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Originally Posted by The Moray Guy
Sorry I took so long to respond. Yes I have seen it blow on the sandbed and also bite the live rock. It is interested in the food but doesnt swallow it. Doesnt hide and is very curious. Its been about six days since it hasnt eaten.
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Matt,
You got yourself a Helmet Cowfish. They are one my favorite fish. My tank has always revolved around this fish. My user name "Bulletsworld" is from my first Helmet cowfish that I named Bullets. Bullets, because they have the ability to release ostracitoxin, which would kill an entire tank. So you can see why it became... Bullets World.
If any fish picked on my Bullets, besides it being my fav fish, they were removed from the tank immediately in worry of the toxin.
These fish are hardly ever seen for sale in the hobby. It took me quite a while to find another. But I was blessed with finding a tiny baby Helmet fish in Calgary which is now all grown up but is still with me. I love these fish because they stay small (4inches) and have a fin nominal personality, as well as being extremely personable, very interactive with their fish keepers and just such an amazing fish to keep, providing the right conditions.
Getting back to the subject....sorry got off topic a bit.
I had the same problem at first with both Helmet's not eating right away. They tend to be really shy at first, becoming scared easy & take time to train to except prepared foods. You have to win your trust with them, making slow moments to the tank. The good news is that it DOES sound like your cowfish is eating. Helmet Cowfish are omnivorous bottom feeders, will blow into the sand to uncover prey, but will consume both algae, sponges, amphipods, tiny crustaceans, will often nibble at tubeworms and sampling polyps on occasion. So it sounds like your cowfish is doing just that, which is good.
Because these fish don’t swim well and aren’t likely to chase food. You have to carefully monitor its eating habits, since more aggressive tank mates may prevent your cowfish from reaching the food. The cowfish should not have to compete for food, because it won't win. I found spot feeding to be effective. I distract the rest of the fish to the other side of the tank with food & use a syringe to spot feed the cowfish alone. It's such a routine that all I do is squeeze the food to the tip of the syringe & my cowfish will suck it out. You may discover another method that works best for you.
I found with ALL my cowfish (longhorns & helmets) especially depending on their size & them having a small mouth, it took some time at first for them to accept prepared/frozen foods. They nibble only a small bit IF they like it and will spit the rest out. Being that these fish are bottom feeds I started syringing food to the sand bed in front of the cowfish. I started with brine shrimp which seems to be a start, but not a good diet long term. Here is the list of what my cowfish (longhorns & helmets) all eat.
*Brine Shrimp
*Freeze dried Cylopeeze
*Mysis
*Spirlina Flakes – My cowfish goes crazy for this, but my tiny cowfish won’t touch it
*Presoaked dry seaweed (wrap elastic around sm rock & drop to sand bed)
*Small marine pellets – soaked
*Clam (clam from supermarket, make sure to rinse)
*grinded up small & unfrozen mussels, shrimp, clam, squid, snails
Vitamins (can use to soak foods as well)
* Vitamin C
* Selcon
*Garlic
Off topic but a great tip …..BEWARE –These fish get light shocked easily. If you don’t have a moonlight, I suggest to get one. They will sleep under the moonlight. They don’t like complete darkness and if they get spooked they will dart to the surface water and likely hurt their selves.
Hope this info helped.
Lee