longhorn cowfish mistake or not ?

[GoBigorGohome]

Does anyone have a longhorn cowfish and not have any problems with it, i have heard it can be devistating and that they could kill all the fish and ruin the tank if they are scared and release their toxins but then i have also heard and read that they can be very peaceful. .....well we decided to take the risk they are just so cool looking i went ahead a bought one.horrible mistake or no? :squigglemouth:

 

[toyencounters]

Are they reef safe? I always wanted to get one!

 

[Mike&Terry]

We kept a Longhorn cowfish for 3 years in a 125g SPS dominant reef tank. He was the puppy of the tank and very personable. He was not a picky eater (ate frozen flakes, pellets) and loved his veggies. As far as corals, clams and shrimp were concerned, we had no issues. He loved to be groomed by our skunk cleaner and our golden coral bandit. He would, however, go after small invertebrates (pods, snails, tiny feather dusters). He was about 5" when we lost him during the move from our old house.

Things to consider with this fish: 1)When threatened, it can release a toxin that can be lethal to tank mates including itself, so it should be kept with other peaceful fish. 2) Cowfish can grow quite large (16" avg) in an aquarium.

 

[tclipse]

We kept a Longhorn cowfish for 3 years in a 125g SPS dominant reef tank. He was the puppy of the tank and very personable. He was not a picky eater (ate frozen flakes, pellets) and loved his veggies. As far as corals, clams and shrimp were concerned, we had no issues. He loved to be groomed by our skunk cleaner and our golden coral bandit. He would, however, go after small invertebrates (pods, snails, tiny feather dusters). He was about 5" when we lost him during the move from our old house.

Things to consider with this fish: 1)When threatened, it can release a toxin that can be lethal to tank mates including itself, so it should be kept with other peaceful fish. 2) Cowfish can grow quite large (16" avg) in an aquarium.

How likely is it to feel threatened by your hands during tank maintenance?

 

[Mike&Terry]

Ours was never afraid of us or our hands in the tank as we hand fed and interacted with him a lot. They are highly inquisitive and curious fish. We found it hysterically funny back then that when we would rearrange rocks/corals all of our other fish would COWER under one big rock while the cowfish would get right up in the middle of what we were doing to investigate.

 

[subielover]

Does anyone have a longhorn cowfish and not have any problems with it, i have heard it can be devistating and that they could kill all the fish and ruin the tank if they are scared and release their toxins but then i have also heard and read that they can be very peaceful. .....well we decided to take the risk they are just so cool looking i went ahead a bought one.horrible mistake or no? :squigglemouth:

It really depends on your particular setup. As stated above, they can be great additions to the proper tank, but definitely need peaceful tankmates and a large tank with good water quality.