Question About A Trigger Fish
- Thread starter Luke.
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derrick orosz
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2014
- Location
- Ayr, Ontario
I’ve had luck with blue throats in reef tanks
How long have you had one in your tank?
Some of the Xanthichthys Sp (Red tail, cross hatch and blue throat), pink tail as well are all considered reef safe with Caution. I myself don't fully trust trigger fish myself as they are big and boisterous fish. Some like to harass smaller fish, eat ornamental shrimp and crustaceans are a risk and some like to re arrange your rocks for you and spit water out of the tank onto your lights. Any trigger I would add with caution in a large tank with lots of swimming space only.
Triggers are only considered not reef safe as they eat shrimp, snails and crabs. As long as you are okay with restocking those, you should be fine. Even at that, they do not eat that much. I had a blue throat for a long time and he was an amazing fish with a great personality. I have heard of them nipping at sps before. It really is hit or miss with them.
derrick orosz
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2014
- Location
- Ayr, Ontario
I had a pair in my previous tank for probably more then two year. Never touched a snail, grab, shrimp or nem
teebone110
Distinguished Member
I currently have a sargassum trigger in my sps reef. He's been a model citizen- though he likes to pick up empty snail shells and dry them on my coral.
Great personality as he always come to out to see whomever is looking at the tank. Very tame and enjoys being hand fed.
Great personality as he always come to out to see whomever is looking at the tank. Very tame and enjoys being hand fed.
teebone110
Distinguished Member
Here's a pic of an adult from live aquaria
and a pic of my juvenile starting to get his colours
and a pic of my juvenile starting to get his colours
Man I love those. Beautiful fish. I do love a good trigger fish. Problem is you run the gauntlet of totally fine personality in the tank to man I wish I never added them.
To help make the decision if you should or not add a trigger here are some things to keep in mind. People should take a look of what their livestock is and evaluate if this family of fish is worth the risk. If you have larger fish that can stand up for themselves and don't have or plan to have inverts like shrimp. Then a trigger could be for you. If you have smaller timid fish that they can harass and steal food from and have\plan to have shrimp maybe not so much for you. If your rocks are placed on top of a deep sand bed, some triggers you run the risk of your rock structure caving in as they dig and move things around. So take a look at tank setup. Some like to make jets of water into your substrate looking for things to eat. While this is cute it is not so much if they do this onto your electrical equipment like lights or Apex.
Triggers do add a depth of personality and color to your tank. They swim and act like no other fish. Some like the Red tail vocalizes using a "grunting" sound. Others like the Blue throat have teeth that continually grow and because of this have special dietary needs and have to be fed meaty foods like krill, squid, clams, small fish and shrimp that have the shell left on to help wear down their teeth.
They can be worth the risk if you are able and willing to meet their individual needs. Just take a look at what you keep and plan to keep before making the decision. Research a few different species that could fit into your setup and learn everything about them. Look at a variety of cases where people have kept them to get a feel of how the fish generally act. Look at what all they keep and how they set the tank up. If you keep them well fed you can cut down on behavioral issues. Just be aware of the risk associated with these fish and be aware that you may get a model tank mate but you might not. Adding a fish like a trigger shapes the future course you can take as your tank evolves, so you should know as much as possible about a species before adding.
Just my 2 cents based on experience.
To help make the decision if you should or not add a trigger here are some things to keep in mind. People should take a look of what their livestock is and evaluate if this family of fish is worth the risk. If you have larger fish that can stand up for themselves and don't have or plan to have inverts like shrimp. Then a trigger could be for you. If you have smaller timid fish that they can harass and steal food from and have\plan to have shrimp maybe not so much for you. If your rocks are placed on top of a deep sand bed, some triggers you run the risk of your rock structure caving in as they dig and move things around. So take a look at tank setup. Some like to make jets of water into your substrate looking for things to eat. While this is cute it is not so much if they do this onto your electrical equipment like lights or Apex.
Triggers do add a depth of personality and color to your tank. They swim and act like no other fish. Some like the Red tail vocalizes using a "grunting" sound. Others like the Blue throat have teeth that continually grow and because of this have special dietary needs and have to be fed meaty foods like krill, squid, clams, small fish and shrimp that have the shell left on to help wear down their teeth.
They can be worth the risk if you are able and willing to meet their individual needs. Just take a look at what you keep and plan to keep before making the decision. Research a few different species that could fit into your setup and learn everything about them. Look at a variety of cases where people have kept them to get a feel of how the fish generally act. Look at what all they keep and how they set the tank up. If you keep them well fed you can cut down on behavioral issues. Just be aware of the risk associated with these fish and be aware that you may get a model tank mate but you might not. Adding a fish like a trigger shapes the future course you can take as your tank evolves, so you should know as much as possible about a species before adding.
Just my 2 cents based on experience.
dale
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2012
- Location
- Sarnia, Ontario
im thinkin all triggers can be dangerous to a reef or any tank to varying degrees, i have a tank full of predators and the trigger is the only one capable of doing instant serious damage to any others..