Well that sucked but...I guess it could of sucked more

[kien]

Sorry to hear Laurie.. I've lost one too many box fish in this hobby as well, under pretty much the exact same circumstances. Often times there are things going on that are completely out of our field of view and control.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

Oh poor little guy, he was so cute to. Sorry to here of this Laurie, my wife really wants a spotted box fish but I am so hesitant to get one.

R.I.P. little Hermie

Thanks, I had wanted one for 3 years but the fear of it releasing toxin into the tank had always made me think twice. However after knowing a few people who never had any issues with them nuking a tank, I decided to take a chance. Very glad that my tank seems fine but it really sucked finding such a cool personable fish dead

Originally Posted by kien

Sorry to hear Laurie.. I've lost one too many box fish in this hobby as well, under pretty much the exact same circumstances. Often times there are things going on that are completely out of our field of view and control.

Ya I still don't get how it could of been doing so well and then just be dead Very frustrating! I really would like to try another one in the future (as boxfish are my favorite saltwater fish) but I'm worried that another one might just up and die for no apparent reason

[hillbillyreefer]

Same experience here. Wife wanted one for a couple years, tank was runinng for over a year, everything else survived.

[Delphinus]

Sad Sorry to hear. What frustrations some days..

[RedCoralEdmonton]

Wow Laurie, sorry to hear, he was doing so good..... But like others have stated ive had a few of them die and never once lost another fish to the toxin..... I somewhat wonder if that isn't a myth....

Steve

[Leah]

Sorry to hear Laurie.... same thing happened to me and tank was fine.

[Northernseacorals]

Sorry to read that story, the little fella was spot on cute.

Chin up the rest of your tank mates are still around to make you smile

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by RedCoralEdmonton

Wow Laurie, sorry to hear, he was doing so good..... But like others have stated ive had a few of them die and never once lost another fish to the toxin..... I somewhat wonder if that isn't a myth....

Steve

Thanks Steve, it really sucked finding him dead He was doing so well, I really though he was going to survive for a long time. I had been really looking forward to watching him grow. Also mad at myself for not closely checking the tank before I left for work yesterday morning. I usually would check in the morning to see him and make sure he's ok, but I didn't yesterday morning, so now I'm wondering how long was he dead for.

Also I found him beside a rock sort of wedged in beside it but not really stuck in it. He was fairly easy to pull out with the net, so I don't think he got stuck in the rock, but I have heard of them getting spooked and wedging themselves into the rock and dying, so I really hope that's not what happened. However I can't help but wonder if only I checked on him before I left for work, because if he was stuck then maybe I could of unstuck him and saved him. But I guess I'll never know, and honestly when I found him he didn't seem stuck in the rock but it's hard to say for sure Needless to say it's driving me nuts not knowing what really happened or if he was still alive or not before I went to work

As far as I'm aware it's not a myth but apparently (from what I've read) boxfish rarely ever release the toxin they have in them. They pretty much only will if they are being severely stressed out or picked on. I've also read that there are certain types of boxfish that are more toxic then others.

[RedCoralEdmonton]

I didnt mean to say that they dont have a toxin, as that is proven, but i have yet to come across any stories of them dying and releasing it....so maybe more of a rare occurance....

Steve

[George]

Could it be that it was caught using cyanide and that damaged its internal organs? Even thought it ate fine but couldn't digest the food?
Or the foods we feed them are not their nature diet and they can't get enough of whatever nutrients they need and waste away.
Just a thought.