[DJ88]

Well firstly.. Boxfish and Cowfish are from different genus of animals completely. Lactoria cornuta is the longhorned cowfish. Ostracion sp. is the genus for the boxfish you see in the stores. Different fish. Different families. So throwing a blanket statement over a bunch of fish just because they are called "boxfish" by stores doesn't mean they are the same thing.

Usually when a boxfish releases it isn't a slow lingering death of occupants. It's pretty sudden and traumatic. Trust me.

A couple of years ago I spent a lot of time talking to other Longhorned Cowfish owners. Several actually who had experiences as I have with these fish passing on. On two occasions one of the group brought home fish from LFS's that were not in the best of health with the intention of nursing them back as he had done on prior occasions. Neither of these two survived and niether released any toxins. Even after being in the tank for awhile after death.

With my two Longhorned Cows both sustained very serious trauma due to being stung by an 18" carpet anemone. One was the anemone overnight and had quite obvioulsy struggled for a while. No release. The other cow was stung twice, once that same night and once a short while later. I sold it to someone without any anemones and the last time I had spoken to them was doing very well and had grown by 2".

I guess it comes down to looking to those with past expereinces that don't follow with the "myth" and seeing that quite possibly there is differences and maybe they would be better served clearing the air rather than confusing the issue.