Cowfish Tank

[SourAngelfish]

I am soon going to start working on my 55g thornback cowfish tank. I’ve got a general idea on the stock... it will be a mixed reef with

The Cowfish

3 zebra dartfish

A Sunburst Anthias

A Midas Blenny

A Tanaka Possum Wrasse

A six dot goby

(I’m open for changing this if there are any other good suggestions)

From what I’ve learned I need to keep this fish in a stress free environment and make sure it gets enough to eat. I’m also going to try to scape the tank where it has lots of little caves and stuff for the fish to explore.

I still have a few questions though...

How much flow should I have and where should the flow be directed?

How should I quarantine this fish? Should it just go straight into the display or should I try to quarantine? Is it worth the extra stress on the fish?

Is this fish social with its own species? I was considering dropping a few fish off the stock list and adding another cowfish for him to interact with... maybe not?

Other than that, I think I’m ready for this fish. Any tips and suggestions are welcome!

 

[eatbreakfast]

Cowfish/boxfish can be territorial toward other similar fish, so only one in this tank.

Cowfish can be sensitive to meds, so ramping meds up slowly is necessary.

Due to their eating pace they need extra food put in the tank. This can cause water quality issues. More flow helps biofiltration. I find using multiple, less powerful powerheads can eliminate dead spots, while being less of a risk of the cowfish getting stuck.

 

[SourAngelfish]

So are you saying I should scatter smaller “Nano” power heads around the tank rather than having 1-2 big ones? What’s the cheapest light setup I can have for just the fish and a couple of softies/lower light lps? For the quarantine do I cycle the qt tank or does it just get frequent water changes? Could I cycle it and put a really hardy Dartfish to keep the bio filter stable or is this not a good idea. I plan on qt inverts as well and I’m really only able to use one tank. Would a canister be good for a marine tank? My plan at the moment is to just shove whatever functional filtration I have and just add what’s needed.

 

[noahreefer]

Yes I Agree smaller nano power heads. As for the light setup mostly every light would work but I would always spend the extra dollar to get some kessils or t5’s just in case you want to get into some sps or montis. For the qt tank I would honestly wait out the full cycle just in case. After the cycle ends you could put a dartfish in and I don’t think it would hurt anything. I don’t see anything wrong with qt inverts in the same qt as fish as long as you get fish that don’t harm the inverts. Also be wary of chemicals that you put In the qt and make sure they are both invert and fish safe. Canister filters are old an personally I wouldn’t use one. If you are on a budget look on the “selling forum” for dry goods.

 

[SourAngelfish]

Yes I Agree smaller nano power heads. As for the light setup mostly every light would work but I would always spend the extra dollar to get some kessils or t5’s just in case you want to get into some sps or montis. For the qt tank I would honestly wait out the full cycle just in case. After the cycle ends you could put a dartfish in and I don’t think it would hurt anything. I don’t see anything wrong with qt inverts in the same qt as fish as long as you get fish that don’t harm the inverts. Also be wary of chemicals that you put In the qt and make sure they are both invert and fish safe. Canister filters are old an personally I wouldn’t use one. If you are on a budget look on the “selling forum” for dry goods.

The canister was really only for additional filtration, would I just put some chemipure and a good skimmer as my main filtration? Maybe some carbon as well.

 

[noahreefer]

The canister was really only for additional filtration, would I just put some chemipure and a good skimmer as my main filtration? Maybe some carbon as well.

Yeah if you already have a skimmer you don’t need the canister filter at all.

 

[SourAngelfish]

Okay, thank you!

 

[SourAngelfish]

Does anyone know if these fish are like puffers as in they need to grind their teeth on hard objects like clam shells?

 

[SourAngelfish]

Also, what’s the difference between Lactoria fornasini and Tetrasomus gibbosus... they look identical from what I’ve seen but Tetrasomus gets a foot long and shares the same common name. Also what’s a good price on these fish?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Lactoria fornasini has 2 small horns protruding from it's forehead. Tetrasomus gibbosus doesn't have those. Although T. gibbosus can get larger they usually top out at about 8-9".

 

[SourAngelfish]

Okay, that’s interesting... Live Aquaria’s photo for Tetrasomus gibbosus seems to have small horns. Is it really a huge problem if I get the wrong species?

 

[eatbreakfast]

I don't think it's a big deal if you get either species.

 

[SourAngelfish]

I don't think it's a big deal if you get either species.

Okay, I guess I’ll try my best to find the smaller species, I’ll probably end up getting gibbosus cause it’s more common.

 

[SourAngelfish]

I think this will be the equipment I run... Is it good? Any other suggestions? Am I missing anything? For filtration I’ll just run the skimmer and some chemipure.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Should be fine.

 

[SourAngelfish]

I’m worried about the lights, they were surpringly cheap... I really just plan on adding a ton of gsp/Xenia, mushrooms and hammer corals. Also a few leathers but not many sps. Also I’ve heard mixed answers to this but do cowfish do good with anemones..? I was thinking of adding some rock flowers.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Is that fixture high output t5? If not it won't grow much more than algae.

I have found some cowfish eat anemones.

 

[SourAngelfish]

How do you tell if it’s high output?

 

[eatbreakfast]

48" high output t5 bulbs are 54w each, so a dual bulb fixture should be 108w minimum, depending on whether it has any moonlighting or fans.

 

[SourAngelfish]

It says 2 x 54W so it should be good. Are moonlights necessary for a tank? I don’t think this fixture comes with any but this tank won’t be out in the open.