ok so i want a trigger...

[kyle1284]

ok so i want a trigger... i just think that it would make an awesome fish to talk about to people that come over and it would add a different "mode" of swimming to my aquarium. Right now, i have 3 Dams, a foxface, pulsing xeina, some Zoos and some mushrooms. In the future i want to have a tank w/ quite a few soft corals, lots of zoos and i want to add a powder blue tang , 2 clownfish , and a 6 line to the mix, later taking away 2 of the 3 Dams. I have a small clean up crew of 12 blue leg, 2 scarlet reef, and 3 turbo snails....My question... i have been reading alot and have also herd stories about triggers the ripping things to shreads.... is there ANY trigger that is just over all friendly or is there a way i should go about raising a ceritan trigger in my tank, or should i just forget about getting a trigger?... ANY ideas will help! Thanks alot guys.

 

[STAR RIDGE]

i know by answering this i will stir thing but here goes. i think that generalizing a fish as reef safe is touchy because fish all have thier own personality and behavior patterns. with that said, i think the best 'reef safe' trigger is the blue jaw. these are generally calm, non aggressive fish with personality. choice 2 would be pink tail. a little more aggressive but still leave most critters alone ( there are exceptions). last would be a niger trigger. i have a good friend with a beautiful reef tank full of corals and fish. he has a pair of blue jaws, a pink tail and a niger. he also has hermits, snails and cleaner shrimp. the triggers touch nothing. the only casualties were a couple of yellow head jaw fish that were added to close to feeding time. the blue jaws showed no interest in the jawfish, it was the pink tail and the niger. hope this helps. joe.

 

[mps9506]

You should have no issues with a blue jaw or crosshatch touching your reef critters.
However I think in a 75 with lots of live rock and other fish it might be a bit crowded for a full grown specimen. Just my opinion though.

 

[Frankie]

Joe and Mike made some valid points there. I think the big question is how big a trigger do you want to start off with and how small are the clowns and wrasse? I'll be honest, If i tosed clowns or wrasses in with my triggers (3) it would be on! Meaning feeding time. My black trigger eats large silversides like pop corn. They also tend to play with the clean up crew when they get bored. No deaths so far from what i can tell. Do i think you should get a trigger? YEAH MAN! I love mine.

 

[PhilOlsen]

A Huma Huma would be a good trigger for your tank, they only get to about 7" and are fairly passive...for a trigger. I have one and he has not attacked any other fish but ocassionally likes to snack on a crab. There coloration is great as well. I think triggers are great fish, mine is very active and like to play with people who approach the tank, he eats from my hand and likes to play tag during cleanings, he does not bite me but likes to bump my hands.

 

[mps9506]

A Huma Huma would be a good trigger for your tank, they only get to about 7" and are fairly passive...for a trigger. I have one and he has not attacked any other fish but ocassionally likes to snack on a crab. There coloration is great as well. I think triggers are great fish, mine is very active and like to play with people who approach the tank, he eats from my hand and likes to play tag during cleanings, he does not bite me but likes to bump my hands.

I personally think a huma would be a bad idea to add to a reef tank. They do feed on crustaceans, and IMO crustaceans are a vital part of a reef tank.

 

[Snelly40]

hey,,, the only experience i have had with a trigger is a niger trigger.
my father has one in his tank with a yellow tang, hawkfish, maroon clown, goby and some others.
the only trouble was the first day when the tang was picking on him but since then no trouble at all,. the trigger has always been great and even now that he is bigger he is very peacefull, plus beautiful

 

[kyle1284]

Joe and Mike made some valid points there. I think the big question is how big a trigger do you want to start off with and how small are the clowns and wrasse? I'll be honest, If i tosed clowns or wrasses in with my triggers (3) it would be on! Meaning feeding time. My black trigger eats large silversides like pop corn. They also tend to play with the clean up crew when they get bored. No deaths so far from what i can tell. Do i think you should get a trigger? YEAH MAN! I love mine.

I agree that joe and mike both made some valid points.... i want to start off with a small trigger (juvinile) and get 2 clowns that are at least a inch 1/2 long and a wrasse that is 2 inches long...

You should have no issues with a blue jaw or crosshatch touching your reef critters.
However I think in a 75 with lots of live rock and other fish it might be a bit crowded for a full grown specimen. Just my opinion though.

I am going to be upgrading with in the next 2 years to maybe a 100 to a 125 so i do not believe this would be a problem... Would it?

 

[cheeks69]

I have a male Xanthichthys auromarginatus in my tank and he doesn't touch the inverts

Just a word of caution these fish once established will NOT tolerate new additions particularly if they're smaller so he should be the last addition. They also need room to swim especially when adult.

 

[jkeegan03]

Triggers are great, probably my favorite of all, well besides the brownbarred goby, he's just great. But i keep them with a teenie green banded goby, neon goby, several damsels, anemones, clownfish, and the 2 Niger Trig's dont bother anyone. Oh and the scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp jump right onto my triggers for a good cleaning. Wonderful too watch. And they watch me everytime i walk into the room, come right up to the glass. It did of course take about a month for them to stop hiding everytime i walked into the room. and next on my trigger list is a Sargassum Trigger (Expensive!!!). These two species, i've read, are the most peaceful of the triggers. So... yeah triggers are a great addition, but have patience at first. as they are very shy upon arrival.

 

[cheeks69]

But i keep them with a teenie green banded goby, neon goby, several damsels, anemones, clownfish, and the 2 Niger Trig's dont bother anyone.

In what order did you add the gobies ? I have tried to add several gobies after my Trigger and they've either been torn to shreds or I had to rescue them. I don't advise to add anything after the Triggers unless it's larger or can hold their own against the Trigger such as Tangs.

 

[Frankie]

Thats a sweet trigger Cheeks! I wish i could get a picture like that of my black hawiian trigger. my camera stinks.

 

[mps9506]

I have a male Xanthichthys auromarginatus in my tank and he doesn't touch the inverts

Just a word of caution these fish once established will NOT tolerate new additions particularly if they're smaller so he should be the last addition. They also need room to swim especially when adult.

Sooo does that mean you aren't getting him a woman?
I ordered a male and female for one of my customers which he placed in a ~700 gallon fish only, they don't even hang out together...

I am going to be upgrading with in the next 2 years to maybe a 100 to a 125 so i do not believe this would be a problem... Would it?

I never count on upgrading when purchasing specimens because you never know what will happen and you can't count on being able to find a home for something that outgrows your system.
Concentrate on working with what you have now and don't push your system beyond it's limits and I think it makes the tank keeping process much easier.

 

[cheeks69]

Sooo does that mean you aren't getting him a woman?
I ordered a male and female for one of my customers which he placed in a ~700 gallon fish only, they don't even hang out together...

Absolutely not ! I will eventually have to remove him once he gets a little bigger he definitely needs more swimming room.

 

[fiveldsp]

In what order did you add the gobies ? I have tried to add several gobies after my Trigger and they've either been torn to shreds or I had to rescue them. I don't advise to add anything after the Triggers unless it's larger or can hold their own against the Trigger such as Tangs.

The brownbarred goby came first, followed by the neon goby, then the smaller juvenile niger trigger. After that came the green banded goby followed with the larger slightly older niger trigger. The green banded hides which probably keeps him safe most of the time, and the trigger that came before him is still rather skittish, so he too spends most of his time wedged into his rock. The larger trigger is like a dog... swims constantly and follows us when we walk by the tank, he's so cool to watch. He also allows the neon goby to clean him and has never chased him or tried to eat him. Our triggers do occasionaly relocate hermit crabs in their mouths from time to time, which is actually just more amusing to us than anything else, lol. I'll try to get a picture of our greenbanded goby the next time he peeks out of his rock. He looks so cool and I hardly ever see him listed on most places.

 

[Cartman89]

I don't know how big your tank, heck I really didn't read all the post lol. But let me tell you something about triggers. Someone told me how awesome they are so I got a niger trigger next thing I know it's NOT terrorizing my fish but being scared and boring and he's been like that for more than a year! lol. SO a word of advice, take your time and look at the triggers personality at the store...wait ignore what I just said because that's what I did and it didn't...work. He went from spunky at the pet store to scaredy pants in my tank WHEN HE WAS THE ONLY BIGGEST FISH IN THERE! Moral of the story, can't trust a trigger.

 

[BoomerD]

Nigers tend to be pretty easy going...really not that aggressive. Undulated and queen triggers are the real menaces. Huma-huma and picasso triggers aren't all that aggressive, but are notorious for eating your inverts...