i put a small niger trigger in my 60g tank thats been setup cycling for a lil over a month. parameters are 1.023 sal, 0ppm amm 0ppm nitrites 76F ph- 8.2. tank mates are 1 damsel and a flower crab. well the trigger has been in for a few day now doing great. but i just woke up and his colors are all blotchy he looks pale and hes just either laying on the sand bed or lying in a crevice of the rocks. idk what is going on. he been eating brine and frozen bits of squid and clam meat. now nothing. ANY advice. trying to get a pic but my camera is crap
Niger Trigger help
- Thread starter Drklotus
- Start date
I had a blue jaw.that would.have somewhat white patches on its skin... however by the time the next morning rolled.around, they would be cleared up completely... and his appetite never wavered... it was weird, cuz they see just lightened skin and seemed to be nothing more...
I hope urs comes around however... but I gotta ask, I suppose the LFS told u that a 60g was fine for a Niger? Sorry jus bein nosey... good luck jus the same...
I hope urs comes around however... but I gotta ask, I suppose the LFS told u that a 60g was fine for a Niger? Sorry jus bein nosey... good luck jus the same...
Stuart60611
New member
Without a picture it is impossible to ascertain the cause of the problem, but if I were to make a guess it sounds like a parasite problem. Be it that the most common parasite seen in the hobby is crypt (ich), that would be my best guess. As stated above, a 60 gallon is way too small for a niger even as a young fish. As a full grown adult at nearly 20 inches, you will need a tank at least 24 inches (and preferably 30 inches) wide and 96 inches long if you plan on keeping the niger with tankmates. If you plan on keeping the niger alone as a full grown adult, the smallest tank you could keep him in would be a 6 foot long 125.
The unfortuante lesson here is do not rely on anything any LFS tells you about fish husbandry and tank requirements and rather research these issues on your own before you make a fish purchase.
The unfortuante lesson here is do not rely on anything any LFS tells you about fish husbandry and tank requirements and rather research these issues on your own before you make a fish purchase.
didnt plan to keep him long. didnt get from lfs was aquired through other transactions for pretty much free, as know this fish does get big. but he needed a quick home so i guessd my mostly empty 60g would be a good temp home. ya. so being said, no visible signs of ich. if being the case though i do have a 30g medication tank which i can treat with malachite green. his color seems to be returing and he swimming around more. now upon inspection of my sump and trays of media, i noticed some of my deep hidden filter floss apparently has a mold of some sort growing on it ( with deep moldy mildewy smell, so i pull all tray thoroughly cleaned the trays and replaced all cabon and filter media. never had this happen but i cant imagine a mold being too good for the tank. And as for the reason for the mold i think some old filter floss that was supposed to be thrown away (so it sat out for a coulpe days) got mixed in with new upon a recent media change.
Stuart60611
New member
Sounds like you found your problem. The mold spores, especially in a small volume, could definitely cause the niger problems. As an aside, do not treat crypt with malchite green. This is a very harsh chemical which is not nearly as effective or safe as other options, such as hyposalinity, cupramine, or the quinine based drugs. Also, you need to very careful on how you handle malchite green because it has proven to be very toxic to humans and linked to several forms of cancer and thus prohibited for sale in many jurisdictions. Also, malachite green kills your bilogical filter so if you do not poison the fish when treating with this chemical the ammonia from a lack of a biological filter often will.
Last edited:
Flyfisherman
New member
Is a Niger Trigger going to really reach 20inches in a Home aquarium? Maybe if you're feeding him large crabs and shrimp everyday. But what if you're feeding him flake, mysis and small cut up clams?
nemofish2217
New member
From what i've read... they will most likely never get that size in a home aquarium... a max of 10" is more realistic in a home aquarium... once again, this isn't from experience, just research...
Similar threads
