Queen Trigger introduction

[barbianj]

I have been a member of this board for a while, and realized that I have not made a post until yestarday, so I thought that I would introduce myself and share some pictures of my trigger.

I have kept mainly freshwater fish on and off for many years. My son Adam and I raised red belly piranhas for about a year when his adult fish began to mate. We raised many hundreds of fry and had many grow out tanks. Our sump itself was 100 gallons. It was a great learning experience for both of us. The adults stopped breeding, and we didn't want to continue the operation.

Adam has since moved out of the house, and could not take his 90 gallon reef with him. That tank was dismantled, and his fish and live rock were added to our 72 bow tank, which was getting too small for the trigger. The trigger was put into a 125 that was used for some of our piranhas, and I added the tomato clown a couple of months ago. I would like to added a couple more fish to the 125, but I have not decided what, and I want to add more filtration first.

I still have one 125 gallon tank with 9 piranhas. Two red bellies, six Cariba piranhas and one Sanchezi piranha. The two reds were raised from fry, and the Cariba were raised from 1 1/2". They are 7"-8" now.

Errrr...I'll post photos when I figure out how....back soon


Here we are.

 

[Don-Coraleone]

defintly my favorite trigger.

 

[Recty]

Certainly pretty fish, not my favorite trigger but definitely high on my list.

 

[Mike5252]

Wow. Your fish look great. Can you describe (or pic) your filtration set up?

 

[danorth]

Great fish....can't wait to see pics of it in a year....with queens, the bigger the better!

 

[LauraCline]

Beautiful trigger Barbianj and good sized tank to start with. I'm not sure if you know alot about the Queens but she will definately outgrow a 125, they can and do get 24". Somebody around here has a huge one in a species only tank, hopefully they will chime in here. At some point she will also probably kill anything else in the tank. They are one of the most aggressive triggers IMO. I got tagged by one while snorkeling in Cozumel a few years back, they are very powerful fish.

 

[danorth]

I believe the one that was here is gone.....as in moved to another person's tank.

 

[LauraCline]

Too bad, she was a beauty. I was thinking it was yours Danorth but didn't want to say that? If not maybe espo72 or something like that, the one who had that bumblebee grouper eat the Tess eel?

Here's a pic of that http://image48.webshots.com/49/4/32/32/358243232wuzcdu_ph.jpg

 

[Recty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13702552#post13702552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LauraCline
Too bad, she was a beauty. I was thinking it was yours Danorth but didn't want to say that? If not maybe espo72 or something like that, the one who had that bumblebee grouper eat the Tess eel?

Here's a pic of that http://image48.webshots.com/49/4/32/32/358243232wuzcdu_ph.jpg

I get a error when clicking that link.

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /49/4/32/32/358243232wuzcdu_ph.jpg on this server.

 

[barbianj]

Thanks for the replies. I do know that these fish can get large and aggressive. I had considered trading him (her) in for that reason, but this fish has grown on me. It is not as aggressive as other queens that I have seen. He gets along suprisingly well with the clown. They swim around together, which I thought was strange.

He was probably around 4" when we got him, and he is just over 8" now. My son traded a niger and some cash for him. At one point, we had a volitans in with him, but that did not go well. The trigger was docile to other fish, but he was relentless toward the lion. He was traded before things got too ugly.

If I keep him long enough to outgrow the 125, I'll get him a bigger tank and turn that tank into a reef.

 

[Grouperhead]

Absolutely gorgeous fish. IMO the three best looking triggers are undys, queens, and goldhearts.

That's awesome to hear you are dedicated to keeping him when he gets bigger. As he grows, the colors will intensify and you will have a showpiece of showpieces.

I just added a small undy to my 120g and he's already buddied up with the resident damsels. Every trigger is different, but some are definately more aggressive than others.

 

[phk36]

a local pet store by me has had a large one for about six months or so, very hard fish to move

 

[Recty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13702755#post13702755 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Grouperhead
I just added a small undy to my 120g and he's already buddied up with the resident damsels.

It's a lot easier to eat a fish that isnt suspecting it's going to be eaten.

 

[danorth]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13702552#post13702552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LauraCline
Too bad, she was a beauty. I was thinking it was yours Danorth but didn't want to say that? If not maybe espo72 or something like that, the one who had that bumblebee grouper eat the Tess eel?

Here's a pic of that http://image48.webshots.com/49/4/32/32/358243232wuzcdu_ph.jpg

It was jmccown......he had the 18" queen.

 

[barbianj]

justinpsmith



I am very knowledgeable about freshwater filtration, but I still have much to learn about salt. This is what I have so far.

It has been running for about a month now. I would like to add a little more live rock, but it needs to be large so the trigger can't move it. I would also like to add a powerhead for more flow. The hob filter will be removed when the sump is upgraded. There were three hob's until the tidepool was installed. I know that I need to get a skimmer, and I have been trying to determine how to make a sump/refugium. I have many extra tanks from 20 to 55 gallon to make it from.

What I was wondering, is if it would be a good idea to add a 30 gallon tank to the right of the tidepool as a refugium. Water would be pumped from the sump into the fuge, then overflow back into the sump. There would be room in the tidepool for a skimmer.

Now, the tidepool filter was something that I just happened to have lying around. I'm not sure how effective the biowheel is for salt filtering, or if I would be better off making a new sump.

I am still working on the stand and the lighting. I am open to suggestions.

 

[T-T-Trigger]

nice, and good questions. the tidepool is extrememly effective for saltwater filtration, but to avoid algae with no cleaning crew you will need to rely on good source water and effective skimming.

Macroalgae will be a decent replacement for skimming with regards to algae buildup, however triggers, queen trigger esp., will make a snack out of any macro you introduce into the display tank. so i heartily recommend a skimmer and frequent water changes, and a remote refugium if you plan on a refugium at all.

nice fish, good luck

 

[barbianj]

nice, and good questions. the tidepool is extrememly effective for saltwater filtration,

Thanks, that's good to know. I had it on a 90 overstocked with 8"-10" piranhas, and I couldn't believe how clear it kept the water. I bought it for $50. The previous owner could not get it to work right. Turned out that the bottom tray was not the right one for that model. The holes ran 90 degrees from what they should have, and didn't turn the bio wheel. It was an easy fix. The thing is kind of cheaply made. I had to silicone around the top piece because salt creep was bad there, and added an electrical tie to keep the sides from bowing out, which caused the trays to fall.