The Yellow Boxfish (Ostracion Cubicus) is a member of the Boxfish family and grows to no larger than 45cm. Divers can find these fish as deep as 40 metres, however they tend to spend most of their time in the shallower and warmer parts of the world’s oceans like the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and also parts of the south eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Boxfish tend to spend most of their days on the reef, their main diet is algae, small invertebrates, worms, crustaceans and sponges for example.
The Yellow Boxfish is in fact, a yellow, box-shaped fish – who would have guessed it? It is a bright yellow colour with black spots, which helps them to survive by telling nearby predators that they are poisonous.
However, as they begin to mature, the number of spots decreases and the yellow blends into almost a dirty, mustard colour. It’s not just the colours that change either, their body also gets longer as they grow, creating many layers of scales that act like a coat of armour.
Their body is solid and only has openings for the eyes, fins, mouth and tail. These quirky fish may look cute and innocent, but are in fact more like a swimming knife, packed with defensive gadgetry!
The most obvious of these is being a living tank. Not too many hunting predators would rush to eat a boxfish, which I can only assume is like biting down on a kneecap, which is a bad decision all round, wouldn’t you agree?
Yes, I would agree. They may look cute, but they are actually quite dangerous, and I think the moral of this article is don’t judge a book by its cover.
Boxfish tend to spend most of their days on the reef, their main diet is algae, small invertebrates, worms, crustaceans and sponges for example.
Using its puckered lips, it blows small bursts of water at the corals and sand to reveal anything that might be hiding.
The Yellow Boxfish is in fact, a yellow, box-shaped fish – who would have guessed it? It is a bright yellow colour with black spots, which helps them to survive by telling nearby predators that they are poisonous.
However, as they begin to mature, the number of spots decreases and the yellow blends into almost a dirty, mustard colour. It’s not just the colours that change either, their body also gets longer as they grow, creating many layers of scales that act like a coat of armour.
Their body is solid and only has openings for the eyes, fins, mouth and tail. These quirky fish may look cute and innocent, but are in fact more like a swimming knife, packed with defensive gadgetry!
The most obvious of these is being a living tank. Not too many hunting predators would rush to eat a boxfish, which I can only assume is like biting down on a kneecap, which is a bad decision all round, wouldn’t you agree?
Yes, I would agree. They may look cute, but they are actually quite dangerous, and I think the moral of this article is don’t judge a book by its cover.
I love boxfish. They are my seventh favourite fish after pipefish, turbots, goblin sharks, conga eels, viperfish and sticklebacks.
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