is Boxfish safe?

[altezza]

I Shouldve done my research first but its too late. I bought a spotted yellow boxfish. According to some website online they said that they can produce toxin that could wipe out your entire tank. Is this true? Anybody has any experience with this fish before?

[Jager]

I Shouldve done my research first but its too late. I bought a spotted yellow boxfish. According to some website online they said that they can produce toxin that could wipe out your entire tank. Is this true? Anybody has any experience with this fish before?

 

the site wasnt lying.

 

boxfish are related to puffer fish. however they have the ability to secrete their toxin through their skin in times of stress and or danger. it certainly can wipe out a tank. but generally in a fairly peaceful tank they do not cause any issues.

 

 

in more agressive tanks though ooo boy it can get nasty.

 

my competitor in town had sold a lady a cowfish( another type related to the boxs/puffers) and a trigger. she brought them back after the cow took out her tank and almost died. they put it in their 3000 gallon system and it died and relaesed again. it basically took out the entire system it was in.

 

 

if you want more info on it feel free to ask ill dig it up. or come bug me at pufferresources.net we cover care for them there.

 

wetwebmedia.com can help you as well as fishbase.org

 

 

to save you some headaches as well, what size tank is it going in, and what other fish/corals/inverts do you have in there. the yellow boxes are mostly vegans, but do prefer inverts and can nip on corals.

 

they require quite a big filtration system as well.

[jason the filter freak]

Interesting fish ain't it... from what i've ready the toxin is true indeed and can lead to devistating results... I belive dan (dandy7200) has one in his tank... i could be wrong he never confirmed it but i think i spied one in the pic of his 54 bow front It's your fish but i'd probably reccomend taking it back if possible

Edited October 15, 2006 by jason the filter freak

[altezza]

its a 25gal with a 20gal sump. i have a clown, soem cleaner shrimp , six line wrasse, hammers , frogspawn, xenia, mushroom, GSP, clams, and some SPS...

 

i think i should return him huh? hes so cute though, hes only half an inch. how big can he get?

[Jager]

its a 25gal with a 20gal sump. i have a clown, soem cleaner shrimp , six line wrasse, hammers , frogspawn, xenia, mushroom, GSP, clams, and some SPS...

 

i think i should return him huh? hes so cute though, hes only half an inch. how big can he get?

 

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=6555

 

if its that fish, its 17 inches.

 

 

ther are no saltwater puffers boxfish or cowfish that can fit in a 25 gallon regardless.

 

all need at least a 50 gallon tank and filtration rated for at least 100+ gallons.

[altezza]

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=6555

 

if its that fish, its 17 inches.

ther are no saltwater puffers boxfish or cowfish that can fit in a 25 gallon regardless.

 

all need at least a 50 gallon tank and filtration rated for at least 100+ gallons.

 

Yup, thats the fish alright.

 

wow thanks alot..i guess i have to return it...and the darn owner said its was ok for me to put him in a 25 gal...son of a gun !

 

Thanks alot Jager

[Jager]

Yup, thats the fish alright.

 

wow thanks alot..i guess i have to return it...and the darn owner said its was ok for me to put him in a 25 gal...son of a gun !

 

Thanks alot Jager

 

 

NP puffers are my specialty.

 

for what its worth, you are not the first nor the last person to have this happen. and alot of fish stores dont know they get big, they house them in too small of a tank and so they never get to full sizes.

 

most puffers also live 15-20 years so there again its hard to guage for the average LFS. that being said though. i do really dislike stores sellnig stock that they dont bother to research. its more helpful for everyone to know what kind of issues potentially might happen with livestock for all parties involved.

 

 

 

oh and if you have to catch it, do use a specimen container and bag it underr water. exposing it to air can be fatal for it, and if it releases its ostritoxin, it might be fatal for you, it or your tank.

 

 

 

hope you can return him or find him a great home with someone here.

[altezza]

well i was able to return it..store credit ofcourse...but he sure was pissed...he said internet info are BS !!! he said he guarantee that this type of fish will not release any toxin at all, he will be fine in a small tank, blah blah blah...i know hes just trying to make a sale.

[jason the filter freak]

good to hear you could return it hate to see a tank wiped out becuase of a stupid lfs personel

[extreme_tooth_decay]

I've had boxfishes several times with no problems.

 

Most recently, I had a thornback cowfish. I've also had

longhorn cowfish.

 

I had him over a year in my reef tank. There was a dori, cleaners,

and other fish in there. As well as tons of zoos and other corals.

 

I never saw it pick at any coral, and it was a very cool

and personable fish.

 

just my .02

 

tim

[dandy7200]

For sure take it back! I have a longhorn in my 54 but have a 280 planned for next year or so. Stocking list are a little tricky since you can only add peaceful fish, this leaves out a ton of things that you may want. This is my wifes favorite fish in the world, and the ONLY way I could convice her that we really NEEDED a 280 . Now that we have had him a bit, I am quite attached as well but, never get too attached to anything that lives with one of these because the toxins could indeed wipe out the tank fishwise. I run a ton of carbon 24/7 just in case but........

 

 

...the actinic shot is the best pic I have of him.

 

HTH

[altezza]

Wow Dan,

 

thats a nice fish...!!! you make me want to buy that boxfish back

[jason the filter freak]

!!I knew i spied one, it was in his hood thread i belive.... maybe his plumming one who knows

 

 

This is my wifes favorite fish in the world, and the ONLY way I could convice her that we really NEEDED a 280 .

 

 

 

Haha good plan good plan

[Jager]

honestly regardless of what any "authority" on fish will say, if they cannot provide proof even anecdotal evidence to support their views, i dont find myself the slightest bit interested in hearing what they have to say.

 

it took me all of 15 seconds to use fishbase.org to give you the scientific side of the fish, it really astounds me that people would try to feed that kind of line and expect anyone to belive it. what is sadder still is that alot of people dont seem to want to know the truth and that is to be pitied, not only for the total inability to help their customers, but for the massive amounts of wasted fish and other livestock that may suffer due to their care.

 

 

dandy your cow should hit 8-12" ive seen them a tad bigger, but not a whole lot more. that 280 will be awesome for it.

 

as for removing the toxins if it releases, you might want to stock up on poly filters as well. they do a much better job than carbon.

[inedukated]

If anyone is around the Leesburg VA area, there's a LFS called Aquatic World (or so I believe) that has what appears to be a waterbed frame converted into a huge 500g+ FOWLR. They have a longhorn cowfish that's about 1' big. In the same tank, they've got a 2' shark and a few other fish, like a big Hippo tang and such.

 

The cowfish is just amazing to see, esp. at that size. It comes right up to the surface and pokes its horns out of the water... looks like it's going to spit water at you.

 

-Ben

[davelin315]

I had a male blue box fish (I think it was ostracion melagaris melagaris or something like that) years ago. I was warned that it could produce toxins and that if it died it could poison my tank. It was the absolute coolest fish I have had and it lived in a 55 with assorted other fish, including a niger trigger and some damsels. When I left the hood open to the tank it would squirt water at me to tell me to feed it whenever I walked by. Tons of personality, absolutely fun fish, ate whatever I gave it (and ate from my hand both below and above the water when it would reach up to get food). It eventually died but didn't poison anything in my system. I did run a lot of carbon and polyfilters on a regular basis. Very sad day when it died, though. I was smart enough then to at least take it out right away and not touch the water myself. Again, coolest fish I have had personality wise, but I was definitely aware of the dangers (I also had a blue ring octopus for a week before it died as well, shows you how careful I was in my college days!) associated with this fish.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

If anyone is around the Leesburg VA area, there's a LFS called Aquatic World (or so I believe) that has what appears to be a waterbed frame converted into a huge 500g+ FOWLR. They have a longhorn cowfish that's about 1' big. In the same tank, they've got a 2' shark and a few other fish, like a big Hippo tang and such.

 

The cowfish is just amazing to see, esp. at that size. It comes right up to the surface and pokes its horns out of the water... looks like it's going to spit water at you.

 

-Ben

 

 

 

I've seen it. Awesome fish. Big one!