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CowfishLonghorn Cowfish ~ Long-horned CowfishFamily: Ostraciidae
Latest Reader Comment - See More Man, reading all these great comments I bought 2 pairs of 1" longhorn cowfishes in my 100 gallon aqu. Guess what I wiped out all my fishes and even inverts.
Huge... (more) Vipul Verma Probably the most well known of the boxfish! The Cowfish, Longhorn Cowfish, or Long-horned Cowfish can be seen in almost every public aquarium. They are hardy and they love to eat!Cowfish Contents The Cowfish, Longhorn Cowfish, or Long-horned Cowfish are easily recognized by the horns on the forehead and the bottom rear of the body. These horns make them hard for predators to swallow. In any case their flesh is poisonous and would not make for a very good meal! NOTE: The Cowfishes in the genus Lactoria, especially this Cowfish, Longhorn Cowfish, or Long-horned Cowfish must be dealt with carefully. If overly harrassed or stressed, it can release the toxic substance, ostracitoxin. This is a response to stress and can poison your tank. Make sure you keep this fish in a comfortable and not overly stressed environment, and keep it well fed!For more Information on keeping this fish see:
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| Geographic Distribution Lactoria cornuta |
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| Data provided by FishBase.org |
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Actinopterygii
- Order: Tetraodontiformes
- Family: Ostraciidae
Maintenance difficulty: The Cowfish, Longhorn Cowfish, or Long-horned Cowfish is easy to keep. Boxfish are not challenging if you feed young specimens several times a day. Start with brine shrimp.
The puffer's teeth will continually grow throughout its life so you will need to supplement their diet with some hard shelled foods. Occasionally offering foods such as live ghost shrimp and various live snails will keep their teeth worn down.
Maintenance: Feed all kinds of live and frozen foods. The boxfish also eats greenstuffs. Best to feed small amounts several times a day. We generally feed squid, shrimp (the same kind people eat), mussels, and all kinds of chopped up fish. Be sure to wash these foods thoroughly before feeding. A good vegetable formula like Formula II is also beneficial. Live fish will also be taken but should not be fed exclusively.
Habitat: Natural geographic location: Cowfish, Longhorn Cowfish, or Long-horned Cowfish are found in the Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to the Marquesan and Tuamoto islands, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe Island. Inhabits inshore on coastal muddy or sandy habitats in still bays, and commonly found in harbours and estuaries. Small juveniles on protected shallow mudflats. Found in weedy areas near rocks or reefs. Juveniles often near river mouths and in brackish water. Adults are solitary, juveniles often form small groups. Large adults are shy. Feeds on benthic invertebrates by blowing away the sand
Foods: All kinds of meaty foods and greenstuffs. A bottom feeder. Puffers are primarily predatory fish in the wild though they do graze on a bit of algae. This puffer will enjoy all kinds of meaty foods including shrimp, worms, clams, various mussels, snails, tunicates, and fish.They are not picky eaters and will quickly become adapted to a variety of prepared aquarium foods and an occasional algae wafer. Flake food is not recommended. Even though they may eat it, puffers will not thrive on it.
Social Behaviors: Apparently this fish is sometimes aggressive and sometimes not. Keep an eye on newcomers with an established boxfish and any new boxfish that are added to the aquarium.
Sex: Sexual differences: Apparently many boxfish are easy to sex but we haven't found this information yet.
Light: Recommended light levels: No special requirements.
Temperature: No special requirements. Normal temperatures for marine fish is between 74 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
Length/Diameter of fish: Cowfish, Longhorn Cowfish, or Long-horned Cowfish adults can grow to 50.0 cm (20 inches). They usually only get about 40.0 cm (16 inches) in aquariums. Their size can be deceiving since they are usually very small at the pet stores.
Minimum Tank Length/Size: A minimum 100 gallon aquarium is recommended.
Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong No special requirements.
Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom No special requirements.
Availability: This fish is available from time to time.
| Lactoria Cornuta Longhorn Cowfish Small Offered By: That Pet Place Price: $29.99  |
| Lactoria Cornuta Longhorn Cowfish Medium Offered By: That Pet Place Price: $39.99 |
| Lactoria Cornuta Longhorn Cowfish Large Offered By: That Pet Place Price: $49.99 |
| Comments | ||
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View All 18 comments!View all 3 of the coolest comments | ||
| Latest Comments | ||
Man, reading all these great comments I bought 2 pairs of 1" longhorn cowfishes in my 100 gallon aqu. Guess what I wiped out all my fishes and even inverts. Huge disaster I lost all everything cause these fishes.
2009-09-16 | ||
Click For Replies (2) Why did you lose everything?... "The answer to a fool is silence". N.B. You cannot possibly have read the comments, which would have informed you that they a) are too big for your tiny tank. b) would rapidly eat all the inverts in any tank c) leak poison when stressed.... | ||
Hey all I just moved to florida and we have a bad cold spell which caused a bunch of fish to wash up on the shore. While walking down the beach we found a sole survivor. This guy was tough, who knows how long he sat in the sand. But what I do know is it took me over an hour to walk to the car and drive home. I got him a tank and torched it with my mix of salt in the water, then finally just went to the ocean and warmed that water up and put him in it. He layed on his side and upside down for about 10 hrs. I got up this morning and he was swimming around. They should change the name to indestructible fish! Anyway I have him now and he's the nicest friendly fish ever, everyone should have one! Love him. See ya all.
2010-01-18 | ||
Click For Replies (1) That's cool. Cowfish seem pretty strange but then very... special (in a good way of course). All though they have toxins and stuff in their flesh and can also release a toxin, I think it'd be cool to have one as a pet. Well that's all I can say for now. Buh-bye.[:... | ||
I've had my cow since he was the size of my finger nail - he's now over 6". These guys have a massive personality - they are prone to whitespot though - since he was little I've given him a lot of fresh water baths to get rid of it. I now simply put my hand in, he swims over to it, and I lift him out of the tank into the fresh water. He seems to know and like it! They spit to get attention, and go black in various places when annoyed. Pride of my tank and the best fish I've ever had - long live "yellow!!!"
2010-01-01 | ||
We also have a cowfish called Charlie - only had him for a few months but already he's the main attraction in the tank! He eats out of your hand and if you go into the other room, he squeezes into one corner of the tank so he can actually still see you - we end up back in the other room to keep him company! Saw the comment about petting him - hmmm I'll have to give that a try! It's like having a 'puppy in a tank'. His latest trick is to annoy my boxer shrimp by swimming up to him really close... the shrimp then runs at him - he races off all excited then goes back and does it again!
2009-07-31 | ||
| Some of the bestest comments - here's the beef! | ||
Hi everyone, had a cowfish about 2 years now. Was less than an inch when I got him, now just over eight. Eats like a horse. Predictably my six year old daughter named him moo..... Anyway, he eats from my hands, let's me pet him, follows me round the room, great! On the negative side, squirts me if I dont feed him and squirts while I'm out, leaving streaks on the tank and puddles on the floor. Worst of all, on at least 3 occasions when cleaning, dropped my gaurd and he decided I was food! In less than a second has managed to shred enough skin off my wrist, finger, and arm to draw blood. Shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you! Try telling him that...
2009-10-04 | ||
I have a longhorn cowfish named SPIKE. I have to sat that he/she is by far most simple fish to care for that I have ever had. He often begs for food and as we found out the other day gets very depressed when he can not see people. We have a blackout curtian on the tank due to to many windows in my place. we left it on a bit too long, and after taking it off Spike was dark in color and very reclusive. Also I think that it takes alot for them to release any toxin. Spike when we first got him got stuck in an intake and wound up breaking off one of his horns(it has since grown back) with no toxin release. Also he has chased a piece of food up the refugium intake and got his mouth stuck. He was stuck for atleast an hour before I noticed him (I have spike proofed the tank since then). He came out with a big hikky but again no toxin. We have also moved the tank and him without any toxin release. Needless to say I think that toxin release is very rare and most average aquarium stress will not be enough to provoke release.
2005-12-16 | ||
| Questions - Answers | ||
I bought a tiny one but he got sucked into one of my pumps so bought one about 4", he is awesome and loves attention but he won't stop pecking at my anemone which is most annoying, also only has one horn does anyone know if the second will grow back ?
2010-03-25 | ||
Click For Replies (1) Depending on how long the one that got broken off is, as a longhorn cowfish gets older its horns will get shorter so they should even out.... | ||
I dont have a cowfish. I want one though. Any advise? Do they need a salt water tank or a freshwater tank? I need 2 know so I can c if I can get one. PLZ RESOND!
2009-11-23 | ||
Click For Replies (1) Cow fish require a salt water marine tank! I'd suggest reading about salt water marine before making the commitment. Cheers... | ||
Please I need to know what do a Long-horned Cowfish eats?
2009-12-30 | ||
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