cowfish spitting water

bluepits3

Member
hello we have a longhorned cowfish. i hand feed at least once a day. and here lately he has been spitting water in the corner of the tank that i feed him at, then the water runs between the hood and the top of the tank and leaves water streaks. just wondering if it is normal or its just my fish? its really cute to watch him but gets on my nerves beacause i have to clean the front of the tank everytime i walk by it.
 

dinogeorge

Member
He's just letting you know he wants to be fed. You should begin to feed him in a different spot every time. That way, he won't associate one area as his "feeding station" and chances are he won't spit in it.
Sounds like a really cool fish though!
 

ducky

Member
I have always loved these fish but I figured I couldn't have one because they are not strong swimmers. Do you have a low flow FO tank?
 

v-lioness

Member
This is normal behavior with these fish, what concerns me is " i hand feed at least once a day", this really is not enough for this fish. You should feed your cow 2 - 3 times per day and include greens in the diet daily, simply hang nori sheets in the tank for your cow to pick at. So feed a variety of meaty foods along with greens daily.
Cowfish have that bony structure, it is really tough to tell when they are starving to death, feed this fish.
Kaye
 

ophiura

Active Member
This is a "pavlov's dog" scenario. It has learned that when you come to the tank, it gets fed in that corner. It is not necessarily that it "wants" to be fed...it just knows that it is the corner it gets fed in. But I definitely agree to feed more often, and perhaps mix up where that feeding is. You can also potentially try to feed using a feeding stick, depending on your other inhabitants, to train it differently.
 

jon321

Member
I just thought Id throw out there the fact that you need to resist feeding it too much, despite the begging, or you will end up with a GIANT cowfish in no time at all. Most people dont have a tank suitable for a full grown cowfish, so keeping feeding minimal is probably a good idea.
Jon
 
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