Browse animals
Exhibit
See the Triangular boxfish at Two Oceans Aquarium in this exhibit:
Triangular boxfish Tetrosomus concatenatus
Photograph by Michael Farquhar
Fast facts
- Conservation status: Least Concern
- Occur in tropical waters
- Able to manouevre rocky crevasses and tight spots with ease, but not great swimmers
Triangular boxfish (Tetrosomus concatenatus) are small, colourful reef fish that occur in places including South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius and Mozambique.
Boxfish are unusual looking little armoured fish, that often appear to stand on their heads and squirt a fine jet of water into the sand below them – thus uncovering small animals and plants which they then feed on.
They are not very good swimmers, but are deft at swiftly maneuvering their comical bodies in even the trickiest of spaces.