Trigger compatibility.

[ThisCityIsDead]

Hey guys. I find trigger fish to be so beautiful. I know they're aggressive fish and are not reef safe... But my dentist has a 90 gallon fish tank with a trigger, a yellow tang, some damsels and a pair of clowns. He also has zoas, candy coral and pulsing xenias. I asked if he just got the trigger and he said. No. He had it for about a year and a half. He said it was small when he got it and me it is about 3 inches maybe 4..?

He also said that he hasn't loss any corals or fish. But he did loose fish, 3 fish, but all from random diseases.

Is this a good idea. I want a Picasso trigger or just a blue/green one:/.

 

[Tigerdragon]

Biggest thing with triggers equals no cuc. They will decimate your cuc

 

[3FordFamily]

Some triggers are reef safe

 

[AuburnTiger1]

Triggers in the Xanthichthys genus would be your safest bet.

 

[humaguy]

as mentioned, x trigs and add niger and pinktails...but no trig is "safe" really when it comes to anything...if they don't eat your corals, they may decide to flip them over, swim around the tank with them hanging out of their mouths, or constantly rearrange your tank...
but you can never trust a trig...
good luck!

tk

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

Can someone list one or two types of triggers?:/

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

I thought Niger trigs were NOT reef safe or safe at all with other fish. Are the Picassos okay? Will they eat my shrimp or other inverts

 

[Aqua Chemist]

I have a Picasso Triggerfish with an Abalone Snail and hermit crab. She doesn't attack them at all but she wants to be fed all day lol. She gets 3 feeds and no more the greedy guts

 

[humaguy]

I thought Niger trigs were NOT reef safe or safe at all with other fish. Are the Picassos okay? Will they eat my shrimp or other inverts

no trig is "reef safe" but some seem to do better than others...tony vargas wrote a great article on some trigs (x, pinktail and niger) that appeared to be safer than others in aquarium mag in 2003, I think...
trigs can also be hit or miss with tank mates...some are totally mellow and others are insane...
Rhinecanthus can be very aggressive or very mellow, lol...I have found them to be great fish and mostly mellow but I have seen some that were crazy aggressive...
shrimp and inverts will prob get eaten one day...I always kept them with my trigs because until they are eaten, they are beneficial for the tank...when eaten, they provide the trig with a healthy snack and allow the triggers to act like the predators they are...

 

[rssjsb]

A 90 gallon is a bit snug for most triggers long term, isn't it Ted?

 

[humaguy]

A 90 gallon is a bit snug for most triggers long term, isn't it Ted?

yes!

 

[trigger40]

90 gallon is perfect for a humu trigger. i keep my humu trigger in a reef set up with corals, snails, shrimp, crabs, ect. the humu triggers grow very, very slow. they will grow .5" a year if feed properly(most people dont). the growth slows down even more once the fish reaches 5''. so if you buy a 2'' humu trigger it will take 20 years for it to reach its full size. and keeping a fish alive for that long is not likely to happen. so this trigger is perfect for your set up. the tricky part is finding a reef safe one. you do this by studying the fish behavior at the lfs.

 

[trigger40]

Can someone list one or two types of triggers?:/

for reef safe? bursa, humu, triangular(piccaso), blue jaw, crosshatch, the list goes on.
but if you really want to have fun, get your self an undilated trigger. they haft to be kept alone though and not reef safe.

 

[trigger40]

I thought Niger trigs were NOT reef safe or safe at all with other fish. Are the Picassos okay? Will they eat my shrimp or other inverts

niger triggers get huge. so you cant get that one. and yes the humu trigger will be fine once it gets used to being fed and not feeling the need to hunt. so i would get the trigger with some hermits and soft corals, wait a few months, then get corals like sps or lps and shrimp. and humu triggers love small snails so mexican turbos will be just about all you can get.

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

I brought home a Niger trig. It's teal. It's beautiful. At the LFS it was in a a set up with 2 other trigs and a tang. It looked happy and behaved well too. When I brought it home I placed it in my 2nd at tank. I also placed a yellow tang, about 2", and the trig picked at it. I'm not sure if it's because it takes a while for trigs to get used to new tank mates, but I immediately removed the tang and placed it in a differ qttank. I was going to place the powder blue in with the trig, but I don't want to risk anything. The trig is in there alone. When it is time to relocate them all, I think the trig will go in last.

 

[freeflydive]

When it is time to relocate them all, I think the trig will go in last.

Like people, even triggers have their own individual personality/temperament…Niger and Blue Throat triggers tend to be milder on the trigger aggressiveness scale. I do agree in adding aggressive fish last, as "most" (not all) won't welcome new inhabitants as easily…and it will reduce stressing less aggressive marine life. Once added to the DT, if he stresses out the existing fish, have a back up plan…either separate tanks, sell or return one of them (the predator or the victim). Let us know how it goes…and post pictures.

 

[randomfishguy85]

I would rethink adding the tang before the trigger. The trigger might be aggressive, but a powder blue in a 90 gallon is going to be aggressive for sure. They are really territorial.

 

[humaguy]

for reef safe? bursa, humu, triangular(piccaso), blue jaw, crosshatch, the list goes on.
but if you really want to have fun, get your self an undilated trigger. they haft to be kept alone though and not reef safe.

Rhinecanthus trigs should not be guaranteed as reef safe....there is no such trig called a triangular trig, there is rhinecanthus rectangulus...

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

I would rethink adding the tang before the trigger. The trigger might be aggressive, but a powder blue in a 90 gallon is going to be aggressive for sure. They are really territorial.

Well, the powder blue is In a 30G qt tank with 4 other fish, including the yellow tang, and it seems to be doing well!. It does chase the other fish away from its hiding pvc pipes, but the fish seem to know not to go there anymore. Lol

The trig is still alone.

 

[jjk_reef00]

I would strongly reconsider before adding all those fish into a 90 gallon if that is infact the tank you have.