check out my absolutly tiny longhorn!!

[lux_06]

hello to all, hope youve had a good weekend!

found this little guy at the lfs yesterday, i had no tank for him as my display is fallow and qt still infested... so he is in a 29g i think its un cycled but this guy is not going to produce enough waste for me to worry about for the month hes in the tank, just big weekly waterchanges.

this guy swims so slowly i think hes bored! gonna find him some cool rocks to play in.... i put the smallest powerhead i could buy in the tank and it still blows him around hes so small! about 1.5cm i reckon, and im really looking forward to watching him grow.

adam

sorry got no lights on the tank so fotos are a bit dull....
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/cowfish001.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/cowfish003.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/cowfish004.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/cowfish005.jpg:rollface:

[CrazyLionfish]

that thing is awesome!

[lux_06]

have to decide now if he goes into my reef? or i get a new unreefsafe tank, with some butterflys, small puffers and a harlequin tusk?

[cristhiam]

Very nice boxfish are you sure is a longhorn? here is a pic of my little one, not so little anymore, mine is in my reef with all kidns of corals.
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~pinatas/powerheadandcow.jpg

[angels mcgee]

I think it is a cubicus boxfish

[lux_06]

yeh positive its a longhorn, check out this link, they dont develop the horns yet, but when u look heaps closly at its forhead u can see raised points that i assume will become the horns as there in the right spot.

www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_print_pages/0...

just made up a guard for the intake of the powerhead.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/Dsc00314s.jpg

by far the best little critter ive ever bought so far, makes me laugh just watching him hover around!

[jmaneyapanda]

I hope you have done your homework- they get HUGE! Also, I would reconsider the tankmates. They move really slowly, so quicker faster tankmates like a harlequin tusk would probably make food acquisition tough for these guys. I wouldn't even put it past a tusk to try to eat that little thing like a crouton. You probably wont find a tusk that is smaller than about 4", unless you're really lucky.

I recommend not keeping them in reefs. They can certainly work, but I think eventually, they will start pecking at the inverts. I know Christiam has a cow in his reef with no issues, so like i said, it's possible, but I think risky.

[lux_06]

yeh got enough gear to satisy this guys future so now worries, i really dont think hes gonna have any other tankmates bigger then a goby for at least a year, well see how quick he grows. he couldnt even go near my reef at the moment he would just get blown around so ill just have to wait and see.

adam

[lux_06]

heres a link to a pic of a juvenile cubicus boxfish.

www.amonline.net.au/.../fish/ostracion.htm

definately not one of those.

adam

[AVALover5498]

OMG, that is sooooo cute!
I want one so much but my GF would kill me if i get another fish.

[cristhiam]

make sure you get to feed it all kinds of food especially greens, mine eats nori, red algea, mysys, brine, I soak food in selcom, eats everything except flakes. They have a great personality. Mine shares the tank with a sailfin tang that it's 3 times bigger than it, 3 clowns, watchman goby, purple dotty back, mandarin, at feeding time he can hold it's own the tang and the cow eat out of the same veggie clip. Mine was almost the first fish in I think that is the key. I don't think they pick at corals Randy Holmes has one for over 2 years in a reef (their main diet is veggies).

[jmaneyapanda]

I dont know if they would bother SPS, but I wouldn't rule out any inverts such as worms, anemones, or clams. I would even guess LPS may be a bit tempting. They are definitely NOT strict herbivores though, make sure to provide a lot of meaty food as well as greens.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

cute lil' bugger!

[cristhiam]

I have clams, sps, I had a RBTA that I sold it would not settle down, feather dusters, clean up crew, oyster, zoos, brains, acan lords lots of xenia (i wish will eat some of this :)), green star polyps (this would be good if it eats it too), candy canes, goni, frogspawn, and much more, the only good thing is if it picks at something it's easy to catch but I doubt it.
Pics of my tank :)
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~pinatas/

[jmaneyapanda]

yours still looks not too big. Just keep an eye out. I will keep all my fingers and toes crossed for you.

[cristhiam]

you should see the one that Randy's got in the chemistry forum :)

[Fishfirst]

The hospital's tank that I maintain has one of these... urchins snails, ect are fair game from what I've seen as well.

[lux_06]

cheers guys,

i feed my own mix made up of 50% squid legs, mussels, prawns, salmon, crushed pellets, shredded nori, garlic. my puffer has grown dramiticly in the 2 months ive been using this mix and will never go back to buying food again, i froze the mixture in my old mysis shrimp trays so i have like 1000 cubes for about $10.

so far when feeding i notice he will go after the little flakes of nori that drift around but he eats with more gusto the little bits of prawn or fish. tricky to feed, i get his attention then let little bits fall around him, seems to be working but have to be careful about just how much i feed as i dont wont to polute the tank.

still havent decided where he's gonna end up, itll be a while yet so ive got plenty of time.

adam

[dandy7200]

Heres mine in the reef....

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/58279226@N00/250883670/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/107/250883670_20208d5cd9_o.jpg" width="600" height="449" alt="tex" /></a>

First fish in is key. No nipping, killer personality. He picked up on hand feeding in less than a week. Really need to think about the other fish you want to keep. I wouldn't even put a tang in with him. While he could probably hold his own at feeding time if the tang started nipping him.....wipeout. I run alot of carbon on my tanks anyway so if it ever happens I am comfortable the damage won't be devistating but, he's the main attraction.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

very nice dandy 7200

[Sushi Roll]

Lux_06,

First, neither of those links worked.

Second, that fish REALLY looks like a boxfish. But if not, it could be a Helmet Cowfish. I don't think its a Longhorn though...

Third, don't forget that he could poison everything in your tank if he gets stressed.

Good luck!

[lux_06]

ok sorry guys, obviously cutting and pasting aint gonna cut it!

ill get the images for ya.

[lux_06]

ok firstly is a pic of a juvinille longhorn cowfish, thanks to www.aclaimimages.com

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/0191-0602-1320-0813_SM2.jpg

too me this fish looks identicle, and on this site it has lots of info on the species.

secondly is a pic of a juvinile cubicus boxfish, thanks to www.amonline.com.au

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/ostrac2c.jpg

now its definately not the second one.

adam

[lux_06]

sushi roll - just been and had a look at some pics of this helmet boxfish and your right it looks simular, but im sure its not one of those.

one thing that needs considering is im an Aussie and i know this fish came from distributors in Western Australia, these guys collect fish from the indo-pacific region and this is where long horns are found, helmets on the other hand are found in sri lanka, and i just cant see a collecter in W.A getting their hands on something like that, im pretty sure captures from sri lanka would not be heading towards Aus, rather the U.S and a more lucrative market.

cheers

adam

[donald altman]

I got one just like it.. It was labled a long horn and is identicle to that one.. I was thinking it might be a helmet as well..
either way they are so cool and so cute.. I love him. Howeve rI ham having a problem with to much flow in my 100 gallon mixed reef.. I have no other fish in the tank and he is being blown around.. I cut my main pump off and not sure if my corals aer going to suffer..

will it become a stronger swimmer as it gets older? It is
only a half inch.

[cristhiam]

I would definetly cover any intakes for now until it gets bigger and stronger, it will adjust to the flow there's got to be places in your tank that's not blowing away. At a 1/2 inch is not very strong to pull out of the intakes.

[donald altman]

yeah.. I've got netting over them all that the first thing I thgouht of when I saw the fish

[jmaneyapanda]

you may even want to try a foam prefilter- it will clog easier, but will also protect better.

[dandy7200]

Took a couple of weeks for mine to adjust to the flow. Cristhiam is right they will find the spots in your tank that have less flow than you thought.

[donald altman]

great news.. is there anyways I can help hoax it or intice it to stay in that area.. or is it sorta a good thing he is exploring.. I just want want the little guy to not have a hard time. Maybe once he finds refuge behind something out of the way of the main flow he will just naturally stick to that area??
I am going to replace my pump with a small pump tonight and let him get used to that then after awhile increase to a slightly bigger then to my main pump.. I think this would be best for both my corals and the fish.

I have extra pumps laying all over my garage from past tanks of all sorts of sizes so this might work.
thanks for the encouragement all.. I plan on changing my carbon out more frequently then normal too just incase he is stressed while acclimating and I am not aware.

[lux_06]

for all the doubters out there!!!!

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/h.jpg

looks like horns to me ;-)

BTW has tripled in size in just over a month!!!!

[donald altman]

Lux I am jelouse... mine didn't make it... and oddly enough
it just disapeared. I think it was eaten. :(
No tank crashing problems.. everything seems to be same as normal.. I do run alot of carbon though. Maybe it is what saved the tank.

I am in the works of creating a better environment for one of these guys and int he future I am going to try and get one that is a little bigger.. I hope I have as good of luck as you with one.
Your is very cool.. Looks like his color has shifted slightly hes gotten fatter and growing some horns.. its very very cool to see.
Thanks Lux for sharing the picture.

[cristhiam]

very nice lux, is it eating algea sheets yet? mine loves nori and red algea.

donald altman, sorry about your fish, the bigger the better chances of surviving.

Mine it's getting at about 3.5+" they do grow fast.

[lux_06]

not eating nori yet, had forgotten actually had a clip in there the first day he went in but took no notice, i think its time to try again, he has his little feeding corner top right of the tank, is sitting there patiently when i muck around with my reef.

he will get dark blotches on his cheeks sometimes and is quite yellow and other times is much more pale. makes me laugh so hard when he hovers around,

he seems bored in the tank, like he needs toys or something!!! going to set up a 6fter when i decide what tankmates, really got no idea, any suggestions? its gonna be fowlr but i need to have tnakmates that arent to ferocious feeders as this guy likes to play with his food!!!

i will get a better pic in the daytime for you.

adam

[donald altman]

That sounds great Lux. I am adding a much bigger refugium this time under the tank and elimnating all powerheads inside the tank on my 5 foot 100 gallon. I plan on drilling in the new week or so. I am also going to switch lighting around while Iam doing tank renovation. I don't have any other fish my reef, I've always thought it takes away from the reef itself by having to much attention drawn away from it and to the fishes activity. I am going to continue to run alot of carbon and set it up so that there is alot of turn over int he tank but not much focused current. I think fish are neat but I like inverts much much better usually.
for some reason I like this fish so much more then any other fish I have seen and I am goign to make drastic changes to my reef just to house one of these fish. They are just odd. If your is truely getting bored I might would add more fish in the future but for now my thinking is just leaving my tank as a reef and adding the one cow to my tank.

[lux_06]

yeh i think hes bored cos theres no other fish and no live rock to pick at, ive been too slack in catching my cleaner wrasse out of my reef so its not fallow so i can steal any live rock for my cow, but im onto it now hes growing as im trying to plan a FO tank for all those funky and strange fish!!!!

[lux_06]

5 weeks growth!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/cow1.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/cow3.jpg

[lux_06]

lol compare the horns to the pic from 17 days ago.

[cristhiam]

Very nice!!! here a video of mine at feeding time :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEwVS9f9kjE

[lux_06]

cheers mate, yours is having no issues witht that flow either is he....


mine is a noticebly better swimmer allready.

[lux_06]

and hes in my reef.....

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/cowfish.jpg

these fish grow like nothing else i have seen before, i have also seen 4 more the same size as when i got him but interestingly they were all pure yellow, mine is more cream with blue spots and a yellow tummy?

anyways hes loving the algea everywhere to nibble on, had a nibble on my nudibranc too as the nudi was chillin in his corner of the reef so moved the nudi, lets hope he didnt like the taste.

adam

[cristhiam]

Very nice!! how often are you feeding it? sure it' growing fast!!

[PupChow]

I would really love one in my tank, but I fear for my fanworms...

[lux_06]

fan worms hey!

i have these in his tank!

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/lux_06/dusters.jpg

have only seen him snack on some algae so far, flow is only a problem when feeding cos i have all my flow in the top half of the tank for my sps, leaving the lower half quite slow moving, perfect for the cow and my lps....

feed twice a day, my own seafood mix, its amazing too see this sort of growth when i had fish for years in a old tank that i fed mysis and brine and saw very little growth at all in my fish.... i know different species grow faster then others but even my other fish have grown dramaticly. a real eye opener for sure for me.