Lookin for a Box fish and info on them

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jpucci1

Guest
box fish??
I love these little guys. Wondering if anyone has one and how well they do in a tank.
Ostracion cubicus
Common name: spotted yellow boxfish

Ostracion meleagris
Common name: spotted boxfish
 
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jpucci1

Guest
They have the ability to release ostracitoxin, a poison that can kill all tank inhabitants
they do this often?
 
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alti

Guest
i had a cubicus a while ago. it never ate and died a few days later. when i woke up in the morning my big hermit was eating him. it was definately dead for a coupke of hours and nopthing happened to my tank. imay have been lucky, but i think this happens to just a very small percentage of the people who keep them. IMO just make sure there are no aggressive fish in the tank to harass it and put it in a tank that will be able to give it room to move. what size tank are you planning on putting it in? i have a long horned cowfish in my 90 gal. he is growing slowly, but i think it is slightly deceptive. it just seems to grow slower because of its unusual shape. has probably grown only 3/4" in that time but probably has almost doubled his actual mass.
 
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jpucci1

Guest
i have a 75GAL i am cycling right now. Plan on having 1 tank, lots of inverts, clowfish, lobster.
what do you feed yours?
 
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alti

Guest
he is the hungriest fish i have ever owned. even worse than triggers. he will follow my hand back and forth across the tank just waiting for me to drop some food in. i try to feed as varied a diet as possible to all my fish. i feed chopped squid, shrimp and scallops as well as lfs bought mysis shrimp and squid. he eats the flake, pellet and even some of the macro algea i feed my tang too. he also like to pick at my arm and the little

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knows exactly where the most painfull place to bite me is. i dont mind so much since he is so small, but i will be a bit more cautious when he gets a bit bigger. they have such a small mouth, but its like a suction cup. it will stick to your skin and their teeth will chew at a speed some power tools would be envious of. it leaves little circular bite marks on my arm. he is our favorite fish and everyone who comes to visit always seems more interested in him than anything else in the tank. they are very social fish and they just always seem to get excited when you approach the tank.
 
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jpucci1

Guest
thanks so much alti, sounds like i will have to get one. Do you remember how much you paid for yours. Do they like any special water balances?
 
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alti

Guest
im not sure what i paid for him, but im sure it was in the $25-$30 dollar range.
 

ophiura

Active Member
Ya know what? It may happen rarely, but for those who have had it happen? It wasn't worth keeping that fish and lose everything else in the tank, and then detoxify the tank. Every fish is different, and some may be much more skitish then others. I wouldn't let anyone downplay this issue. You need to think long and hard about it, because it is a real possibility, however unlikely.
Water conditions should be pristine...anything less is a stress.
But more important to me are some other big issues:
They may take a liking to some of your inverts as well. What were you planning on keeping? They like a lot of things and eat a very diverse diet, especially when grown. You'll need to be willing to lose a lot of them.
What are you going to do if/when it grows up? They are in no way "little guys." Cubicus (your photo shows juvenile coloration which changes) = 17+ inches and meleagris (photo is juvenile or female)= about 10 inches
Species info:
cubicus:
http://ichtyonb1.mnhn.fr/Summary/Spe...esname=cubicus
meleagris:
http://ichtyonb1.mnhn.fr/Summary/Spe...name=meleagris
 

pyro383

Member
they eat snails, hermits and starfish. I had to give mine up because it cost to much to feed him those treats.
 

bconway

Member
I have a cow fish, had him for about a year.
the only thing he has picked at is my toadstool.
Never touched my star, snails or shrimp.
I have him in a 90 now and will be getting my 175 in a week and will most likely get another cow. Nice fish, very enjoyable.
no one sees anything else but the cow. ....
 
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