What to feed triggers

[avandss]

i picked up a beautiful pair of bluethroat triggers, huge male small female

however the male is REALLY BIG. and hungry!

what do i feed this guy? he can eat a whole pemysis in 5 minutes and that would cost to much, i know some feed it fresh shrimp and clams

however i have some frozen clams and shrimps (no preservatives&not cooked) shrimp were bought frozen, clams i bought fresh and froze them

can i use frozen food?

i want to feed him allot and will cross my fingers he wont eat my shrimps or watchman goby... if he does he is out! but that is a different discussion

 

[rezaktp]

I used to have triggers in my FOWLR tank, they ate like pigs.........I ended up buying frozen shrimp, mussels, clams etc, cooked or raw, whatever was on sale at the grocery store and made a mixture. They loved it and grew, and grew, and grew!

 

[avandss]

Thanks! I'll go try right now

I will defrost the clams

 

[Dmorty217]

Krill, silversides, squid are some others to try. Problem is they are messy eaters with bigger chunks of food

 

[sowildpaul]

My wife who is Chinese said that Asian food markets sell many varieties of fresh seafood cheaper than regular supermarkets.

 

[avandss]

well i put the clam in the tank and he wanted noting to do with it, so i took it out and like his personal assistant cut it in little pieces.... well he vacuumed it before it somehow touched the water, he did leave a few little pieces for his wife

i guess ill be going to the grocery store tomorrow!

 

[avandss]

i really like this fish!

 

[Stevenliu9]

I used to have triggers in my FOWLR tank, they ate like pigs.........I ended up buying frozen shrimp, mussels, clams etc, cooked or raw, whatever was on sale at the grocery store and made a mixture. They loved it and grew, and grew, and grew!

Making your own food out of grocery store is the best way. You can find a bag of frozen seafood (I think they are Korean) from most Asian grocery stores that includes shrimp, mussel, clam, calamari, smelt, etc in it. I get those throw them in the blender, chop it down finely and freeze them in ice cubes. Just use a cute each time you feed and you get a cheap and nutritionally balanced meal for the trigger there. All my fish love it!

 

[avandss]

what about all the preservatives?

 

[Stevenliu9]

Those are frozen, not preserved. I also just buy fresh smelt, shrimp (with shell, uncooked), and mussels at grocery store just mince it and feed my fish that way.

 

[Betta132]

Basically anything uncooked at the seafood counter is edible by fish. I wouldn't suggest feeding them large fish, though, it's not something they naturally eat. Plus, mercury. Stick to smallish things. Silversides can be bought at many pet stores, and they're good food. Clams, mussels, shrimp, crab-things, small fish... anything like that.

 

[avandss]

arent mussels usually fresh water?

 

[Theoj]

I wouldn't advise feeding silversides as this may give the trigger the impression that its ok to consume smaller fish that you may have/add to te display.

 

[avandss]

I wouldn't advise feeding silversides as this may give the trigger the impression that its ok to consume smaller fish that you may have/add to te display.

good point. so far so good, unless i chop it up he wont touch it

i have given him clams and shrimp, WHAT A PIG, i have no idea where he stores so much food

 

[Betta132]

There are saltwater mussels, I've seen them. Not sure if most grocery store mussels are freshwater or not. Check for barnacles on the shells to figure it out, barnacles are saltwater.

 

[Rybren]

Most of the mussels that we can get in the grocery store are marine and not freshwater.

I also buy the bags of frozen seafood from the grocery store and run them through the blender. The stuff that I get doesn't have any preservatives listed in the ingredients.

 

[avandss]

Most of the mussels that we can get in the grocery store are marine and not freshwater.

I also buy the bags of frozen seafood from the grocery store and run them through the blender. The stuff that I get doesn't have any preservatives listed in the ingredients.

good to know, i was sure most mussels we get are freshwater!

 

[humaguy]

be careful with those big mixed bags as mussels, smelt, etc. are quite oily and wreck havoc on skimmers and systems...
little necks, scallops, shrimp is cleaner...

 

[sowildpaul]

I wouldn't advise feeding silversides as this may give the trigger the impression that its ok to consume smaller fish that you may have/add to te display.

Well, I think it's not recommended to put triggers in the tank with smaller fish like clownfish, pseudo, jawfish, etc as triggers grow bigger. It's best for them in a tank with large fish. Even it's not fed silversides, it would still eat small fish in the tank when it wants to.

From liveaquaria.com;

The Blue Throat Triggerfish needs a varied diet of meaty foods including; squid, krill, clams, small fish and hard shelled shrimp to help wear down their ever growing teeth.