Golden Trevally - Calling all advanced aquarists!

AbnormalReefer · Dec 25, 2018

Hey all,

I’ve recently become fascinated with golden trevallys. I’m aware in the wild this fish can reach 3-4 feet. I am also aware that they are a game fish and can be eaten, as they are in the jack family. I know that in the wild they school around bigger fish like sharks and rays for protection.

I feel like these are truly unique because they are true schooling fish from what I’ve heard/seen, not shoaling, like chromis and anthias and the like. I would really like to keep a school in my 180, in hopes that they would swim with my big sail-fin tang.

I know this sounds laughable: A fish that potentially reaches 3-4 feet in a 180 gallon system??? Should be a no-brainer, right? Wrong. One thing that’s leaving me from discarding the idea is the fact that.... they are edible! What’s to say I can’t raise them from juveniles for a few years in my tank until they reach the point when they get too big (12-16 inches or so), and then serve em for dinner? I never thought I’d say this on an aquarium forum.... but it actually seems.... plausible in my head.

Perhaps stunting may be an issue long before they reach 12-16 inches, however, I doubt it as fish such as sail-fin tangs can live in a 180 fine, and they max out at 16.

Please tell me I’m crazy and that this idea would never work. I’ve thought of eating chaetomorpha before, so this isn’t exactly a new thought....

LobsterOfJustice · Dec 25, 2018

Aside from the obvious space/size issues, these fish are open water swimmers and I don’t think they will adapt well to a small rectangular aquarium with walls. When public aquariums keep open water swimmers like this you will notice it is often in round tanks. These fish are completely different than the other reef associated fish we typically keep which are comfortable interacting with rock and substrate in confined spaces. For example, fish like bay anchovies/silversides also do not adapt to aquariums well and they are only a few inches... again it’s not the size it’s the behavior.

It’s also likely that they will not school. In a 180g tank, they are already being kept in such artificially close quarters. In the wild schooling would be being within a few feet of each other but in the tank they will never be farther than that so you may not get the behavior you are looking for.

Coralreefer1 · Dec 25, 2018

In addition to what was mentioned above, they are pretty as juveniles, but as the mature they turn a drab color. Their are so many other alternatives to that particular species of game fish that grows that large for a saltwater aquarium. Why not try a school of Porkfish?

Musovski · Dec 25, 2018

I wouldnt do it. Its like taking a blue fish and adding it to your tank. Also, you can eat the chaeto, as long as you boil it and dont mind the taste of you know..... the ocean. LOL. i wouldnt recommend eating it always, more like a once kind of thing.

AbnormalReefer · Dec 25, 2018

Coralreefer1 said:
In addition to what was mentioned above, they are pretty as juveniles, but as the mature they turn a drab color. Their are so many other alternatives to that particular species of game fish that grows that large for a saltwater aquarium. Why not try a school of Porkfish?

Hi,

Seems like a good idea actually! The porkfish seem like they’d be cool when small, and they seem edible too by the likes of Wikipedia. Seems though that they will readily consume inverts... but I’m pretty sure that’s the same with the pilotfish?

Also do the porkfish school like the pilots do? And finally, any other suggestions of game fish similar to the pilot and pork fishe?

Coralreefer1 · Dec 25, 2018

Yes they do. Game fish are exactly that game...meaning they usually grow large and need a lot of space to swim. Huge waste producers! Why not go with a nice eel, Grouper or school of Tangs?

KrisReef · Dec 25, 2018

Saltwater fish for consumption would not contain much meat for the dinner plate. If you want to grow and dine I would aim for a lower trophic level species like clam or lobsters. Some of these are truly stunning visual specimens and with a little butter or wasabi these items could be quite tastie.

The main issue is that these still take a fair amount of time and tank real estate to produce an entree. If you really want to grow and dine at home I think that your best bet would be a fresh water grow out system. Items to cultivate include tilapia, carp, sunfish, catfish, shrimp or crawdads to just name a few.

Chaetomorpha tastes like dirty spinach. Don’t think it’s worth growing that weed.

AbnormalReefer · Dec 25, 2018

KrisReef said:
Saltwater fish for consumption would not contain much meat for the dinner plate. If you want to grow and dine I would aim for a lower trophic level species like clam or lobsters. Some of these are truly stunning visual specimens and with a little butter or wasabi these items could be quite tastie.

The main issue is that these still take a fair amount of time and tank real estate to produce an entree. If you really want to grow and dine at home I think that your best bet would be a fresh water grow out system. Items to cultivate include tilapia, carp, sunfish, catfish, shrimp or crawdads to just name a few.

Chaetomorpha tastes like dirty spinach. Don’t think it’s worth growing that weed.

Hi, my main choice wasn’t dining, but rather keeping a fish I enjoy aesthetically (Golden trevally). However, as these things get massive they will not fit in my 180 display. Not many people would want a fish that grows 3-4 feet either. But my thought process was that, if they get big and are edible, couldn’t I just eat them when they outgrow my system? So my main goal wasn’t raising for food, but for aesthetics and food as a bonus.

However, as it seems that the golden trevally, according to the posters about, are pelagic and would not be happy in a 180 gallon reef system (even with open spaces). My goal was to let these fish live happily and grow for a few years before humanely killing them and eating them, however, it seems as if keeping the trevallys would be like a prison cell..... so I may go with something more appropriate like porkfish or a school of kole tangs.