Triggers and their Teeth

[louiemarsh]

All,

I have read about triggers needing to keep their teeth ground down. What special food do I need to supply them with since I doubt the normal beefheart, fresh seafood would do the trick.

Do you give them whole live clams from the suppermarket?

Live fish with bones?(doubt that could grind teeth)

or do they just bite on the base/live rock?

or is this something I really need to worry about?

Thanks much

 

[nataz]

I was told they grind their teeth down on the shells of the crabs in ur tank when they try to eat them.Not sure if this helps but at the same time could cost a bit.

 

[jcopp24]

Not an expert here, but I have read about triggers that are kept in FO setups with no live rock, decorations, ect needing to have thier teeth ground, from what I hear it is pretty simple.

 

[Billybeau1]

Mine grinds his teeth on the crushed coral. I see him do it all the time.

 

[I like Triggers]

they should be wearing their teeth down on shells of things they eat, like muscles, crab, clams, as well as biting the sand and rocks in the tank.

 

[louiemarsh]

You are saying the shells of Mussels, Crabs and Clams they eat. So, what mussels, crabs and clams do you feed your triggers?

I have not seen any fish food crabs or clams sold live in a pet store before. And I assume you are not dropping huge blue crabs in your tank or most of the time the trigger might become the food.

Any advice would be great

 

[TAZ316]

they will nip at the rock work and any shells that are in the tank. If you want to feed it snails or crabs you can buy the cheapest ones at the LFS.
James.

 

[louiemarsh]

Thanks James

 

[emperora]

my huma will nibble on the cured coral i have in my tank from time to time ,i also feed him shrimp from the market and leave the shell on

 

[I like Triggers]

buy some shelled goodies from trader joes. i went there on the way home from work today and picked up some jumbo shrimp and some other stuff. my LFS usually stocks cockels in a shell.

 

[rodburner]

At what size did you guys start feeding your triggers shrimp from the grocery store??Reason Im asking is Im feeding my Niger brine shrimp from lfs and he seems not to be getting enough.My niger is about 3 1/2"s long.Do you cut the fresh shrimp up into small pieces?Curious,thankx all !

 

[VolitanLioness]

rodburner - yes you can cut the shrimp up into small pieces for your trigger, you want to offer a variety of foods to your trigger including mysis, Mussels, Crabs, Clams and Squid which can be purchased at a grocery store.

Brine has little nutritional value for your trigger, IMO I would not feed any more brine, you can soak the shrimp, mysis and squid in vitamins (zoe/selcon from your LFS) before feeding your trigger.

You should also pick up Nori and a clip so you can offer your trigger greens daily, my Pinktail eat Nori everyday.

Kaye

 

[stykthyn]

my niger likes krill and the fiddler crabs I catch at the beach

 

[rodburner]

Thankx Lioness and stykthyn. .So im 100% clear,you can buy squid from grocery store cut up and feed all parts of squid or a certain part??PLease dont think Im an idiot but Im only 4mnths into this and I wanna do everyting I can to raise healthy beautiful fish.Also Ive heard they may like regular lettuce from grocery store??Thankx all

 

[LRS078]

The BEST bar none I've found for keeping puffer beaks/teeth worn and would work great for triggers too is to give them fresh market mussels. Get a box of razors to cut the flesh so they open freely and dump in tank. A quick rinse, cut, and dump....its faster than thawing mysis. Not to mention locally a lb of mussels at even the uber fresh premium grocer is less than $4.

Hope this helps...

 

[VolitanLioness]

You can use all parts of the squid or octo (that's from the grocery store also), just cut it up or you can get a small electric chopper (Food Processor) at walmart for 12-14 bucks.

I would avoid the lettuce but you can use fresh frozen peas or fresh frozen broccoli you can pick up the seaweed from a grocery store, it is dried and comes in sheets like nori but much cheaper.

Kaye

 

[jcopp24]

Is it bad that I let my Trigger play with Bio-Balls when she is bored? Do you think that helps with her teeth? I have the remains of a scallop (two shells) she always is chewing on the shells, like a dog with a chew toy

 

[VolitanLioness]

Is it bad that I let my Trigger play with Bio-Balls when she is bored?

If the trigger is chewing on the plastic, I would think the plastic could cause a blockage in the trigger. If this happens, your trigger may stop eating and could starve to death.

There was a thread in here not to long ago about a trigger with a blockage you may want to look it up and read it.

Kaye

 

[rodburner]

Thankx guys and gals for all your help.Lioness I have one other question Id like to ask,why stay away from lettuce??Just would like to know,curious??

 

[VolitanLioness]

Nori, Pea's & broccoli will offer more nutrition to your trigger than the lettuce.

Kaye