Boxfish/Cowfish wipeouts

[Mirrorpad]

Hi.

Has anyone got any first hand experiences with a Cowfish/Boxfish dying within their system? Did this result in a loss of any other fish within the system? and if so what size was the fish and what size tank was it living in?

Read quite a bit and there is a few that suggest that this occurs if the fish is 8-10"+

Thanks

[El Scorpio]

Certain species of cowfish can release ostracitoxin into the water if the fish is stressed out or feels threatened, making other fish sick. This is a response mechanism though - the fish doesn't release the toxin upon death, although if it was under stress at the time of its death then it is likely that the water has been contaminated.