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/The Conscientious Marine Aquarist
The Puffers
Called Box-, Cowfishes, family Ostraciidae
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by Bob Fenner |
Ostracion cubicus, Australia
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Ostraciidae, from the Greek ostracum,
meaning "shell", the box, trunk or cowfishes are found all over the tropical
Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Fourteen genera with about thirty three species.
These may be the most characteristic of fishes with their bodies encased in a bony
carapace.
The family is also notable for some
members possession of "ostracitoxin" a toxic discharge substance of some
trunkfishes. If/when sufficiently disturbed whole tanks, and recirculating systems of
livestock have been wiped out. Though this is rare, the cautions listed elsewhere in this
piece on netting, acclimation, and tankmates should be heeded if you intend to try a
trunk/boxfish.
The genus
Lactoria, especially Lactoria cornuta
should be dealt with carefully; I have witnessed three poisoning "episodes"
with this species, one from a dead specimen in a filter, another from a harassed
individual, the third from the careless introduction of shipping water into a display
system.
Lactoria and members of the genus Lactophrys are commonly called Cowfishes
for their "horns", a conspicuous pair on the head and another doing rear-guard
near the anal fin. The Smooth Trunkfish, Lactophrys triqueter is the most frequently
offered member of the genus, with the Scrawled (Lactophrys quadricornis) and
Honeycomb (Lactophrys polygonius) cowfishes occasionally available. All three hale from the western tropical
Atlantic and grow to at least eleven inches in length.
Acanthostracion quineensis (Bleeker
1865), the Guinea Boxfish. Eastern Atlantic coast, along Africa's coast.
To seven inches in length.
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No pic |
Acanthostracion
notacanthus (Bleeker 1863), the Island Cowfish. Eastern Atlantic and
mid-islands. To twenty inches overall length.
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No pic |
Acanthostracion
quadricornis (Linnaeus 1758),West Atlantic; Massachusetts to Brazil.
To twenty two inches in length.
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Anoplocapros amygdaloides (Bleeker 1863), the Western
Smooth Boxfish. Southeastern Indian Ocean: Australia's west and south coasts. To
one foot in length.
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No pic |
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Anoplocapros inermis Fraser-Brunner 1941, the Eastern
Smooth Boxfish. Southwestern Pacific: Australia's eastern coast. To
fourteen inches length in the wild.
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No pic
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Anoplocapros lenticularis (Richardson 1841), the
White-Barred Boxfish. Southeastern Indian Ocean: Australia's west coast. To
thirteen inches in length. This one in captivity is about four inches. Typical
for aquarium use import.
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Anoplocapros robustus (Fraser-Brunner 1941), the
Chubby Basketfish. West Pacific. To nine inches.
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No pic |
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Aracana aurita (Shaw 1798), the Striped Cowfish.
Indo-west Pacific. To eight inches. Aquarium images of juvenile and adult.
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Aracana ornata (Gray 1838), the Ornate Cowfish.
Southeastern Indian Ocean. To six inches in length.
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No pic |
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Caprichthys gymnura McCulloch & Waite 1915, the
Rigid Boxfish. Southeastern Indian Ocean. To four inches.
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Capropygia unistriata (Kaup 1855), the Black-Banded
Pygmy Boxfish. Southeastern Indian Ocean. To five inches.
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No pic |
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Kentrocapros aculeatus (Houttuyn 1782). Western north
Pacific: South China Sea. To five inches in length.
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No pic |
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Kentrocapros eco (Phillips 1932). Southwestern
Pacific: New Zealand. To four inches.
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No pic |
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Kentocapros flavofasciatus (Kamohara 1938). Western North Pacific and New
Caledonia (antitropical in distribution). To five inches in length.
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Kentrocapros rosapinto (Smith 1949), the Basketfish.
Western Indian Ocean. To about five inches in length.
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Lactophrys bicaudalis (Linnaeus 1758), the Spotted
Trunkfish. Tropical west Atlantic. To nineteen inches. This one's about fourteen
inches, in the Florida Aquarium, Tampa. More "spotty" appearing as
juveniles.
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Lactophrys (now Acanthostracion) polygonius (Poey 1876), the Honeycomb
Cowfish. Tropical west Atlantic. To about nineteen inches in length. Bahamas
pix.
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(now Acanthostracion)
quadricornis (Linnaeus 1758), the Scrawled Cowfish.
A small one (four inches) and adult one in the
Bahamas.
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Lactophrys trigonus (Linnaeus 1758), the Buffalo
Cowfish. Tropical west Atlantic. To about eighteen inches in length. St.
Thomas pic.
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Lactophrys trigueter (Linnaeus 1758), the Smooth
Cowfish. Tropical west Atlantic. To about eighteen inches in length. A juvenile
and adult (3" and 12" respectively), in Tobago. And a ten inch
individual in the Bahamas.
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Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus 1758), the Longhorn
Cowfish. Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, east African coast. To some eighteen inches in
length in the wild. At right, a profile in N. Sulawesi. Below; aquarium photos of two juveniles and an adult size
specimen in Mabul, Malaysia.
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Lactoria diaphana (Bloch & Schneider 1801), the
Roundbelly Cowfish. Southeast Atlantic, Indo-Pacific and east Pacific. To
thirteen inches overall length.
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No pic |
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Lactoria fornasini (Bianconi 1846), the Thornback
Cowfish. Indo-west Pacific, south-east Atlantic (South Africa). To nine inches.
This four inch one in Hawai'i. The best member of the genus for aquarium use in
my opinion (obviously).
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Lactoria paschae (Rendahl 1921). Southeast Pacific:
Easter Island.
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The Genus Ostracion: The Spotted Cube, Ostracion cubicus
is a perennial favorite, especially as a bright yellow with black spots juvenile. It is a
large fish in the wild, attaining some eighteen inches. On a smaller scale, the
Black
(female) and Blue (male) Spotted Boxfish, Ostracion meleagris is often seen as well.
About "Boston Beans": these are
juveniles of various species of cowfishes and boxes, not a specific designation; they grow
up to look like the adults of whatever species they are.
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Ostracion cubicus Linnaeus 1758, the Yellow Boxfish.
Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, east African coast around South Africa into the Atlantic.
To eighteen inches long in the wild. At right:
a juvenile in Fiji, Below: a sub-adult in
captivity, an adult in the Cooks,
and a aged individual in the Red Sea of about a foot in length. At the
very bottom an adult of color in Mabul, Malaysia.
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Ostracion cyanurus (Ruppell 1828), the Bluetail Trunkfish. Western Indian
Ocean, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Africa's eastern coast. Here's a beautiful male
in Egypt's Sharm in the Red Sea.
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Ostracion immaculatus, Temminck & Schlegel 1850.
Northwestern Pacific: Japan. Closely related to Ostracion cubicus of the
Indo-Pacific.
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No pic |
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Ostracion meleagris Shaw 1796, the Blue (male), Black
(female) or Whitespotted Boxfish. Vying with the common Cowfish, Lactoria
cornuta, for most commonly offered species in the family. Like other (demersal)
Boxfish species, this one needs to be well fed... on the tank bottom, not the
surface or mid-water. Take care with aggressive feeding tankmates. At right, a
male in the Galapagos. Below: A female and
male in captivity, Hawai'i, and a set in N. Sulawesi.
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Ostracion nasus (Bloch 1785), the Shortnose Boxfish.
Western Pacific. To twelve inches.
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No pic |
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Ostracion rhinorhynchos Bleeker 1852, the Horn-nosed
Boxfish. Indo-west Pacific. To fourteen inches in length.
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No pic |
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Ostracion solorensis Bleeker 1852, the Reticulate
Boxfish. Indo-Australian. To four inches in length. A great beauty and good
choice for home aquarists. More and more available. A photo of a female Gili
Air, Lombok, Indonesia, and male in S. Sulawesi.
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 %20male.JPG)
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| And a male in Mabul, Malaysia: |
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Ostracion trachys Randall 1975, the Roughskin
Trunkfish. Western Indian Ocean: Mauritius. To four inches in length.
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Ostracion whitleyi Fowler 1931, Whitley's Boxfish.
Central to western Pacific. Males found more westward only. To six inches total
length. At right is a female (and male!) in Hawaiian waters, where males are
exceedingly rare. Below, a female and male in Nuka Hiva, Polynesia where both
sexes are much more common. Note the differences in color, markings between the
females of Hawai'i and the Marquesas.
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Paracanthostracion lindsayi (Phillips 1932).
Southwestern Pacific: New Zealand.
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No pic |
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Polyplacapros tyleri Fuji & Uyeno 1979. Southwest
Pacific, New Zealand and east Australia.
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No pic |
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Tetrosomus concatenatus (Bloch 1785), the Triangular
Boxfish. Indo-west Pacific. To twelve inches.
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Tetrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus 1758), the Humpback
Turretfish. Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, east African coast. To twelve inches in
length. Here's one off of Na'ama Bay in Sharm, Egypt's Red
Sea.
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Tetrosomus reipublicae (Ogilby 1913), the Smallspine
Turretfish. Indo-west Pacific, along east African coast. To twelve inches in
length.
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No pic |
And further regarding the keeping of
ostraciids; they have not had a good record of success with marine aquarists, mainly
related to diet or the lack of it. These fishes need food, green AND meaty on a regular
basis; most are lost to outright starvation. Especially on first arrival, or when you
acquire them, it is critical that the specimen begin feeding. Please see the notes under
foods/feeding below.
Bibliography/Further Reading:
Debelius, Helmut. Undated. Pufferfish in
the marine aquarium. Aquarium Digest International #27.
Debelius, Helmut. Undated. Boxfish- those
fascinating marine oddities. Aquarium Digest International #36.
Edmonds, Les. 1989. Boxfishes-armor in the
aquarium. TFH 7/89.
Fong, Jack. 1994. The ten most amusing Boxfishes. TFH 8/94.
Lobel, Philip S. 1985. Spawning behavior
of the spotted trunkfish, Ostracion meleagris. FAMA 8/85.
Michael, Scott W. 1997. The puffers; unique in many ways. AFM
8/97.
Michael, Scott W. 1998. Swimming boxes. Boxfish are
interesting to keep, but choose their tankmates carefully to avoid disaster. AFM
3/98.
Nelson, Joseph S. 1994. Fishes of the
World, 3d ed. John Wiley & Sons, NY.
Pyle, Richard L. 1989. Whitley's boxfish, Ostracion
whitleyi Fowler. FAMA 7/89.
Quinn, John R. 1986. Puffers &
friends; a look at the pros and cons of keeping the popular puffers. TFH 5/86.
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