Niger Trigger and Volitans Lionfish

[friedrice2841]

Has anyone successfully kept a Niger Trigger and Volitans Lionfish in the same tank? I have a 180 fish only.

Maybe I am already pushing it by keeping a Stars and Stripes puffer and the Volitans in the same tank. So far there haven't been any issues.

I have heard of others keeping less aggressive triggers with lionfish; just wanted if someone on this forum has had any experience keeping niger triggers and lionfish.

Thanks in advance

Tim

 

[DoubleM 10]

personally i would say no. lions and triggers is a sticky at the top for a reason

if you are waiting for that one person to say they did so then you can do it to, then im sure you will find what u want to hear somewhere on here.

 

[friedrice2841]

Thanks for your input, Matt.

I was not looking for that one, isolated person to validate what I wanted to do.

I read the sticky on the forum; I believe a Queen Trigger was discussed. There were also others that kept bluethroat and niger triggers with lionfish, without incident.
I also believe that some kinds of triggers are more aggressive than other kinds of triggers. That is why I was asking if anyone had any experience keeping a "less aggressive" triggers with lionfish.

Futhermore, I was asking for input from people who had experience keeping these specific types of fish together. If you have experience keeping these types of fish together, I welcome your input and feedback. If you have not kept these two types of fish together, maybe you can join me in following this thread and we can both learn something.

 

[Sonicblast12]

Depends on the Niger, really. Some are extremely aggressive, some are really mellow.

The Niger may not bother the lion but one thing that is almost certain to happen....triggers are aggressive and intelligent feeders and will constantly try to steal every morsal from other fish. That could lead to an accidental poke for the trigger or an underfed and outcompeted lionfish.

I mixed triggers and a lion for awhile, it was a struggle to distract the triggers while attempting to feed the lion. It never worked, the triggers were too fast and too smart. As a result they were always around the lion's spines hurling themselves at the food. Too many close calls to count, in fact I mysteriously lost one of the triggers and I suspect that was the cause.

 

[humaguy]

triggers and lions should never be kept together...the trig will start to pick at/on the lion...a very, very bad combination...

 

[namxas]

Generally speaking, planktonic-feeding triggers are OK with lions. However, O. niger is really specimen dependent as mentioned. FWIW, Xanthicthys sp. triggers are a better choice.

I can tell you that the lion should be well established and weaned first, and that in order to assure the lion gets its fair share, it will need to be target fed or the trigger will likely try and steal its food.

I actually lost an overzealous trigger due to it being accidentally envenomated as it tried to dash in and steal the lion's food. I lost the trigger within a month.

So the answer is have a "Plan B" just in case.

 

[fish stalker]

Ditto I had a very calm Niger juvenile steal food once to often, I won't want to do that again. Everyone has the final say with their tanks and fish can differ in personality so comes down to how comfortable you are with risking it and your particular setup.