<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15505176#post15505176 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Terryz_
Oh.. Because from the photo it is not really clear.. I normally find females but they are quite small.. like 2 inches? Is there any possibility that 1 will turn into male if I buy a few?
Yeah, the photo isn't the best. Did you research about these Box fish? Here is a quote from one of the pages that I was reading.
"This boxfish is sexually dichromatic.
Juveniles and females are brown or black with white spots. Males are blue with white spot with yellow lines on the dorsal surface.
Like its cousins, it is best housed with non-aggressive tankmates. If housed with aggressive feeders, it may have trouble competing for food. It is possible to keep more than one in the same tank (especially young individuals), but adult males may quarrel. It will not usually bother other fishes. It is a larger boxfish that will need lots of open swimming space.
This species has been known to "nuke" an entire tank of fishes. This occurs most often when the fish is stressed; therefore, it is wise to remove sources of stress (e.g., aggressive tankmates) if necessary. Make sure you do not keep it with fishes that will pick on it and remove it immediately if it looks as though it may die. (They sometimes release lethal amounts of their body slime when they die.) This species is susceptible to Cryptocaryon and Lymphocystis. It is best not to house it with cleaner wrasses, as these wrasses will incessantly chase and try to clean them. "
Here is another quote:
"The bluespotted boxfish is a beautiful fish that is not really suited for a marine aquarium unless you are willing to devote a tank to it.
This fish is well known for releasing a poison, called ostracitoxin, if it is under any stress; this can quickly kill an entire tank of fish, including the boxfish itself. Its beauty merits a species tank, however. The male has the blue spots on its sides, while the female arise uniformly brown with white spots. You can keep a single male, single female or a pair -- just don't try to keep two males together.
In addition to its nasty habit of occasionally poisoning its tank, bluespotted boxfish can be difficult to feed. Because it is usually not fed while in transit from the wild to the local fish store (which can take weeks), sometimes it just doesn't start eating again. Before you purchase one make sure that you see it eating heartily. It may require live food to start with in the form of enriched live brine shrimp, guppies or mollies or other live fish. It also requires vegetable matter, and it will scrape at algae in a tank, but should also be offered any of the frozen foods made especially for herbivores. Needless to say, the bluespotted boxfish is not at all suitable for a reef tank, as it would consider everything in the tank in terms of corals, shrimps, crabs and algae as being part of its personal dining cart."
If your up for the challenge and know that there is a chance in it nuking your tank, your more than welcome to keep some. Just be sure you know what your getting yourself into.
