Puffer CowFish
- Thread starter abhutta
- Start date
small alien
The fungus is among us.
There is a smaller species of cowfish I believe. Lactoria formasini. Thornback. I see 6-7". Just as a point of perspective.
Yes, I used to see them in the Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi Indonesia. However I have never seen them for sale here. Would still be a difficult fish to try and keep, especially in a small tank.
eatbreakfast
New member
A cowfish will co-habitate with these fish just fine, the tank size is of concern, but it is possible to house a small individual in this size tank knowing that he will eventually have to be moved.
I have seen cowfish nip at fleshy corals and clams, not to eat, but more out of what I am guessing as curiosity.
They are tricky to feed as they do not compete with active fish for food very well, and with their hard body it is difficult to tell if they are getting enough to eat. So often overfeeding the tank is needed, which requires greater vigilance in minding your parameters.
They also do not do well with a lot of flow.
I find that this fear is overstated. Having seen countless cowfish in captivity, at LFS, and in home aquaria, I have witnessed cowfish death and stress, yet never have I seen them poison a tank. The only time I have ever seen any such effects is during a power outage and somebody was moving fish in a bucket from a house without power to a tank with power. After a half hour in the bucket, there were casualties to the toxin. But in a tank with carbon and protein skimming I have never seen any such ill effects.
They are not as common as some of the other boxfish, but I see thornback cowfish offered for sale about a half dozen times throughout the year.
Reef Central believes that you should buy fish for the tank you have. Upgrades may or may not happen, and re-homing fish may or may not be possible. The original posters tank size suggests that the fish being asked about would not be a good match for what s(he) currently has.
sc50964
New member
Puffer CowFish
I have kept cow and box fish successfully for about a year on two separate occasions. Even with them being fully acclimated, I've learned expensive lessons from them nuking my tanks since it didn't contain enough water volume. I know one person who has no problem coz he has nearly 800 gallons of water volume to deal with any accidental toxin leak from the fish. Not saying you need that much water, but 55 gallons aren't enough IMO.
I have kept cow and box fish successfully for about a year on two separate occasions. Even with them being fully acclimated, I've learned expensive lessons from them nuking my tanks since it didn't contain enough water volume. I know one person who has no problem coz he has nearly 800 gallons of water volume to deal with any accidental toxin leak from the fish. Not saying you need that much water, but 55 gallons aren't enough IMO.
eatbreakfast
New member
Actually he asked about cowfish, not a specific species that I saw. Most likely he was refering to the longhorn, but small alien mentioned the thornback, which as mentioned gros 6-7" and would be acceptable for that size tank. LA says 70g, but looking at the dimensions between that and a 55, the difference in swimming space is negligible, and the OP has a low bioload so water quality should be managable.
Also bear in mind how slowly this group of fish actually, if ever take in reaching full size.
I had a longhorn purchased as a 2" specimen in a 156. It grew quickly from 2" to 6". But once it reached 6" its growing slowed down greatly. I eventually rehoused it after 2yrs, because it began nipping at fleshy brain corals. There was a school near me that had a 210g in their science lab. It lived there for 5 more years until a power outage wiped everything from that tank. At that time the fish was seven years old and had not grown beyond 8" in total length. So cowfish reach total length very slowly, if ever in captivity.
With that in mind if the OP, acquired a thornback cowfish it would be just fine in a 55g, for likely the entirety of its life.
Since you said,
I assumed you were serious about re-homing since you did not supply any emoticons. Hence I stated RC's position which is:
"Reef Central believes that you should buy fish for the tank you have. Upgrades may or may not happen, and re-homing fish may or may not be possible. The original posters tank size suggests that the fish being asked about would not be a good match for what s(he) currently has." But I think we have beaten this to death at this point.
I assumed you were serious about re-homing since you did not supply any emoticons. Hence I stated RC's position which is:
"Reef Central believes that you should buy fish for the tank you have. Upgrades may or may not happen, and re-homing fish may or may not be possible. The original posters tank size suggests that the fish being asked about would not be a good match for what s(he) currently has." But I think we have beaten this to death at this point.
eatbreakfast
New member
Actually RC itself can not have a position. It is a community, so individuals from the community can hold different positions. It may be the position of the moderators or the administrators or the majority. Stating that RC does believe hold to a specific belief is dogmatic and does not always hold true for the benefit of the aquarist or the reefer. There are many guidelines and principles that are good generalizations, but can be broken and one can still be successful.
Giving the OP all the information asked for:
Is it possible to house a cowfish in a 55g?
Yes, for it's entire life if it is a thornback, for quite some while if another species.
Will it coexist with the fish mentioned?
Yes, no compatibility issues there.
As far as the stance on re-homing a fish, although not perfect, is something that can be planned for, if so desired. Stating that is not always possible is true, but it is not always possible to do many things for a reef tank, coral, or fish that we may plan. We may plan to do a water change, We may plan to have a backup pump. We may plan on having a generator, etc. All of these are good to plan for, but ultimately many things get in the way and prevent it. Taking a position on these is fine for someone to do, but stating that it is the position for the entire community is quite another thing.
sc50964
New member
small alien
The fungus is among us.
One biggie with rehoming is finding someone to take the fish. Many people assume an LFS or public aquarium will take a big fish off their hands but they often won't.
