trigger or no trigger???

[jasonzacher4224]

Hey guys i just need a lil help on this one... i have a 290 US gal FOWLR and a few corals (yer i know FO...) it is currently housing a pair of maroon clowns, a hippo tang, a harlequin tusk and a copperband butterfly. I plan to add a blue faced angel, a majestic angel a pair of moorish idols and a 3 - 4 other medium sized fishes. One of these i would like to add is a trigger. I would like to put in a piccaso as this is my favorite spp. however i would appreciate your opinion on this idea and any personal experience with this fish! Any recomendations on another suitable trigger would also be helpful:)

Is this fish (piccaso) too aggresive for this tank and its inhabitants?

Is my tank large enough to mix these spp. together?

Thanks! jase

[rachenbrazil]

I would add the angels ... skip the moorish (or just add 1 as 2 would be same as none due fighting) and choose some colorfull wrasses...
Picasso would be too agressive in future (tiny would be fine, but when starting to growing to 3 to 4 inches size would be very agressive and powerfull and copperband will be the first to down)... maybe you should consider blue throat , x hatch or sargassum triggers althought large they are mild mannered triggers ... a pair would be delightfull in your tank...

Reinaldo

[kirkaz]

Huma Huma is a little risky with a few of the fish you have listed, Moorish Idol in particular, I have seen Triggers bully Maroon Clowns too. However, Huma's can be very good fish. I had one for 5+ years in a previous tank, I really can't remember mine ever once showing aggression toward another fish. I would say it is worth a try. I would make him one of the last fish in.

[jasonzacher4224]

I guess triggers are a little unpredictable? I was origanaly set on a bluethroat but availability has been an issue..

[Stuart60611]

Maybe it is just my fish, but I have a 4.5 inch huma who does not bother my other fish (see signature). I had a bunch of fish die due to ich. As such, I had to add a bunch of my fish after the huma was established for quite a long time. The only fish the huma bothered at first was the hawk, but they now exist peacefully. The huma gets along with everyone in the tank. I know that this fish can get overly aggressive, but I think it gets a bad wrap in terms of aggression b/c I usually do not read postings of huma's with aggression problems. Usually, I read positngs of other triggers causing aggression problems such as the usual supspects like clowns, undulates, blue lines, and lately nigers. Perhaps, mine will change as he grows. He is definitely more bold now than when I got him, but not aggresssive toward other fish.

[AWoodCT]

My huma is probably the most peaceful fish in my tank. He just swims back and forth all day, only thing he goes after are the mexican red legs in the tank.

[AquaKnight]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14684170#post14684170 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jasonzacher4224
I guess triggers are a little unpredictable? I was origanaly set on a bluethroat but availability has been an issue..

Well sort of. As mentioned any of the Xanthichthys triggers (Blue Jaw, Sargassum, and Crosshatch) are pretty predictable and generally calm and perfect tankmates.

It's when you start to venture into the sort of aggressive triggers, Nigers, Humu's, etc that you tend to get hit-or-miss fish.

I can't see how Blue Jaw's are out due to an availability problem. Any major online retailer has them regularly, and if you planning local, I can't see how they can get some of the other fish you have listed that are typically harder to find than a Blue Jaw (the Majestic, Blueface, and Moorish Idols).

[jasonzacher4224]

I live in the the state of Victoria, Australia, and you will find our list of fish stock lists are very different to americans.. for example yellow tangs (zebrasoma) are quite rare and i have seen medium sized specimens sell at $165! I have never seen a bluejaw (or any Xanthichthys triggers) on a list from any supplyer and i will only buy Aussie cought fish if possible. Moorish idols on the other hand are easy to obtain at a good price:P im thinking that due to the large size of my tank and the fact that there is zillions of hiding spots, caves and holes that any aggressing from a picasso may be limited to a minimum... please correct me if im wrong!

[BlastoEric1589]

Aquaknight, i kept a niger in my reef for over a year before he died and he never bothered any of my fish, and they are also completely reef safe, save sessile invertebrates.
+1 Crosshatch(same thing as a Sargassum), Bluejaw(throat), and Pinktails

[AquaKnight]

Jase, I apologize, I definitely didn't not even notice your location. That would make a lot of sense then. Really the only problem I see is with the Copperband. If you could do without him, the Picasso would fit better. Maybe the trigger might pick at the streamers on the Idols. Just something to keep an eye on.


Eric, that is the problem is Nigers, it's not in the short term they are a problem. It's when they grow, (typically about 7", on their way to well over a foot in length) they get boisterous. If you had one in your 45g tall, guessing it was a pretty small one.

[jasonzacher4224]

HAHA you wont believe this! i looked at the new stock list from Cairns Marine and they have 8 female blue thraot triggers!!!!!! i have placed an order for a smaller one:) so if i get it i wont worry about a piccaso. However what are your thoughts on adding a male blue thraot down the track (since only females are available atm) if i can get one?? will they fight or co-exist? im not sure if they have to be added at the same time..

[jasonzacher4224]

btw thanks for your help guys:)

[AquaKnight]

LOL on the timing. Housing two Blue Jaw's shouldn't be a problem. The thing is, chances are if you got a small 'female' blue jaw, it's likely it's just in a male who hasn't developed yet. If you notice even a bit of blue on the jaw/throat area, it's a male. I believe two males would also get along, but the point is to have a female/male.

[NuTom]

I have a very mean bluethroat he has killed small fish before. He's been with me for about 3.5-4 years.

I have a Koran Angel, Blue Angel, Niger and a Convict Tang with him and he's the king of the tank. Keep in mind the Koran is the biggest and next is the Niger.

Here he is. Looks gentle but is a devil in my eyes.
http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/uu307/NuTom09/DSC00690.jpg

[LisaD]

yours is a rogue. :) most IME are not like that.

[jasonzacher4224]

he so cute tho lol well ill have to keep an eye on colouration. AquaKnight407 do you know at what length male colour develops? i was un aware of a change though i should have guessed..

[AquaKnight]

Here is my old Blue Jaw. He was just a shade under 3". You can just start to see some blue on the lower face area, and a tiny bit of yellow on the tail. He would have passed easily as a 'female' IMHO. Pretty sure this is about the standard length they start to color, about 2.5"-3.5" they should start to color in the jaw, and by 4.5" start to have yellow on the fins. Sizes obviously vary, and that's more towards the upper end. I've seen some gorgeous fully colored males that are only 3.5". But if there's no blue on the jaw, by 5" most likely a female.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/2097/dsc00369u.jpg

[jasonzacher4224]

mate you('s) have helped me ALOT thank you!