Trigger fish

[GillMeister]

Has anyone had positive results with Clown Triggers in a reef? I've seen a couple images of reef tanks with Clown Triggers, which surprised me.

 

[Coralreefer1]

I have not! The best suited Triggers for a reef tank would be the Niger, Blue Throat and Pink Tail IMO.

 

[Badilac]

Only thing they will bother is cleanup crew. They wont mess with corals. Mine also does not mess with turbo snails or other larger snails. He does not mess with any smaller fish either such as clowns, springeri damsels, hawkfish, etc.

 

[Bpfor3]

You mean like this? Im not necessarily advocating for it, because there is always the potential that they will destroy something. Mine has been good and only gone after a snail that fell off the side. I think at about 5-6" it will get real dicey. i have a fish trap he will go into at the ready if he goes berserk.

 

[GillMeister]

I love these fish. There is simply no other with this kind of personality. What I read here is making me consider adding a smaller one at some point.

 

[RC79ATC]

The biggest problem would be that clown triggers will decimate your clean up crew. Once a clown gets fairly larger, any and all inverts are food. Even long spine urchins and bigger nastier hermits are not safe.

It would be beautiful though if you could find a way to make it work.

 

[RC79ATC]

another thing about triggers that get big is they like to chew on and move things. Corals would have to be secured in place and anything that isn't "bolted down" becomes a workout weight set for a trigger's jaws.

 

[skiman27]

They are SO cool! I know that Absolutely Fish in NJ has an aquacultured one in a mixed reef that does perfectly fine, he's about 4-5 inches I think

 

[Bpfor3]

I agree with all these statements. Remember their maximum length is 18", so they get to be brutes. i keep mine very well fed, but doing the same for a 8" trigger and maintaining water quality n needed in a reef is probably untenable. But i will enjoy him for as long as i can. Maybe i can use him to justify a huge tank!

 

[Ribo15]

My blue throat trigger is about 5 inch and I have yet to see him pick on anything but maybe I’m just really lucky! I have hermits, CBS, cleaner shrimp, snails and an urchin. He’s in an 8’ 240 gallon

 

[Bpfor3]

Blue Throats are generally considered reef safe. Different "animal" than clowns, picassos, undulates, queens, etc.

 

[Not an IT guy]

Careful with the teeth. I had to get rid of my niger trigger. He started beating up my fish. My clown got part of its fin torn off

 

[BackToTheReef]

So from what I have seen the Blue Jaw/throat is a planktivore and the best option for "reef safe" right? The other members of the Xanthicthys (sp?) are typically listed as with caution b/c they are more prone to hit the CUC and other inverts??

I'd love a pair of triggers in my reef but it appears a roll of the dice right?

 

[RC79ATC]

So from what I have seen the Blue Jaw/throat is a planktivore and the best option for "reef safe" right? The other members of the Xanthicthys (sp?) are typically listed as with caution b/c they are more prone to hit the CUC and other inverts??

I'd love a pair of triggers in my reef but it appears a roll of the dice right?

The blue jaw/cross hatch/red tail trigger body shape is generally taken as reef safe with caution...inverts and small fish being the biggest concern.

A tank with large tangs, angels and the like would work for something like a pair of blue jaws without too much worry. Just have to watch the little stuff and clean up crew/inverts.

 

[GillMeister]

The message seems to be proceed at your own risk. I've had Undulate, HumuHumu, Clown and a Rectangulated Trigger. They all were active, inquisitive, beautiful, and easily the most entertaining fish I've kept. The only butt in the bunch was the Undulated and the mist mischievous was the Humu Humu. None were at all boring. Big qualifier here, I've not kept one in a reef. I think I'll dip my foot back in the water once my system gets better established.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

My experience of having a clown trigger for close to 4 years in a reef. He won't necessarily eat coral but as his teeth grow he will destroy some hard skeleton corals to wear his teeth down. He will rearrange rubble and frag plugs. If you consistently target feed coral, eventually he will start tearing the flesh to get to the food. In general it is possible but you have to know the limitations of the fish. They eat a tremendous amount, so lowering nutrients is always critical. I would probably never put a clown trigger in a reef again. I would absolutely put a CT in a tank of soft coral, he would do great in that environment and not much risk.

 

[GillMeister]

I would like to add that I know first hand how aggressive some of these guys can be after being chased relentlessly by a huge pair of Titans while diving.

I'm told they like the taste of ears.