Blue Throat Triggerfish in a Peaceful Reef?

Empress · Jul 28, 2017

Hi Everybody,

I need help deciding if it’s ok to add a Male Blue Throat Triggerfish to my reef. Here’s what I have so far in my tank and all fish get along great with each other. It’s mostly a mix of “Peaceful and Moderately Aggressive” fish. My tank is 8 foot long by 2’ high and wide = 240 gallons.

1 Sailfin Tang (7” so far all over the place)

1 Kole Tang (3” so far all over the place)

1 Foxface Rabbitfish (7” all over the place)

2 Clowns (1.5” all over the place)

1 Firefish (slender 2” mid-swimmer)

2 Chalkbass (1” & 1.5” lower half swimmers)

1 Neon Goby (1” mid-swimmer)

1 Yellow Watchman Goby (2.5” stays close to home under rock)

1 Diamond Sand Goby (3” sand dweller)

3 Lyretail Anthias (1.5 – 2” top and mid-swimmers)

1 Azure Damsel (1.5” very peaceful mid-swimmer)

4 Blue-Green Chromis (2.5” Top swimmers)

1 Flasher Wrasse still in QT (2.5”)

I was thinking of getting a Royal Gramma and a Midas Blenny and then call it quits on stocking. But I really, really, really want a Blue Throat Trigger instead of the Gramma and Blenny. Do you think he’ll get along with the rest of the clan? Oh, and I have a very prized blue clam that I’d hate to see get eaten. What do you think?

Thanks,
Empress >^..^<

Scott.h · Jul 28, 2017

I've always been a fan of triggers. I've never had a blue throat but I've had a few others. From what I've read they are the more passive of the bunch. I'm sure it comes down to individual personality. Tangs imo can be generally more nasty. I'd be a little worried about the clam though. I currently house a clown in a full reef. He's generally a model citizen, but one day I came home to seeing my sand sifting stars legs individually spread out across the tank.

the_reef_keeper · Jul 28, 2017

keeping the trigger well fed will increase your chances of keeping him in a reef environment. Often times the ones that are caught smaller are more suited for a reef. Make the trigger your last addition because they can be aggressive to new-comers. I've never kept this species before so this is all stuff I've read and heard not experience.

It depends on how much you love your clam and if you want to risk it or not

Good luck and happy reefing!

Salty1962 · Jul 29, 2017

You should be ok with a BT Trigger that's sized to your tank. They require a lot of swimming room. Mine's a push over, he doesn't bother anything except food. I've kept many over the years with no problem but I made sure they didn't get too hungry.

Eva Rose · Jul 30, 2017

In my personal experience my male BT is peaceful and not aggressive to newcomers. But it is a very boisterous, greedy eating machine. When I feed in the AM it always grabs food voraciously before any other fish can get any. Once it has a few bites, it calms down , sharing the nori clip, pellets etc. It has never bulled, they have a more laid back reputation (for triggers). But as advised, I would add it later if you think you might add a shy or any finicky eating species to your tank. Mine swims with my tangs. Ask the reef squad about the clam issue.

Empress · Jul 31, 2017

Thanks for everybody's replies. Sounds like they're piglets! LOL. That's no problem since I feed a lot anyway. I'll just have to add a little more food that's all. Chunky style. And he would definitely be the last one in the tank. I'll try to get a baby or a juvenile.

I've read that they like to chew on power cords or wires from power heads. Has anybody had that problem? I'm not worried about it spitting water at me since all my cords are under the stand and can't get wet.

And what about their teeth? Do they need snails to chew on to keep their teeth from growing too long? Or is that just for puffers?

DeniseAndy · Jul 31, 2017

I just added a pair to my 210 last week and my yellow tang tried to bully them a bit, but they held their own and are doing fine. Not bothering anyone, eating like pigs and out all the time. My female is maybe 3" and the male is 6-7". Cool fish so far.

Empress · Jul 31, 2017

My sailfin tang gave my foxface a bit of workout for a week or so, but now they're best buds. I'm hoping a trigger would be ok with the tang. The Zebra tangs are pretty laid back so I really don't see a problem. Yayyy... I'll gonna do it. That'll be my "show" fish once he gets big.

Who's the best on-line vendor for a male blue-throat trigger?

Winschuc · Jul 31, 2017

I've got a pair in my 300, along with a number of other fish. They're fantastic animals and have been living with crabs, snails and shrimp as well with no issues. For the articles and tank logs on here, it seems like it's really a "luck of the draw" type thing with any trigger.

TheFishGuyKW · Sep 17, 2017

Is it ok to add a Blue Throat Triggerfish to my tank when I already have a Niger Triggerfish in it??

Roberto Toala · Oct 1, 2017

I just added a niger to my tank, him and my blue hippo started going at it for some time, also with one of my damsels, that was for about 30 min after i fed them everything seemed calm.

My sailfin did not even look at it, and he is the boss of the tank.

paphater · Oct 2, 2017

Empress said:
Who's the best on-line vendor for a male blue-throat trigger?

Nice to someone else from Boise. If you are still looking for an online source check out Among the Reef. Atul is extremely helpful.

Kyl · Oct 2, 2017

@shiftline has a BTT in this 5' tank, I believe it's been a model citizen.

HB AL · Oct 2, 2017

He will be fine, mine doesn't even look at the other fish, corals, or the 2 clams. The niger might give him a little attitude but if it happens it should be short lived. He might hide a lot at 1st so just make sure he gets food if he's hiding at first.

shiftline · Oct 5, 2017

Kyl said:
@shiftline has a BTT in this 5' tank, I believe it's been a model citizen.

He sure does! Hes been great. zero complaints!

Michael Llabona · Oct 5, 2017

Great in my reef. They are overall peaceful. They have not picked at any of my coral. They are total babies. My pair is scared of my dragonet.

SPR1968 · Oct 5, 2017

I've got a pair of blue throats male and female and apart from rearranging the tank to their liking and taking the occasional crab tank surfing they are model citizens and I have a full blown Reef tank.

Never had a problem other than occasional sand storms when they have been digging.

I've got a few videos of them and there antics on my build thread when I thought they were breeding.

Jakepen · Mar 18, 2018

Bumping this older thread, considering a BTT in my 180. He will be one of the first additions though, will that be okay? Or is he going to get aggressive to newly added fish?

Maritimer · Mar 18, 2018

I had one for a while in a 65 gallon (woefully small tank, IMO.)

Five sexy shrimp, two blood shrimp and one (of two) cleaner shrimp vanished. All fish were unharmed, though some may have been intimidated.

The triggerfish went from typical male coloring (blue-grey ground, blue throat, yellow fin edges) to typical female coloring (brownish ground, brown fin edges "five-o'clock shadow" where blue throat should have been) over a few weeks.

Fun fish to have around, otherwise, and might have been a very different result in a larger box.

~Bruce

SPR1968 · Mar 18, 2018

Jakepen said:
Bumping this older thread, considering a BTT in my 180. He will be one of the first additions though, will that be okay? Or is he going to get aggressive to newly added fish?

My pair don’t really get aggressive with new comers and I have added many fish since I purchased them as a pair. I just throw some food in at one end of the tank and add the new fish at the opposite end so they don’t draw attention to themselves for a while!

It will of course depend on the individual, and if it’s amonst the first inhabitants it could get territorial, but then again it may not.

They are supposed to be one of the ‘better’ Triggers for reefs and I certainly haven’t had any issues with them and they are great fishes to have in your tank