Boxfishes

Scientific name : Ostraciidae

Small family of bony fishes, belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, exclusive of tropical seas. The body is encased in a rigid prysmatic carapace, made with polygonal bony plates, with openings only for the moving parts: fins, eyes, mouth, tail peduncle.
Movement is by coordinated undulations of the dorsal and anal fins, with the tail used as a rudder, and pectoral fins used for maneuver. Being not good swimmers, the box fishes can anyway manouver in a very effective way, turn on themselves by 360°, tilt, shift and escape in narrows shelters in the reef.
The skin exudes a toxic mucus, making them unpalatable for most predators. The juvenile Ostracion cubicus shows clearly a warning colour pattern.
They feed mainly on invertebrates, some species can blow water on the sediments to expose the preys.
Sometimes they can be confused with puffer fishes, similar in the general shape. If carefully observed, the box fishes are rigid and polygonal in cross section, whereas the puffer fishes are soft bodied and rounded.
Many species are territorial, the male controls a small harem. Mating happens slightly before dusk. The male circles around the female, and stimulates her touching with the mouth. Both swim upward, the female releases planktonic eggs that are fecundated by the male.
The young specimens, freshly settled, are nearly cubic and often are called dice fishes.