Description
Scrawled Cowfish, Acanthostracion quadriconis is a very common fish to Florida. Cowfish like various habitats but prefer grass beds in shallow waters where they change their colors to blend with the background. They can be kept with a variety of fish without only problems. This fish is a slow eater so it is important that it is not with fish which are fast in their food consumption.
***These fish are not toxic to the aquarium at all. Many people confuse the scrawled cow fish with the Smooth Trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter) or the Spotted Trunkfish (Lactophrys bicaudalis) which release a toxic mucus when stressed which can kill an entire system in a matter of minutes. We do not collect these at all since they are so toxic and most people do not want them in an aquarium. We really don’t want them kept in our aquariums here either since they could kill all of our fish as well!
terrytolkin (verified owner) –
What a stunning addition to anyone’s Caribbean themed tank!
I remember coming across these guys just about every single time I dived off of Dania Beach. Well, it was just called “Dania” then, back before the City Council realised that there’s buku marketing dollars to be had by adding “Beach” to your towns moniker. They even tried to get the Ft. Lauderdale Airport to include their new name into it’s formal name! I mean, why not try? The City of Hollywood, which is in a whole other County and physically miles away from it’s nearest runway, doth protesteth enough to have it’s name stenciled in so that’s why the airports formal name is currently the “Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport”. And btw it’s only just barely “international” in that flights depart and arrive there from the Bahamas. Like fureelz. I only know all that useless trivia because I worked there as a Fueler for about a half a dozen years . I was living on my 1976 Carver Santa Cruz back then. The”S.S. Wharf Rat” was a 28 foot Cabin Cruiser with twin Chevy V8’s and a Velvet Drive transmission. I bought it offa it’s one original owner shortly after my exile to South FLA in 2000.
Remind me to tell you all about it sometime.
I was tied up at the Hollywood Marina just offa A1A and Hollywood Boulevard which was hardly a hundred yards of pricey beachfront property from the Ocean. I developed a most excellent side gig of either Beach Diving or motoring two miles up the Intracoastal and out of the Inlet to wage “spearfishing wars” on the First, Second and Third Reefs and bringing my targeted catch to a few select local sushi shops for top, untaxed Yanqui dollars. So anyway, it was always on those close-in First Reef beach dives that I’d slip past gaggles of these wonderful and ever curious “Scrawlies”. The same ones always seemed to be in the same place in the sands out there. They’re a very curious and brave fish and I’m trilled to observe that this little piggy that those folks over at KP Aquatics have sent my way instantly displays all of those same edgy qualities.
I’ve only just discovered this outfit and he arrived in perfect condition, lovingly packaged and right on time!
KP Aquatics, where have you been all of my fishtanking life?
Well, we’ve finally found each other now….
Oh, the nearly unbearable nostalgia of it all.
Terry Tolkin