longhorn cowfish size

[jimnrose]

I'm interested in the honghorn cowfish but understand it can grow to 16" or 2o' max. Does anyoneknow howling it takes for a young one to get to the full size.(120gal long tank; 17" max) Jim

[robs.mark]

I wouldnt think it would out grow a 120 too fast, but thwn if your not upgrading, when it does get to big you just gonna be so attached to it your not gonna want to move it on. They are a very personable fish from what i understand, but will wipe out any worms, and probably crabs snails etc as it grows. I must admit, its a fish that i have always had a great interest in.

[jimnrose]

Thanks for the reply. Does anyone have any idea of how fast they grow?
I won't be getting a larger tank & am willing to take the risk of being attached to one if itcouldbein the tank for at least a few years.

[Paris_Wiley]

I had one for 2 years and it went from about the size of a sugar cube to the size of a tennis ball in a 180 gallon aquarium. I then upgraded to a 375 gallon reef aquarium and traded him in to my LFS since he would have wrecked havoc on the clams and tube worms I wanted to keep so I am not sure how much bigger he would have gotten or how long it would have taken. I would think that if you started with a small one you could get 3-4 years before he would outgrow a 120 gallon tank.

[jimnrose]

They sure are cute but think I'll pass because my tank is only18 months old and just seeing some tube worms, so don't want to cleans out the sand bed.
Thaks for your help. Jim

[Hal]

Mine is roughly tennis ball size in my 240g tank. It was about that size when I got him 6 months ago, so I wouldn't say they are fast growers. YMMV.

Great fish though. He eats out of my hand. I need to keep an eye on him when I use my turkeybaster to spot feed my anemones, 'cause he'll nip at me, and it hurts! He drew blood twice.