Cowfish Or Not ?

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There has been a ton on input here- I’ve had 3 longhorn cow fish, and the first two I gave away when they were 2-3” or so, but this last one I just gave away because it outgrew my 180. I got him when he was just under an inch, he grew to over 8” in just under 2 years. THEY ARE FAST GROWERS. I would not recommend getting one in any tank under 200 gallons or so. I love them so much and I am upgrading tanks just to get one again. My new tank is a 350. Please reconsider or at least have a place to move it to once it gets too big.
 
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427HISS said:
Lactoria fornasini 9" Cowfish.

Thornback Cowfish, Bluelined Boxfish - Lactoria fornasini

Thornback Blenny (Lactoria fornasini) can be found in East Africa to the Hawaiian and Rapa Islands, including Japan and Lord Howe Islands.
www.bluezooaquatics.com
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That would be a great find, the one that mostly shows up are the Lactoria cornuta. This is the one that gets huge, if they live that long, they have a dismal survival rate. Good points made on their care, which would be similar for the Lactoria fornasini. The small one would work in the 125 as long you could provide the proper conditions and choices of tank mates, and you could find one.
 
Which species did you have ? I was not aware that one can grow over 15" and the second to 9". I feel that we may not have a home for "Horny" lol. We treat fish as family, so we don't want to rehome him just a few years later. Very sad....

They seem to have the same fun personality like our favorite fish, the Clown Trigger.
 
I would imagine when the fish gets worried when a predator approach 's, he hides in a hole and might gas it if it gets too close, so that narrows down the area.
 
I believe Ich has an affinity for cowfish/trunkfish/burrfish/etc. Strongly suggest you do a complete quarantine before adding one to your system. Caveat emptor..
 
radiata said:
I believe Ich has an affinity for cowfish/trunkfish/burrfish/etc. Strongly suggest you do a complete quarantine before adding one to your system. Caveat emptor..
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I agree,
Every,...fish and coral's go through QT in our home.
 
427HISS said:
We're setting up a 125g and we have always liked the personality, shape and intelligence of the horn Cowfish. Since they can get around 8" or so, should we bring one into our family or not ?
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I would not. They can get quite large and require a lot of room. I waited until I set up my 300 gallon to get mi e
 
So, I ultimately picked up a Cubicus and a Longhorn Cowfish.

I was told that someone brought one back to them after only 18 months, fully grown......
 
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427HISS said:
Do you know what he was when first bought ?
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I just bought him. So I know what I’m getting into!

C5CC690E-E1F5-415C-B373-A77A2A23EF01.jpeg
94C9D53E-87D7-42E1-80F7-BABCA520D4E1.jpeg
 
He's very cute, like a little tug boat !

We had a name picked out,..."Tug" but, on one of my weekend car shows, one guys name is "Horrine Mike", a great airbrush painter. Everything in his life has horns, like his motorcycle helmet has horns, his custom school bus, etc.

So his name will be Horrine Mike.
 
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Jon Fishman said:
So, I ultimately picked up a Cubicus and a Longhorn Cowfish.

I was told that someone brought one back to them after only 18 months, fully grown......
Click to expand...

You are not saying one of the ones pictured was brought back because it was fully grown are you. They look pretty tiny.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
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IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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