Triggers and such in a 75...

[LisaD]

A number of people have been writing in about stocking smaller triggers (picasso, blue throat) or smaller tangs in 75 or 90 gallon tanks.

I just got a perspective on this. I received two gorgeous fish from reef hot spot, an imperator angelfish and a harlequin tuskfish. Both are "small" and subadult, in they are both about 6".

I put the angel in a 55 to QT. (The tusk went in to a 120.) Both will be going into a 210 in a few weeks. This angel, which is half the length of a full grown picasso or blue throat trigger, and not quite the size of a full grown yellow tang is completely cramped in this tank.

It should be okay for a week or two, but no way would I leave a fish even close to this size in a 55, 75, or even a 90, long term.

So now that I have actually put a 6" thick bodied fish into a tank this size, I'd say no way to folks asking about triggers and tangs to stock a 75. JMO.

 

[rachenbrazil]

Sometimes when we see a inch or 2 inch tang or trigger our brain freeze and do not think clearly... only after having it swimming in a 55 or 70 G tank that thoughts got clear....them we start plans for a new tank...
Sure these "small" fishes will grow fast... but this is part of human nature...try things that should never be tried...
Although you got your valid opinion... most of these small fishes unfortunally will never outgrow their 55 g tank due mishandling...overstocking...ich ...etc... so that's why people are so used to buy these fishes for 55 - 75 G tanks....

 

[LukFox]

55 gallon tanks are really narrow though, and a 75 or 90g is 6" wider. It's the the same deal with 125 gallon tanks compared with 180s, except the difference is even bigger because 6" added to 12" is a bigger ratio difference than 6" added to 18". People still think the width matters, and it probably does. I'm just saying your example might be a little inaccurate. In a 75 or 90, the fish will have an easier time turning around and maneuvering, and rock work doesn't have to take up the entire tank.

This is NOT to say I approve of triggers or speedier tangs in these tanks, but I'm saying you probably shouldn't compare a 55g with a 75g like that.

 

[LisaD]

My point was that I put a fish HALF the size of a full grown trigger in the 55. Even in a 75, this particular fish would clearly not have enough room. Just to clarify, this is for a 2-4 week QT period. This fish is going into a 210.

People write in asking if they can keep a trigger for life in a 75. I've hesitated to give an opinion, because it seems kind of marginally, maybe okay. Now that I actually put a decent sized (yet smaller than the fish asked about) fish in a smaller tank, I'd say no way.

rachenbrazil, I have "grown out" juveniles of large fish in smaller tanks, like 29 or 55. I have no problem with that. But I've had a larger home set up and ready for when the fish gets bigger. Sometimes those juvenile fish you talk about don't make it to adult size in a small tank because they outgrow the space and filtration capacity of a smaller tank, and the stress eventually kills them.

For example, my zebra moray, which I have had for many many years started out in a 29, but quickly went to a 120. (I bought this eel from Flying Fish Express when they were still in business.) It's 3.5-4 feet long now, and it will also go to the 210. I have also been "growing out" a juvenile small niger triggerfish and a small blue spotted rabbitfish in a 55. They will be moving soon.

 

[LukFox]

I'll give it to you for the triggers . I agree they're way too big and fast for those tanks unless it's a single specimen tank for a smaller species, I suppose. But the yellow tang only gets a little bigger, and it's not like they're the most active of tangs. And then tomini and kole tangs get even smaller... It's not a fair comparison for those, I don't think.

 

[AquaKnight]

I will just add that IMO it's really comparing apples to oranges when talking about a trigger vs. a large angel (esp. a large, large angel ). Triggers live in and among the rocks on the reef, and Angels roam the reef shelf (just a hackneyed observation). I would say they deal much better with shape limitations then a large angel.

That said, when talking about a 75, LukFox does bring up a point that even at 4', a 75 or 90 does have more useable 'space' due to the width. The only trigger I'd personally recommend for a 75 is a species-only Undulated trigger setup.

 

[jda]

I have had a picasso since 1999 that I got about the size of a US quarter. Currently, almost 10 years later, it is about 6 inches and 1 inch thick. They are slow growers and I don't really have any issues with people keeping triggers in 75G tanks while they are small. However, this requires the hobbist to do the right thing when they get larger and give the fish away to a larger home. Time after time we see that people don't do the right thing. ...so, I have mixed feeling on this as well.

My opinion is quite different for angels, tangs and other species that can outgrow a 75G in a year or so - like my current emp that has gone from half-dollar to 8" in about 15 months. The ability to do the right thing seems to decrease if the fish grows faster.

 

[danorth]

I would like to see that trigger please jda!

 

[jda]

I take terrible photos. Here is a FTS for 3 or 4 years ago along with the fish.

 

[spamin76]

I will agree that Rhinecanthus genus triggers grow very slowly. I kept one for something like 5-6 years and he put on a few inches. As for the size though, even at 6" he was spastic - he never stopped moving and he would pace the tank for hours on end. He could deal with the size sure, and he was very healthy and colorful, but he should have been in a larger tank in retrospect.

And the slow grower label is not anywhere near universal in triggers, as many trigger species grow explosively - putting on 6+" a year until full grown.

The obeservation that triggers live among the rocks is also very valid, they are built for tight spaces, but they also are constantly on patrol, so there is a inherent dichotomy in many trigger species.

Having kept triggers for the majority of thel time I have been in the hobby, I would say that a 75 is not enough to get them an ideal home. I mean a person CAN live in a 300 sq ft studio apartment, but they aren't going to be very comfortable. In the same regards many triggers CAN live in a 75, but it isn't really ideal. I made it work for many years, but during those years of experience I learned a lot about my fish, a lot of it from my fish, and as a much more experienced hobbyist I wouldn't put a picasso trigger or a niger in a 75 now.

I could see putting an undulate in a 75 by itself - they are shyer fish and aren't quite so spastic, but any other trigger and I would say that it isn't a good idea. I won't say it won't work, because a lot of people have done it, but it is really sub optimal.

 

[ahumahuma]

jda,
Do you still have your Assasi? How did it and the Humu get along? Nice tank!