Adult Niger Trigger Owners (Past and Present)

[r0cksteady]

Hi All,

I have always liked the Niger Triggers and was just wondering if anyone had kept one long term or at least a adult one. If so how did it interact with your tank inhabitants.

Im well aware of their 'book descriptions' and have spoken to a lot of people saying 'Oh no they are fine, no problems' but when I dug deeper I found that a lot of the advice was from people either not having kept them long term or they bought them as a juv and havent yet experienced the potential adult terrors they could possibly be.

So im talking 'specifically' about the Niger Trigger only and the main reason is that I have a Pinnate Batfish who I love to bits and have had for about 2 years now so I wouldnt risk him getting fin nipped if that was the case.

Please share your experiences and inform me of the tank mates kept at the same time. Thanks

Also feel free to post and links to 'further reading' if you have any good sources. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

[redhdmedic]

I had "Nigel" for just over 5 years...he lived happily with a bi-color angel and porcupine puffer. The angel eventually moved to our reef, but Nigel and Puffy appeared to be the best of friends. He was very active and almost as "puppyish" as Puffy, with his antics of swimming and appearing to beg everytime anyone came near the tank...he would also "spit" water out at me to get my attention. I never had much trouble with him when it came to cleaing the tank, though I was always cautious to be aware of his whereabouts...my ex-husband was not so lucky, I swear everytime he tried to clean the tank Nigel gave him a good nipping (drew blood everytime...mommy's little boy!) Puffy eventually moved into our 215, and Nigel was then living with a maroon clown and a jawfish...within a month of Puffy moving Nigel died overnight one night. I could not find any reason for it, and I still miss him. He loved...and I mean loved...to play in bubbles...we had a bubble wand under the sand and that goofy boy would do laps around the tank and then through the bubbles. Hands down one of the most amusing fish I have ever owned. I have not bought another, as I am scared the personality won't be the same, and currently have a lovely pink tail, who is quite a bit more on the shy side, but I definitely have fond memories of Nigel. I don't know if this helps at all...but that, in a nutshell, was my experience with my Niger Trigger.

[r0cksteady]

Thank you so much for replying I really appreciate you taking the time. Definitely the sort of info\experiences I was after.

Has anyone else had any experience with them?

Any bad stories? as I only ever hear good.

[Ocean Hugger]

I had one sense he was a little baby!!! LOVED that fish. It was intelligent, fun, cute, funny,nonaggressive( i guess i was lucky) and always loved to eat. I named him after my fat dog ellie. He was the best fish i had every owned. He never gave me problems besides his constant pooping, eating and taste for crustaceans. I decided to go for sps corals and couldn't have him fouling my water like he did ( 120 gallon with a naso, hippo, kole,foxface, blue jawed trigger) i had to give up almost all my fish:( :( but you have to do what you have to do. I had him for 4 years. if you want a fish with personality get one. but they do create ALOT of waste..SO do weekly water changes. hope that helped!!

[r0cksteady]

*bump*

[DolbyDinosaur]

I'm amicable to echoing Ocean Hugger's post :D

[Wolverine]

My last two have been at opposite ends of the spectrum. The most recent was a "cobalt" niger, which I've been told are a little less aggressive. It was by far the wimp of the tank (which included a yellow-tail damsel and 6-line wrasse.
The one I had before that (I had to tear down that tank when I moved) would attack anything that moves and a lot that didn't. That fish didn't get along with anything.

[r0cksteady]

Sorry im confused. I am specifically only asking about the Niger Trigger (Odonus Triggerfish). Is that the one your referring too?

[Wolverine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14510922#post14510922 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by r0cksteady
Sorry im confused. I am specifically only asking about the Niger Trigger (Odonus Triggerfish). Is that the one your referring too?

Yes.
The cobalt niger is a color variation of Odonus niger that comes from the Sumatra area; it's the exact same shape, but more of a slate-gray color.

[r0cksteady]

So does everyone think I could have one with my Batfish without fear of him getting fin nipped?

[agreeive?fish]

I would not recomend it.. i basicly had my batfish in a tank by himself because it seemed everybody wanted a piece of his fins and my batfish was a gental giant(rip) sure wish i could have another one

[r0cksteady]

*bump* - Before I let this thread die I was interested if others had more to add as well.

[Wolverine]

I also wouldn't put him in with a batfish.

[kirkaz]

I am on my second Niger/Redtooth Trigger....The first I had for 5 years, you may not like the answer.

These fish are often available at a very small size, my second one I got at about an inch....The small cute little 1 or 2 inch Trigger is a very different fish from the 8 inch Red toothed monster he can turn into in about 4 years or so. I find they grow more and more antagonistic as they age. For his first few years he was bullied by a much larger 5 inch Maroon Clown, once he caught up in size he turned on the Maroon and all but killed him in a few hours, I had to remove the Clown or he would have been killed. I could tell more stories of scuffles with my Lunare Wrasse, and Naso Tang.

My general feeling on this fish is they have wonderful personalities and are very beautiful adults....I also think they belong in large tanks with fish very capable of defending themselves. Batfish do not fit this description.

If you want a more "community friendly" Trigger, look at Sargassum or Bluejaw, they stay smaller, have the same engaging "trigger personality", and are far less potentially aggressive.

[kirkaz]

sorry...double post

[r0cksteady]

Thanks guys really appreciate it. It wasnt that I didnt believe anyone I just wanted to really profile the guy on how he interacts with others so thats made it clear enough for me that I would have to look at doing it in more of a predator type tank if I was ever to get one.