How dangerous are boxfish?

[Prestigereef]

How risky are boxfish?
Probably less risky than we think, who else has had experience with them?

 

[VoZe]

I personally never had them but a friend of my did and it died in his tank but I think as long as you take them out fast enough you should be fine and I would run carbon for a few days for extra precaution

 

[VoZe]

I thought in one of is new video Scott lost all of his fish in the nano tank because of the box fish that died

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Great video @Prestigereef! Very informative! Thanks!

 

[Forsaken77]

I have had boxfish and long-horned cowfish and not once have I ever had a problem in the 7+ years I kept either.

In fact, I didn't even know a problem existed until the good ol inter-webs said so. I tend to look at my tank multiple times a day. So not enough time for a dead fish to start to decay.

So in my own opinion, I think the thing with wiping out a tank is blown far out of proportion. I'm not saying it can't happen, but these fish don't startle easily. They're more curious of anything going on abd have great personalities.

The cowfish was my favorite of the two, but can get VERY large over the years.

I like unusual looking fish, which is why I kept these.

 

[Vin's Reef]

Have my boxfish for 2 years now. His name is Porky. He eats a lot. He lets me pet him and tickle his belly. Sometimes his bite can be a little painful but most of the time he tickles. He likes to eat the dead skin on my cuticles. Porky was less than one inch when I got him. Put him in quarantine. Took 3 weeks to get him to eat. He started eating and now he hasn't stopped. Never ever touched a coral in his life. Love him a lot.

 

[lion king]

I thought in one of is new video Scott lost all of his fish in the nano tank because of the box fish that died

You say nano tank, that's the problem; when kept in a system large enough and running carbon or some other sort of media you'll be ok. Especially with a cubicus, some think they can get away with a small tank, even these guys need a tank over 100, a cowfish at least a 180.

 

[Forsaken77]

Have my boxfish for 2 years now. His name is Porky. He eats a lot. He lets me pet him and tickle his belly. Sometimes his bite can be a little painful but most of the time he tickles. He likes to eat the dead skin on my cuticles. Porky was less than one inch when I got him. Put him in quarantine. Took 3 weeks to get him to eat. He started eating and now he hasn't stopped. Never ever touched a coral in his life. Love him a lot.

I wonder... Can Boxfish get parasites? Because they don't really have flesh for a parasite to hook into and they have a hard, bony structure to them. Seems like most types of parasites would have a hard time feeding on them. Just curious because I've never personally heard of a Boxfish with ich, lol.

 

[Sleepydoc]

I spoke with a fellow reefer at my LFS who had a boxfish that died while he was at work one day. He removed it immediately when he got home and found it and used carbon but still ended up loosing hundreds (? thousands) of dollars worth of livestock.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I, too, would like to know whether box fish and cow fish are prone to ich or marine velvet, and thus should be QT’d using copper or not...

 

[Katrina71]

Have my boxfish for 2 years now. His name is Porky. He eats a lot. He lets me pet him and tickle his belly. Sometimes his bite can be a little painful but most of the time he tickles. He likes to eat the dead skin on my cuticles. Porky was less than one inch when I got him. Put him in quarantine. Took 3 weeks to get him to eat. He started eating and now he hasn't stopped. Never ever touched a coral in his life. Love him a lot.

Very cute. Please post a pic.

 

[Nikita1981]

Yes, they are prone to ich. They have virtually no slime coat so no natural defense. They are very sensitive to copper, so that makes treating difficult.

I had an ostracion cubicus for 4 years, had ich numerous times but it never bothered him much. Until I introduced a fish that carried velvet. He got very sick so I put him in quarantine. He died sadly. Very soon after the water turned a milky white and started to have a very strange chemical smell. I am not sure what would have happened if I still had him in the display tank but I probably would have ended not well.

Still miss him, very personable fish but too risky for me.

 

[Johniejumbo]

I had a female spotted box fish years ago. Looooooved that fish. HUGE personality.

 

[Johniejumbo]

Yes, they are prone to ich. They have virtually no slime coat so no natural defense. They are very sensitive to copper, so that makes treating difficult.

I had an ostracion cubicus for 4 years, had ich numerous times but it never bothered him much. Until I introduced a fish that carried velvet. He got very sick so I put him in quarantine. He died sadly. Very soon after the water turned a milky white and started to have a very strange chemical smell. I am not sure what would have happened if I still had him in the display tank but I probably would have ended not well.

Still miss him, very personable fish but too risky for me.[/

That’s exactly what happened with my my meleagris. It got ich several times but it never seemed to be too bothered by it. Velvet did her in though. I too put her in quarantine fearing for the tankmates. When she was hungry she would spit water at me when I walked by lol.

 

[Prestigereef]

I thought in one of is new video Scott lost all of his fish in the nano tank because of the box fish that died

If it were the cowfish they would have died instantly it’s one of the most toxic poisons on earth.
In Scott’s case the fish died over the course of several days possible due to ich which was the other thing he mentions

 

[Prestigereef]

Have my boxfish for 2 years now. His name is Porky. He eats a lot. He lets me pet him and tickle his belly. Sometimes his bite can be a little painful but most of the time he tickles. He likes to eat the dead skin on my cuticles. Porky was less than one inch when I got him. Put him in quarantine. Took 3 weeks to get him to eat. He started eating and now he hasn't stopped. Never ever touched a coral in his life. Love him a lot.

Pablo bit me for the first time the other day... let’s hope he doesn’t make a habit of it

 

[Aquanaut WA]

I have used Cupramine at full strength multiple times in FOWLER with spiny box puffer, anthias, zebra eel, angelfish. Key is to go slow at 1/2 dosage over the period of 7 days or longer if signs of stress. And keeping salinity higher 1.021. This aids PH to stay >8.0. I also dose Aquavitro Seed to boost slow bacteria.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Pablo bit me for the first time the other day... let’s hope he doesn’t make a habit of it

Don't react. Or keep your reaction as minimal as possible.

Parrots enjoy finding your weak spots and testing you.
Honestly they just enjoy interaction of any kind if they are stuck in a cage or on a perch all day with nothing to do.
Anyway, one of their favorite games can become biting you, not too, too hard if it gets a good reaction.

Your best bet is to pretend it didn't happen.
[emoji6]

 

[VoZe]

Don't react. Or keep your reaction as minimal as possible.

Parrots enjoy finding your weak spots and testing you.
Honestly they just enjoy interaction of any kind if they are stuck in a cage or on a perch all day with nothing to do.
Anyway, one of their favorite games can become biting you, not too, too hard if it gets a good reaction.

Your best bet is to pretend it didn't happen.
[emoji6]

Or give them something fun to do others then just on a perch

 

[MSB123]

Mine love to play in soft coral- sometimes my cowfish will do backflips or barrel rolls. he loves to bite at my fingers, more of a curious bite. Lets me tickle him and will spit water at me whenever I walk by. My boxfish is a bit more seclusive and prefers to stay in the low flow areas. I love them both!