About a year ago, after a trip to Hawaii, I bought a small picasso trigger which is the state fish and quite striking. Kids really wanted it. I knew that I'd have to remove it eventually because it isn't reef safe but I figured I had a couple of years too enjoy it. It's eating well and growing quite fast, probably about 3 inches now in size. Anyway, my kids want to buy me a fish for my birthday and a store is holding a baby clown trigger for me, similar size to the picasso when I first got it. If I introduced the clown to the tank with the larger picasso, am I asking for trouble? It is a well stocked 350G, lots of tangs and other busy fish. WOuld appreciate your thoughts and experience.
trigger compatability
- Thread starter Andrew D
- Start date
BigBlueTang
Active member
I personally have no experience with either of those fish, but here's what I've learned reading others stories. The clown will most likely be fine for at least a couple of years, they're usually model citizens, and then one day they snap. Of course, YMMV bu that's simply what I've learned.
cougareyes
New member
Neither one of those fish will be safe in a reef long term. When they are small some have had success. When when they get larger they will almost always become destructive. You never know when that happens, I wouldn't keep them in a reef.
scooter31707
New member
Indeed...IME most of them have a on/off switch. It's just a matter of time of when they going to turn it on. I would not recommend during it. Once he starts getting bigger and mature, and feels like he doesn't have enough room, then it could very well go on to be a killing machine.
cougareyes
New member
As far as compatibility the clown and picasso will be fine together. For the most part the clown would be the most aggressive, but the picasso has already been in the tank for a while so there's that.
In a tank that size and a 3" picasso and a smaller clown; in reality they will probably not even bother with each other. Small clown triggers grow up to be quite different in temperament than those that come in at a larger size. In my experience both the picasso and clown triggers grow rather slowly.
In a tank that size and a 3" picasso and a smaller clown; in reality they will probably not even bother with each other. Small clown triggers grow up to be quite different in temperament than those that come in at a larger size. In my experience both the picasso and clown triggers grow rather slowly.
Great suggestion. I'm also now thinking about the black trigger, sticking with the Hawaii theme. When we were there we snorkelled with large schools of them and the contrast with the teal water was just beautiful.
BigBlueTang
Active member
Yup. The "Black Durgeon" Trigger(Melichthys niger) and the Niger Trigger(Odonus niger) are two different fish! I got mixed up when I first looked at them as well.
humaguy
Premium Member
Lol, really, you cant trust any trigger, with anything, esp other triggers. Some are more aggressive than others, and worse, the level of aggression varies from individual to individual. So there is no way to gauge it. Clowns, undulates, queens, fuscus, tend to be the "worst" or most aggressive, but any trigger can be a pita and quickly destroy a tank, if it wants to. Just a heads up. A few years back my dt had around 20 different triggers in it, and the hawaiian black became a holy terror. Good luck, and post pics! TK
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humaguy
Premium Member
looks very similar to m. indicus, both get very big and can be very aggressive.
OrionN
Moved on
That is a lot of food to feed a tank. I guest that in only one reason why they should not be in a reef. Nice collection of fish..........
a few triggers in this pic
How does the Emporator angle color development in that type of condition. Did you have problem with it reaching it full color potential?
Thanks
humaguy
Premium Member
Lol, Minh, that tank was going thru about 7 Larry's flats and 1 40oz pe mysis evey week and i was changing 240 gal every 2-3 weeks. I think there are 10 trigs in the pic. The cinereus was around 8 inches here and would eat almost 1/3 of a larry's chunky on his own, the outrigger (not in pic) was the largest at around 12 inches, and would inhale massive amounts of mysis. The heavy feeding also helped keep them on the mellow side, which was great. The emp went from a tiny baby to full adult, older pic.
