LONGHORN COWFISH

It's good to be back.  Had to tend to the second half of a surgical procedure that has given me back my peripheral vision.  I genuflect before the surgeons who delicately wield the knife.  My knight asked what music I'd like to listen to during the surgery, so I listened to Andrea Bocelli's voice throughout.  I'm a good-faith chicken when it comes to being locally anesthetized for eye surgery, but I was blessed with a kind highly-skilled young plastic surgeon.  Oh, may I add that this was not for vanity sake, but to give me back the ability to see what is on both sides of me.  For a long time, it was like I was looking through a tunnel.  That's why I needed one surgery to remove and lift skin from my forehead and the other to remove skin from my lids.    

I try to find the positive in everything, and, yes, there was a positive side to the discomfort.  I was able to cross something off my bucket list.......get two black eyes. 

Longhorn Cow fish

Today's spotlight shines on the Longhorn Cow Fish that's found in the Indo-Pacific region, Red Sea and East Africa eastward through Korea, South to Australia and off Southern Africa in the Atlantic.  It's recognizable by the spines above the eyes like a cow or bull.  The horns make it more difficult for predators to swallow them.

They protect the coral reefs they live in by being predators of the invertebrates that destroy the reefs.  

This fish is a member of the box fish family.  Their body is covered in fused bony plates, creating a box-like body.  They swim slowly and appear to hover about in the water like a helicopter.  They blow a jet of water from their mouth to uncover buried prey in the sand.  Each eye can move separately, allowing them to look in two directions at once.

Scientists say that longhorn cow fish are not well-suited for home aquariums.  If the longhorn cow fish is severely stressed, it may exude deadly toxins that can kill other fish in the aquarium.  It's recommended to keep them in large tanks.