crosshatch in reef system

[Thunderstruck]

I was wondering if anyone here has crosshatch triggers in their reef system. I want to put a pair in my 180, and have heard mixed things. I was wondering what peoples experience was with them picking on corals and eating inverts (mostly crabs). Any feedback would be appreciated...

 

[PRINCE_NAMOR]

They are supposed to be pretty reef safe for a trigger..... I want a pair also.

 

[Biggie]

Thunderstruck check out Gariels thread he has a mated set of cross hatch triggers. Nice ones too.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=734279
IMO they have proven reef safe. I am lookikng into a pair for my new tank as well. Pricey buggers though.

 

[bradleyj]

I have a 5 inch female in my reef, she has been a model citizen for almost nine months now. She has never bothered any coral or invertibrates that I know of, and gets along with my other fish.

 

[Biggie]

Sorry just in case you wanna skip his build and see the Triggers skip to around 24,25,26 and thats where hes stocked them.

 

[Biggie]

Thats a wonderful tank Bradleyj, How long have you had it running?

 

[bradleyj]

Thanks, I started it june of 2006, first fish, sept 2006.

 

[Biggie]

I wanna say the Blue jaw trigger is also reef safe as well. Dont see many of them though.

 

[mflamb]

Triggerfish1976 has had a pair for years. Says he wouldn't do it agian.
I think a 180 is a bit small for a pair of these. I've considered a pair for my 390.

 

[aardvark20]

I am glad to here the good references. I bought this pair for my 270 reef. I actually bought the female, brought her home and found the male at a LFS that same day. I had to buy him. I had spent my(forgiveme for using this word in a reefers forum) budget for the female but he was too good to pass up. No one ever said that budgets and reefs are compatable! He is about 9inch and she is about 7 inch. I put him in the tank and within 10 minutes they were swimming together. She eats from my hand. He is a bit leary yet. He swims by and eats the pieces that float off when she eats.

 

[gsoaxionsk8]

from my understanding they are suppose to be one of the few reefsafe triggers. If i had a tank big enough i would defnitly have some. They have always been a favorite fish of mine.

 

[aardvark20]

I saw a male for the first time in a reef that I was getting frags from about 6 months ago and fell in love with them. I researched them and found pairs as low as $425 online but these I got to watch and see "true" colors and behaviors first hand. i have $700 in the pair but they are awesome IMHO.

 

[mflamb]

triggerfish1976
Premium Member

Registered: May 2002
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
Occupation: management
Posts: 1010



I bought my pair from a company out in CA back in late 2004 for $500 (included shipping) which was the going rate for a pair at the time. They are now going for upwards of $800 in some cases.
I honestly wouldn't recommend them if you are planning on doing a reef tank with SPS and more docile fish. I kept them in my previous 450g tank and they were nothing but trouble. At the time I put them in the tank I had a real nice community of about 30 peaceful fish like Fairy Wrasses, cardinals, anthias, a few small tangs and mandarins. The triggers came in around 6"-7" each and scared the crap out of all of the other fish to the point that you would never have thought that there were that many fish in the tank. Everything hid in the rock from that point on because the triggers were so agressive during feeding time. They would inadvertently bite other fish when I fed the tank and just stressed everyone out. They are also voracious eaters and would easily consume a large portion of the food thus leaving little for the rest of the tank. In return, they also added a huge bioload to the tank that made it almost impossible to keep under control. They are notorious spitters and I had to raise my lighting high enough so they would not hit the M/H bulbs.
They wouldn't be so bad if you could find smaller specimans but it is almost impossible to get them smaller than 6". If you have your heart set on triggers I would recommend Blue throats because they are generally avail. in the 2"-4" range and seem to be less agressive.

Hobby Experience: 15 years
Current Tanks: 600 Gallon Reef
Interests: Movies, aquariums



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[Thunderstruck]

Nice!!! Thanks for all the info. I am sold! I was worried about them attacking small hermit crabs, but from the sounds of it, that is not a common practice. Does anyone find them aggressive towards smaller fishes, IE wrasses?

 

[bradleyj]

I have over a dozen fairies in my tank with mine and she was in before any of them and she never bothers any of them.

 

[mflamb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10008481#post10008481 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bradleyj
I have over a dozen fairies in my tank with mine and she was in before any of them and she never bothers any of them.

:beer: That's what I wanted to hear. I am planning on multiple fairy and flasher wrasses.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

My pair has been fine, save the male ate 7 chromis in the first 48 hours he was in the tank. Not mistakenly bit them- he hunted them down and ate them. But never bothered my mandarin or clowns. Go figure.

 

[Biggie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10012884#post10012884 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
My pair has been fine, save the male ate 7 chromis in the first 48 hours he was in the tank. Not mistakenly bit them- he hunted them down and ate them. But never bothered my mandarin or clowns. Go figure.

Holy crap!!!!

 

[46bfinGA]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10012884#post10012884 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
My pair has been fine, save the male ate 7 chromis in the first 48 hours he was in the tank. Not mistakenly bit them- he hunted them down and ate them. But never bothered my mandarin or clowns. Go figure.

Did you buy yours locally? Ive been looking for a pair in
Atlanta for some time.

 

[hatfielj]

"Everything hid in the rock from that point on because the triggers were so agressive during feeding time. They would inadvertently bite other fish when I fed the tank and just stressed everyone out. They are also voracious eaters and would easily consume a large portion of the food thus leaving little for the rest of the tank. In return, they also added a huge bioload to the tank that made it almost impossible to keep under control. They are notorious spitters and I had to raise my lighting high enough so they would not hit the M/H bulbs. "

I have heard similiar stories from friends who have had triggers in a reef tank before. They all said the same thing. At feeding time these guys go nuts and can be quite destructive in a small space. They said if a peice of food landed on a coral they would attack the crap out of the coral until they got the food or they would knock stuff of the rocks. I'm sure lots of people are fine with them, but these are some considerations to keep in mind for when they get big. I have a 120 and have decided not to get any triggers for this reason.