Niger Trigger

[hammy0607]

Today I noticed my Niger Trigger wasn't as active as usual. When I started looking at him I noticed a discoloration on his forehead. He has been hiding under a rock most of the day. When I tried to usher him out to get a better look it was like he wasn't afraid of my hand. I did manage to take one close up of him where you can see the spot a little. He will let my cleaner wrasse come over a little bit but gets irritated quickly and shakes him off. He hasn't eaten at all, all day. I have had the Trigger for about 3 months. Usually eats frozen shrimp or flakes. I also have a Foxface in the tank that seems to be doing just fine. Can anyone shed a little light on this for me? I have a 30 gal tank, I just changed the water filters and did a 20% water change.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I can't tell from the pic, but keeping a niger trigger and a foxface in a tank that small is not good. The minimum tank size for either one of those fish is 75 gallons. Both of them in a 30g tank will lead to stress which can trigger disease. Your best bet would be to get them out of that tank and stick to the smaller, nano-friendly fish.

[Michael]

its a serious mistake to keep a fish such as a trigger in a 30 gallon aquarium, i really hope you listen to sugars advice and get him out of there and give him to someone with a large tank, imo 100 gallons plus, on another note welcome to reef central and i hope you reply to our comments about this.

[Michael]

after looking again i can see you have a serious cyanobacteria problem in there, excessive nutrients and poor water quality is probably the reason why, can you post some more information so we can try to help

[hammy0607]

What other type of information would be helpful?

[Michael]

how often do you water change?, how much do you feed the fish?, do you test for phoshphate?, do you test for nitrate?, do you add chemicals to add nutrient removal?, what else is in the tank?

[hammy0607]

I change 20% about every week and a half. I feed the fish twice a day, and i try to alternate between flakes and frozen shrimp. I give my foxface nori seawead, although he eats alot of my caulerpa. I test my water once a month for phosphates, nitrates and amonia. It is almost always in great shape. And when it isn't in great shape it is usually close. I used to add liquid calcium however I havn't added any for a month or so. I have the foxface, cleaner wrasse, niger trigger, 4 blue legies and one red legy. I have several pieces of live rock and caulerpa. That is about it.

[the_rider]

How big is the foxface ? The niger seems small but like other said it will grow fast... He seems also beat up... You can keep it maybe a month in there like a QT tank, but in long term, it's not doable and he will probably die. Also, I don't have a niger but I have a foxface and he's a pig, eating EVERYTHING lol If yours eat as much as mine, I don't know how you can keep up with the parameter ... Did you introduce the niger after ? I pretty sure that there is aggression between the Niger and the Foxface. I will seel both fishes or give them to someone with a bigger system because they will die for sure.

[hammy0607]

Unfortunately my niger did die. I did introduce the niger after the foxface. the niger was about 2.5 in and my foxface is about 3in. The long term plan is to get a larger tank eventually but i have to come up with the money and the space. Thank you for your advice and i will definitely keep the growth size of my fish in relation to my tank size in mind a little better.

[fender4string]

I'm sorry about the niger. Good for you for realizing that you have to think ahead in this hobby and for trying to better understand the needs of your animals.

Also, welcome to RC-this is a great site full of information and people willing to give it.