Aggressive Blue Jaw Triggerfish

Cam_official · Mar 11, 2020

Just after the lights went on this morning, I witnessed my male Blue Jaw Trigger chasing my blue green chromis around the tank trying to nip at them. I caught him doing this a while back, but didn't observe it for a while. Hes never gone after any of my coral banded, skunk cleaner, or peppermint shrimp. He's pretty plump, so I don't think its a hunger issue. I feed medium nls pellets 4x day from an auto feeder and I feed frozen mysis every other day. I'm kinda out of ideas at this point and I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions as to how I could keep this behavior at bay. I'd hate to have to get rid of him.

Old Fritz · Mar 11, 2020

Is he constantly and relentlessly chasing? If not than it really isn't an issue since fish chasing each other is kinda normal. Now if he is relentlessly chasing than you do have an issue. Removing him from the tank and rescaping seems to help with aggression

Cam_official · Mar 11, 2020

Old Fritz said:
Is he constantly and relentlessly chasing? If not than it really isn't an issue since fish chasing each other is kinda normal. Now if he is relentlessly chasing than you do have an issue. Removing him from the tank and rescaping seems to help with aggression

He was taking turns chasing the chromis and nipping their tails. A couple of my bigger chromis were missing pieces of their tails. So it wasn't like he was singling out any chromis in particular, but was chasing them when they left an obstruction.

Cam_official · Mar 11, 2020

I think I'm leaning towards this being a food issue. . . after feeding him a bunch of mysis, he stopped the chasing. I think putting my feeding ring back up will ensure he gets more food from the pellet feedings. I'm also gonna pick up some frozen clams today and give him something more substantial.

Glott3133 · Mar 11, 2020

Blue Throats tend to be very docile. I feed mine clams 3-4 times a week, along with mysis. They are definitely big eaters, but doesn't necessarily explain the nipping. I have all small fish, and he doesn't touch any of them.

Cam_official · Mar 11, 2020

Glott3133 said:
Blue Throats tend to be very docile. I feed mine clams 3-4 times a week, along with mysis. They are definitely big eaters, but doesn't necessarily explain the nipping. I have all small fish, and he doesn't touch any of them.

Yeah, I found it super odd, because hes never picked on any fish before this chromis issue. He's typically one of the most peaceful fish in my tank.

Miller535 · Mar 11, 2020

Cam_official said:
I think I'm leaning towards this being a food issue. . . after feeding him a bunch of mysis, he stopped the chasing. I think putting my feeding ring back up will ensure he gets more food from the pellet feedings. I'm also gonna pick up some frozen clams today and give him something more substantial.

I have never had a triggerfish, but I have had several puffer fish. And my understanding is that their diet is pretty much the same. Meaty foods, and especially hard crunchy foods. Puffers become more aggressive when they don't get these things. Here is what Live Aquaria recommends for trigger fish:

Triggerfish needs a varied diet of meaty foods including; squid, krill, clams, small fish and hard shelled shrimp to help wear down their ever growing teeth.

alton · Mar 11, 2020

Try LRS. Food with some substance. Mysis is mostly water

Waterislife · Mar 11, 2020

That sounds like a bored triggerfish, throw some shells in for him to play with, and let's face it, chromis are the whipping fish in the reef tank world.

lion king · Mar 11, 2020

What size is he. While bluejaws are docile compared to other triggers, they can get territorial. They dont maintain a huge territory but will likely chomp at the chromis if they invade. If the chromis learn then all will likely be well, bluejaws dont usually go rogue and just aggressively attack. I would not 100% count on him not taking down a shrimp at some point.

Cam_official · Mar 11, 2020

lion king said:
What size is he. While bluejaws are docile compared to other triggers, they can get territorial. They dont maintain a huge territory but will likely chomp at the chromis if they invade. If the chromis learn then all will likely be well, bluejaws dont usually go rogue and just aggressively attack. I would not 100% count on him not taking down a shrimp at some point.

I don't think it was a territory issue. . . After I fed him a bunch of mysis, he stopped the chase and was swimming peacefully out in the open with the chromis.

Eva Rose · Mar 11, 2020

Re: @alton suggestion
+1 My blue jaw had the biggest appetite in the tank. Give him some LRS Reef Frenzy, Fish Frenzy etc. On occasion, see if he will eat a bit of Masstick on empty shell or rock to keep him busy.

Miller535 · Mar 12, 2020

Cam_official said:
I don't think it was a territory issue. . . After I fed him a bunch of mysis, he stopped the chase and was swimming peacefully out in the open with the chromis.

As I stated earlier, Mysis is NOT part of a trigger's needed diet. Will they eat it? Yes, but it's not meeting their nutritional requirements. That's like feeding a child popcorn and expecting it top stay satiated and full. And then it becomes aggressive.

Cam_official · Mar 12, 2020

Miller535 said:
As I stated earlier, Mysis is NOT part of a trigger's needed diet. Will they eat it? Yes, but it's not meeting their nutritional requirements. That's like feeding a child popcorn and expecting it top stay satiated and full. And then it becomes aggressive.

Interesting. . . I was under the impression that mysis was a gold standard for frozen foods cause of it's high protein and healthy fats.

Miller535 · Mar 12, 2020

Cam_official said:
Interesting. . . I was under the impression that mysis was a gold standard for frozen foods cause of it's high protein and healthy fats.

Not even a little. Like I said earlier, this is their normal diet :

Triggerfish needs a varied diet of meaty foods including; squid, krill, clams, small fish and hard shelled shrimp to help wear down their ever growing teeth.

That is directly copied from Liveaquaria. But if you look elsewhere, it'll all say something similar. And by elsewhere I mean in articles, places like liveaquaria, NOT forums.

Miller535 · Mar 12, 2020

No judgement from me, I made the same mistake years ago when I bought my first puffer (same diet). If you don't start feeding it hard food, food with shells, their teeth will become an issue, literally causing them pain. Clam on a half shell is dirt cheap at a supermarket.

Glott3133 · Mar 12, 2020

Clam on the half shell will also fill them up pretty quickly.

Cam_official · Mar 12, 2020

I set up my feeding ring yesterday, set the auto feeders to feed minutes after the lights cut on, and fed him clam meat I picked up. This morning there was no chromis chasing -so I think I got it worked out. I'm gonna pick up some LRS to vary up his diet as well.

Eva Rose · Mar 12, 2020

Cam_official said:
I set up my feeding ring yesterday, set the auto feeders to feed minutes after the lights cut on, and fed him clam meat I picked up. This morning there was no chromis chasing -so I think I got it worked out. I'm gonna pick up some LRS to vary up his diet as well.

By feeding more meaty nutritious foods, he will stay healthier & his colors will be more vibrant. They love clam on half shell. Great for their teeth. I take a bit of Masstick & place on empty clam shell for my puffer. It takes longer to pick @ the Masstick, so it helps keep his teeth ground.
Remember to freeze clam 1st to kill pathogens.