Trigger Question.

[OCDP]

I know most triggers are not "reef safe" And I'm having a brain fart. By saying "not reef safe" does this mean they nip corals, or do they eat all inverts?

I was thinking of maybe purchasing a small trigger locally, I was thinking along the lines of a clown, or niger trigger.

Then again, if someone knows or has any suggestions , please feel free. I am just trying to sketch out what fish to add to the new 50g cube, and I have always loved triggers.

I have snails, an anemone, and 1 Crocea clam.

(yes, Pysire's thread made me want to inquire about triggers...)

Scott

[Ruth]

Scott I have a small (3") Niger trigger in my 44g cube tank. So far he has not bothered any of my coral - I don't think they will actually pick at it but they are famous for rearranging rock etc. so may do damage this way - or any of my inverts such as snails or shrimp. That doesn't mean he won't as he gets larger.
I absolutely love Clown triggers but my understanding is that they are a big bad ass fish that will not hesitate to kill and eat any other fish in the tank that can't stand up to them. I know that I have seen them in LFS actually attacking the glass if someone was standing outside of their tank. They also get quite big and the bigger they get the meaner they get. Maybe someday I will turn my 230 into a FOWLR and I will get a Clown Trigger.

[Johnny Reefer]

The thing with Clown and Niger Triggers is they get big. 19"+ in the wild. Your 55 won't be big enough, IMHO. Bluechins (aka Bluethroat) are considered "reef-safe" and grow to about 8"+ wild, maybe 6" captive so that would be a better choice, but still....I don't know about puttin' one in a 55. Your call.
If you do get one, the smaller the better at the start. It will be more likely to be reef-safe that way.

HTH and cheers,

[Psyire]

I did do a fair amount of research on the 'reef-safe' triggers...

By Reef-Safe I mean Invert, Coral, & small fish safe, not just coral safe.

With that said any trigger has the ability to eat corals, inverts & possibly fish. There are just a few species that are considered to be worth taking the chance on. These primarily include the triggers in the Xanthichthys family. These triggers are primarily open water plankton feeders and rarely go after shrimp or corals.

Triggers in this family in order of most likely to be reef safe are:

Crosshatch Trigger
Bluethroat Trigger (aka. BlueJaw)
Sargassum Trigger

There are also 2 other triggers that I (along with others) would consider 'reef-safe'. These are:

Niger Trigger
Pinktail Trigger

Even though they belong to different families, they are generally fairly docile and can co-exist in a reef environment. However they have a higher chance of being bullies or feasting on your prized cleaner shrimp or brain coral.

So picking a trigger for your reef is kinda tricky and involves analyzing your setup and what you have that will be living with him or her. It also depends on the amount of risk you would like to take.

I originally tried a Niger trigger and it didn't turn out very well as he went after a Flasher Wrasse and completely removed one of his pectoral fins. So I then decided on the Bluethroat and so far, so good. He's been very well behaved and hasn't shown an interest in any of the corals or 8 shrimp I have. (three of which are small sexies)

Hope this helps!

PS. A clown trigger would be a big mistake... (I once heard of them referred to as homicidal maniacs)

[EmilyB]

Triggers are messy. Messy eaters, messy poopers, messy arrangers. Even if they don't eat coral.

I've had one for seven years.

[GMGQ]

My bluethroat is my fave fish in my mixed reef setup. It gets along really well with my hippo tang. It even eats Nori when I clip it in for the tang.

Only issue nowadays, is that he likes to peck at my hand when I reach in to do stuff! At first it was only pecking at my ring, but now it freaks me out when it tries to peck at my hand/knuckles. heh. It's more freaky than painful.

[OCDP]

Thanks guys for your input. I have no plans on just tossing one in the new tank, hence why I started this thread up.

I am most interested in a Niger trigger. The fish I have in my tank that will be in the 50g are a yellow watchman, a lawnmower blenny, and two clowns.

The messiness doesn't bother me so much. The bioload will be fairly low in the new tank, I skim heavy, I do frequent water changes, and I'm going BB in this tank. So if he's messy, it's okay. I think I could keep it under control.. The only things I am concerned about is if it will go after my fish or corals.

[Delphinus]

Your post reminded me of this article .. although it's been a while since I've read it, I think it mentions a little bit about some of the species we're talking about.

http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/Fish.htm

I can't say I blame you, after seeing Pysire's pictures I want one too, haha.

[Buccaneer]

That crosshatch is pretty nice too

[OCDP]

Thanks for the link there Tony. I'll take a read at it right now, I'll ask a few more questions as they pop up.