even had mine swim through my thumb and finger as a circle !!
NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS
Right before Christmas, I was upstairs with the cat watching TV, it got late and as i picked up the cat asleep in my arms and walked down the flight of steps, my sock feet lost their grip and i fell down 7 steps tossing the cat out of my way so i wouldnt fall on her and harm her. Needless to say i broke a couple ribs and was in pain for several weeks.
It was not until the next morning when i got up and out of bed, and did my morning ritual of checking on my tank family, did i realize that 100% of the tank WAS DEAD !!!
Every single fish was dead, 11 fish in all. My abrubt fall, hitting the floor apparently startled my cow so bad, that the toxic gland was released, and all my fish were dead.
I love the species, and i recommend every one try one, just always be mindful that things like this can happen. We are VERY fortunate that our salt water store has always treated us very well, and felt so bad for my faul and injury that they replaced all the fish we lost free of charge...... except for a cow fish. Im just not ready to do that unless he is in a smaller tank of his own.
They do have the ability to change color and spottage like chamelians, so whoever asked about theirs chaning color thats normal. They are shy, but with some fairly
regular human interaction become very sociable. I have even had mine swim through my thumb and finger as a circle !!
NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS
Right before Christmas, I was upstairs with the cat watching TV, it got late and as i picked up the cat asleep in my arms and walked down the flight of steps, my sock feet lost their grip and i fell down 7 steps tossing the cat out of my way so i wouldnt fall on her and harm her. Needless to say i broke a couple ribs and was in pain for several weeks.
It was not until the next morning when i got up and out of bed, and did my morning ritual of checking on my tank family, did i realize that 100% of the tank WAS DEAD !!!
Every single fish was dead, 11 fish in all. My abrubt fall, hitting the floor apparently startled my cow so bad, that the toxic gland was released, and all my fish were dead.
I love the species, and i recommend every one try one, just always be mindful that things like this can happen. We are VERY fortunate that our salt water store has always treated us very well, and felt so bad for my faul and injury that they replaced all the fish we lost free of charge...... except for a cow fish. Im just not ready to do that unless he is in a smaller tank of his own.
promisetbg
Active Member
The spots/color that you see on your cowfish is coming from it being stressed.It is not normal for a cowfish or any fish to stay in this condition. One thing to note though...as cowfish mature they do lose the bright yellow coloration and take on a more grey color.They get huge..10"+ and need a 180 or similar size tank.They have a very big appetite,and should be fed meaty and veggie items such as chopped fresh squid,krill,shrimp, etc. and also spirulina and nori. Most cowfish die from malnutrition.
VaParadox,sorry for your losses. I kept one for a brief period,that a customer could no longer keep as it was being harassed by an LMB believe it or not.The blenny had ripped the whole underside of the cow.I nursed him back to health..until one morning he was swimming erraticly.I suspected him of carrying parasites or worms while I had him and tried to find someone who could give me more information about them.I finally found a marine biologist at the Tampa aquarium that was willing to talk to me.She told me when the cowfish releases it's toxin it shoots from it's horns..I thought that was pretty interesting. A difficult fish to keep IMO.
VaParadox,sorry for your losses. I kept one for a brief period,that a customer could no longer keep as it was being harassed by an LMB believe it or not.The blenny had ripped the whole underside of the cow.I nursed him back to health..until one morning he was swimming erraticly.I suspected him of carrying parasites or worms while I had him and tried to find someone who could give me more information about them.I finally found a marine biologist at the Tampa aquarium that was willing to talk to me.She told me when the cowfish releases it's toxin it shoots from it's horns..I thought that was pretty interesting. A difficult fish to keep IMO.
logen32
Member
i had a cowfish die in my tank. It got sucked into the power head twice 
First time i cought it in time he was VERY dark for like two days and then he went to his natural yellow self.
I put a sponge on the intake after that incedint.
Once when i was cleanning my tank i forgot to put back the sponge on the intake and he got sucked in again but this time when i took him out he slowly died,(withing two days)
Now everyone says that they relese toxins and thats what keeps people away from these awsome fish. Mine died slowly and i figure it would have relesed its toxin, but everything was fine.
Mabye i was lucky, but when u have one of these fish and see their clumsy, and funny personality its hard not to have one.
First time i cought it in time he was VERY dark for like two days and then he went to his natural yellow self.
I put a sponge on the intake after that incedint.
Once when i was cleanning my tank i forgot to put back the sponge on the intake and he got sucked in again but this time when i took him out he slowly died,(withing two days)
Now everyone says that they relese toxins and thats what keeps people away from these awsome fish. Mine died slowly and i figure it would have relesed its toxin, but everything was fine.
Mabye i was lucky, but when u have one of these fish and see their clumsy, and funny personality its hard not to have one.
Originally Posted by VaParadox
Right before Christmas, I was upstairs with the cat watching TV, it got late and as i picked up the cat asleep in my arms and walked down the flight of steps, my sock feet lost their grip and i fell down 7 steps tossing the cat out of my way so i wouldnt fall on her and harm her. Needless to say i broke a couple ribs and was in pain for several weeks.
It was not until the next morning when i got up and out of bed, and did my morning ritual of checking on my tank family, did i realize that 100% of the tank WAS DEAD !!!
Every single fish was dead, 11 fish in all. My abrubt fall, hitting the floor apparently startled my cow so bad, that the toxic gland was released, and all my fish were dead.
I'm really sorry for your loss and injury but I have to admit the first thing that I thought as I was reading your post was that your cat ended up in your tank after you tossed her!
Right before Christmas, I was upstairs with the cat watching TV, it got late and as i picked up the cat asleep in my arms and walked down the flight of steps, my sock feet lost their grip and i fell down 7 steps tossing the cat out of my way so i wouldnt fall on her and harm her. Needless to say i broke a couple ribs and was in pain for several weeks.
It was not until the next morning when i got up and out of bed, and did my morning ritual of checking on my tank family, did i realize that 100% of the tank WAS DEAD !!!
Every single fish was dead, 11 fish in all. My abrubt fall, hitting the floor apparently startled my cow so bad, that the toxic gland was released, and all my fish were dead.
I'm really sorry for your loss and injury but I have to admit the first thing that I thought as I was reading your post was that your cat ended up in your tank after you tossed her!
cowfishrule
Active Member
i had one, and loved it.
never had a problem with toxicity
never had a problem with toxicity
tankfinder
Member
I have a cow fish in with my dwarf lion, stars and stripes and zebra eel and he is my fav. or atleast preaty close
torno
Member
I think the part where many people fail with box/cowfish is compatibility. If you are going to keep a box or cow, you need to build the tank around it, as in find tankmates that you know are compatible and not stress inducing. Don't just "add one to your tank" that has already been established with other fish. Always have the best interest of the boxfish in mind to insure the safety and success of your other tankmates. I'm not saying that's the case here, but it is something people need to know. Could you please post a list of your tankmates?
