Blue Throat Trigger Advice

[sjkarrow87]

good alex, do you see your bluejaw eating? with the fish list you have food can be eaten pretty quickly. although i have more "peaceful" fish i wait to add any food for my triggers until i know my other fish have all been fed, then i add the krill, scallops, sinking pellets etc and watch the bluejaws eat

 

[svejil]

I tend to agree with dohc97....specimens caught from certain regions exhibit in some cases very different colorations, including how vibrant. You will see at times a huge price difference on the exact same fish, dependent on where collected from. DD will many times have a fish that is also available on LA for quite a bit difference in price.

When I first started (12 years ago), I would just look for a specific species with no regard from where it was collected. Now I only look to buy from specific regions, and only from folks who can be trusted that when they advertised a Red Sea, or Hawaii they can be trusted to have come from there.

SV

 

[dohc97]

collection location makes a big difference in quite a few fish, once you get into pricier and dare i say rare fish you will notice right away. If he is acting normal then you probably have one of the less colorful variations, at the size of your fish you should have more than just faint blue, more like the pictures thatguy559 posted. Blue jaws are not the type of fish to color up after you buy them, unless it was a sick or stressed fish. I would still keep him if he is healthy as bluejaws are one of my favorite triggers, i was very sad when i lost my little guy to an epidemic in my tank.

 

[Good Alex]

He is still a great addition to the tank, just thought i could do something to help him look a little brighter.

good alex, do you see your bluejaw eating? with the fish list you have food can be eaten pretty quickly. although i have more "peaceful" fish i wait to add any food for my triggers until i know my other fish have all been fed, then i add the krill, scallops, sinking pellets etc and watch the bluejaws eat

yes he does eat quite a bit, and his stomach is full by the end of the feeding time.



thanks for everyones input.

 

[dohc97]

He is still a great addition to the tank, just thought i could do something to help him look a little brighter.

exactly what i was saying, any bluejaw trigger is a nice addition. If you dont use pellets already try getting some nls in the correct size for your trigger, i find this to be a great staple diet for all my fish and it sometimes help with color too.

 

[deepblue68]

here is mine.he lives in the conch shaell.crappy picture.

 

[jhentr]

Funny thing is I'm in the same situation too.

Mine is about 4". First, I bought one from the same LFS and it had brillant blue jaw. Unfortunately a week later, it carpet surfed. I was devastated and bought another one from the same LFS also about 4". But somehow this one only has faint blue jaw (you really have to look for the blue) and faint yellow on the tail. I swear it was bluer at the LFS and my water para is the same as my last BJ. Must be a location thing even though I would assume my LFS gets their BJ from the same supplier???

Beside the faint color, he's doing well - eating 3mm NLS pellets that my Pink Tail won't touch. Funny thing is my PT will eat the 1 mm NLS pellets. Neither even notice each other.

 

[deepblue68]

could they be stressed out by another fish?

 

[geaux xman]

i'm not too sure what to do with my bluejaw with the faint, barely noticealbe colors. i might just go get another one and keep this one in an unused tank.

 

[palmer373]

Funny thing is I'm in the same situation too.

Mine is about 4". First, I bought one from the same LFS and it had brillant blue jaw. Unfortunately a week later, it carpet surfed. I was devastated and bought another one from the same LFS also about 4". But somehow this one only has faint blue jaw (you really have to look for the blue) and faint yellow on the tail. I swear it was bluer at the LFS and my water para is the same as my last BJ. Must be a location thing even though I would assume my LFS gets their BJ from the same supplier???

Beside the faint color, he's doing well - eating 3mm NLS pellets that my Pink Tail won't touch. Funny thing is my PT will eat the 1 mm NLS pellets. Neither even notice each other.

dont females have hardly any blue and yellow at all?

 

[Good Alex]

I believe females have no yellow or blue but they have a redish tail.

 

[Wydah]

Not so BLUE...

Not so BLUE...

Hello, I also have a Blue Throat with only light coloration. I've had him a couple of months now, and he eats anything I give him. I feed twice a day, reef flake, NLS pellets, nori, krill, frozen prepared food, and my own shrimp, clam, fish, cubes that I freeze. I don't have any tank mates that bother him, and he seems to get along fine with everyone.

The blue throat area is barely noticeable and if anything it seems to have faded slightly since I've had him. He has the yellow margin on the fins and tail, but the fins are otherwise nearly transparent.

My water quality is good with the exception of higher than desired nitrates (typically 40-80ppm). It is a FOWLR tank and with my twice a day feedings it tends to lead to my high nitrate levels. I'm wondering if this is contributing to the lack of coloration?? However, my other fish seem to be keeping their colors just fine.

I'll see if I can get a quick pic up tomorrow.

 

[deepblue68]

The males can be differentiated by the yellow outline on the fins and tail as well as the distinctive bright blue splash across the jaw and throat. The male’s coloration becomes more dramatic with age.
female

i found the last comment from reefkeeping mag..i hope this helps.

 

[Wydah]

As promised, here's a pic of my guy. He seems to be quickly loosing his colors.

 

[Good Alex]

Looks similar to mine. I remember someone saying before that the more colorful one come from different areas as the less colorful ones. Anyone know which is what?

 

[dohc97]

Looks similar to mine. I remember someone saying before that the more colorful one come from different areas as the less colorful ones. Anyone know which is what?

the most colorful ones i have seen to date come from Hawaii, if you wanted one of those you could try getting it direct from a diver, i had a great experience ordering flame wrasses direct. the fish look very good and have only been in one other system in between the ocean and me. In comparison the fish you buy at the store usually go through 1-2 wholesalers and the store before getting to you.

 

[Wydah]

Sex Change in Xanthichthys Auromarginatus?

Sex Change in Xanthichthys Auromarginatus?

I've actually found an article in one of my old "Coral" magazines (Vol. 6 Number 1, Jan/Feb 2009) by Prof. Ellen Thaler where she describes the ability of Xanthichthys auromarginatus to change sex and therefore coloration. She has witnessed this in her own aquaria. I can't find the article online, but did locate part of a presentation (only pics) that the professor presented on the subject.
HERE

So now I'm suspecting without a mate that my Blue Throat is simply reverting to a female status? Perhaps if I introduced a smaller blue, one would take on the male role. I'm just not sure my system would be able to support a trigger fish pair at this time.

Anyone else witness this type of change in their blue throats?

 

[snocho]

I noticed something like that in my tank.
Last year I introduced nice pair of Xanthichthys triggerfish:

Male:

Female:

After 6 months male lost his yellow fins. After 9 months his fins are brown and blue throat became less visible.

Male after 9 months in my tank:

I'm affraid that in some time I'll have two females (sounds like a dream )