Spotted boxfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep a spotted boxfish in a peaceful tank of at least 340 litres with rockwork and calm tankmates, at 24 to 27 C and pH 8.0 to 8.4. It is a slow, clumsy swimmer that is easily nipped or outcompeted, so avoid aggressive or fast fish. It is coral safe but may pick at small invertebrates, and the real risk is its toxin, so never house it with fish that harass it. Feed a varied diet of meaty foods, marine algae and some hard-shelled items several times a week.

In the wild

The spotted boxfish shows striking sexual difference: males are dark blue on the sides with a black white-spotted back, while females and juveniles are black all over with white dots. Its body is a rigid box of fused bony plates, so it swims by whirring its fins while the body stays stiff. It hovers and hums slowly over the reef looking for small prey.

Good to know

Ostracion meleagris can release a skin toxin called ostracitoxin when badly stressed, which in a closed tank can poison other fish and even the boxfish itself. Its body is encased in a solid carapace of fused hexagonal plates, leaving only the fins, mouth and tail free to move. Males and females are so differently coloured they were once mistaken for separate species.

Did you know

When it is severely stressed a spotted boxfish can leak a toxin into the water that is potent enough to wipe out every fish in the tank, including itself.

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