rare trigger or not?

[VolitanLioness]

M. indicus has white at the end of the tail, M. niger does not.....

Right?


Kaye

 

[VWD]

Nice fish, I don't know which one it is

 

[I like Triggers]

I hate when they get new things in the divers den like that, and they provide no information, no max size, no diet instructions... not cool.

 

[Ocicat]

Beautiful fish! If it really is half starry, it could get really big.

 

[ReefTank1]

instead of paying 400$ for that fish an indian ocean triggerfish (melicthys indicus) looks the same but is around $60 and fairly common. Here are pictures of mine

black form

green form

sometimes he gets these iridescent white lines on his side when he changes his mood, i will try to get a photo

 

[I like Triggers]

Cool pictures. Reminds me of the way my niger has dramatic color changes, blue to green to purple to pink... weird.

 

[RGBMatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8283452#post8283452 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by danorth
I just saw a pink tail trigger with an orange tail at a LFS a few weeks ago. It wasn't the light either, it was orange.

I would believe possible pink tail/black mix though.

That's normal - very young pinktails have yellow/orange fins. They'll change to the ordinary colours as it ages.

 

[AdidaKev]

Maybe someone from liveaquaria can chime in here...? Or maybe try posting this question in their forum and see if they can give a good reason as to how they know it's a hybrid.

 

[Ocicat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8350437#post8350437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AdidaKev
Maybe someone from liveaquaria can chime in here...? Or maybe try posting this question in their forum and see if they can give a good reason as to how they know it's a hybrid.

I emailed them several days ago, and this is what they said:

Thank you for your email. This trigger is a cross between the Black Trigger (Melichthys indicus) which is what the fish mainly resembles, and Abalistes stellatus which shows in the lack of white stripes below the dorsal and above the anal fin, the color pattern of the dorsal and anal fin, and the shape of the belly in front of the anal fin (comes to more of a point, not rounded). It was listed as a stellatus trigger hybrid, and we are confident that this is the correct identification of this fish.

Thank you for choosing Drs. Foster & Smith Live Aquaria for your live aquatic needs. You are a valued customer and we look forward to hearing from you in the future.

If we can be of any additional assistance, please feel free to contact our Live Aquaria Department at 1-800-334-3699 or via email at customerservice@liveaquaria.com and we will be happy to answer any question(s) you may have.

Sincerely,

Technical Support
Drs. Foster & Smith
nrm

 

[Ocicat]

P.S. Note that they say on their page that it's an M. indicus hybrid (not niger).

 

[I like Triggers]

Wow, it doesn't seem like they have real info on it... Sounds like they just guessed...

Has anyone seen other hybrid triggers? I never knew they would breed outside of species.

 

[danorth]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8349361#post8349361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RGBMatt
That's normal - very young pinktails have yellow/orange fins. They'll change to the ordinary colours as it ages.

It wasn't too young.....5-6". But yes, some have different colors for regional differences....same as with angelfish.

 

[RGBMatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8351387#post8351387 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by danorth
It wasn't too young.....5-6". But yes, some have different colors for regional differences....same as with angelfish.

Melichthys triggers settle out at about 5", so the fish you saw was a very young specimen. The yellow fins are not a regional variation.

Thank you for your email. This trigger is a cross between the Black Trigger (Melichthys indicus) which is what the fish mainly resembles, and Abalistes stellatus which shows in the lack of white stripes below the dorsal and above the anal fin, the color pattern of the dorsal and anal fin, and the shape of the belly in front of the anal fin (comes to more of a point, not rounded). It was listed as a stellatus trigger hybrid, and we are confident that this is the correct identification of this fish.

Now that's complete rubbish! This fish is a plain old M. indicus that hasn't developed its adult fin colours yet. Here's a photo of one that looks just like Liveaquaria's picture:

http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=2&ID=7634&what=species

At least one of their species IDs is right, unlike last week when it was a niger/stellatus hybrid.

 

[danorth]

RGB, here is the site I was getting that blue bodied pinktail from:

http://www.hawaiisfishes.com/fishes/neatfish/melichthys_vidua_juv.htm

 

[RGBMatt]

Yes, I am familiar with Hoover's website. I am also familiar with juvenile pinktail triggers, having personally seen many of them in the wild.

The blue body isn't a regional variation either. It's an intermediate phase between the larval and adult stages. Many other fish have odd colour patterns at this stage. For instance, bluethroat triggers have red tails for the first few weeks.