The Puffer Forum

Box fish are really neat!

Umbrella wrote:

cobra1713 wrote:OK is there a small box fish? and if so can they survive with percula clowns, damsels, and firefish?

I'd say to have a boxfish in a community tank, your tank would have to be at least 1000 gallons to avoid the poison tank of death if he were picked on too much. Keep him alone or with just a few fish that will not bother him ever.

I love how you said the poison tank of death, I mean its not funny that would happen, I used to think my tank was the death tank since my puffs kept dying but I just realized I was using the wrong salt!

Umbrella wrote:I'd say to have a boxfish in a community tank, your tank would have to be at least 1000 gallons to avoid the poison tank of death if he were picked on too much. Keep him alone or with just a few fish that will not bother him ever.

Consider that boxfish are netted by divers (hopefully rather than cyanide poisoned) transported to the divers business, then shipped from there to a distributor, from the distributor to the store where they may be netted and placed in a small bag, then driven from the store to your home where they are drip/bag acclimated (hopefully). If the boxfish doesn't release toxin during this process which is enormously stressful and terrifying, it is going to take a lot to get it to release toxin in your tank.

We had problems with a 1" Huma Huma Trigger nipping every other fish in the tank so aggressive species like this are definitely a problem. We read on cowfish.com that boxfish of the same genus tend to be a problem when placed in the same tank and may be aggressive toward each other. We witnessed a Cube nibbling a much smaller Helmet relentlessly in a fish store but all the fish in the tank were OK. We bought the Cube and put him with a Helmet and a Longhorn where they completely ignored each other. He was trying to eat his tank mate in the store because he was starving.

We keep our box fish in a tank with each other, a 4" Stars and Stripe Puffer, a 3" Narrow Line Puffer, and a 3" Burrfish. None of them pay any attention to the boxfish other than to try to take away their food. The biggest problem putting these fish together is that the box fish need to eat frequently/continuously and the puffers want to immediately eat anything offered. We've solved this problem by offering algae strips and other foods our puffers don't like. We also put meaty foods in a clip recessed slightly to where the puffers mouths are too big to reach but the box fish can nibble at will.

Also, according to cowfish.com working activated carbon removes the toxin released by a boxfish so quickly that the fish in the tank will show little or no reaction. Presumably it would be wise to use small amounts of carbon and refresh it frequently to assure it is always working. Also, the filter would have to move enough water to turn over the tank contents quick enough.

as much as I love SW, I can't stand 55 gallon tanks for SW. They are horrible dimensions for trying to build up with live rock. Too tall and not enough front to back space. It makes it hard to build up without hitting the front of the tank. D:

Sorry for that, just wanted to throw it out there.

Well the tank was free and I couldn't pass that up and it was my only chance to have a salt water right now. We have about 20 poundsof live rock on there and we have some really nice pieces but I know we aren't done yet and we have a lot more room for rock. I love the tank it looks just like the 75 gallon I used to have as a kid. You can't beat free and it came with everything even the stand!

you sure can't beat free. my bichir tank was free and man i loved it lol. i mean i wish i would have had the moeny then to start salt water cus now im only able to start a 29 gal salt water but still hey you gotta do what you can with what you got right? and 55 is still pretty big.

I know its a huge tank. The biggest tank I have ever had was a 75 and this tank looks just like it. I hope some day to get a 220 gallon tank but right now being a poor college student and with gas here being $3.56 a gallon its hard to live. My salt water tank cost way more then I thought but it is money well spent. Since I have no money to go out at least I have something fun to do at home. Plus I just lost my job so I have to build the tank one piece at a time. Its getting there just slowly

To answer you question cobra. Tetrasomus Gibbousus(helmet, hovercraft) grow to about six inches. There are others like the O. Mealgris but these boxfish are most known for there releasing of ostracitoxin. Last friday i saw some cute cubes and longhorns. They were tiny. I think that i want to get the cube!