What is safe with a trigger

[BowieReefer84]

I am looking in the future to set up a tank with a trigger, and want to know what tank mates are ok. I do not want a lion or puffer, and have read they don't mix anyways. I could not find a sticky on what to mix, and LA lists a lot of fish as compatible. My main thing is wanting a variety of color to the tank since it will not have any corals. Also, I prefer more active fish.

Tank will be 125 gallons, and I would like to have 3-5 fish.

Could I do a foxface, harlequin tusk, humu picasso triggerfish, some sort of non-reefsafe wrasse, and a lamarks angel fish?

If not, which ones would you drop/add to the list?

Thanks,
Mike

[humaguy]

I would do a huma, a large angel, if you want a small angel- go for a Flame...a wrasse, like a banana, pinkface, goldbar etc would be okay...

[BowieReefer84]

I would do a huma, a large angel, if you want a small angel- go for a Flame...a wrasse, like a banana, pinkface, goldbar etc would be okay...

Ok, so three fish I could do would be HumuHumu Picasso Triggerfish, Pinkface Wrasse, and Regal Angelfish? What order would you add them, or juvenille's all at once?

Would that be the max for a 125? I would also really like a tang or foxface to help with any algae issues since I won't be able to keep inverts...

[humaguy]

i would go for something more bold than a regal...emp, passer, queen...trigger goes in last and should be smaller...tangs love to swim and would grow bored quickly in a 125...

[BowieReefer84]

i would go for something more bold than a regal...emp, passer, queen...trigger goes in last and should be smaller...tangs love to swim and would grow bored quickly in a 125...

You are saying to put a queen angel in a 125, but not a tang of some sort? I have read the regal recommended tank on LA is 125, so that's why I picked that. I want to have something that will be happy in a 125, as I am not the type of person to upgrade often. I have been in the hobby for almost 5 years, and still rock a 29gal tank...

Could the regal holds its own with the humu picasso, foxface, pinknose, and tang?

Thank you for your replies, I do appreciate the input!

[TitanTV]

the safest thing with a trigger is base rock :-)

[clowntriggerfis]

A regal probibly would get bullied and/or killed.

[snorvich]

the safest thing with a trigger is base rock :-)

Yes, that is probably true. I formerly kept a clown trigger as the only fish, and that was an excellent experience. Very interesting and personable fish. By itself only! Just my opinion.

[collegeman]

Hey Mike,
I would go with a blue throat pair or just a male. I recently purchased a male blue throat and love the color and personality. I will also go with a mag foxface since you are looking for fish with great color. If it is a must i would add a tomini tang if you can get one that is healthy.

[BowieReefer84]

Yes, that is probably true. I formerly kept a clown trigger as the only fish, and that was an excellent experience. Very interesting and personable fish. By itself only! Just my opinion.

What size tank did you have it in? It didn't look too plain being the only fish? How fast will it grow if I get a small one (2"+/-)?

[TitanTV]

I have my Titan Triggerfish who was supposed to be a solo display in a 300ish gallon wide tank. I ended up getting a Jewel Damsel to help clean up the smaller bits of food and since Jewels are bruisers I figured they should be ok together. The Jewel does eat all the smaller scraps and when feeding a clam the Titan gets very aggressive and may chase the Jewel who is a billion times faster and zips through the rocks. But, normally the Jewel ambushes the Titan who will then go "pout" in a hole for a bit.

When talking about growth rates I think some triggers grow fast but others grow very slow. I am getting about half an inch a year growth out of my Titan. There is no way he is "stunted" as the fish is only about 4.25 inches in a massive tank. Heck, the Jewel who I have had about 9 months started at 1 1/2 inch and is now bigger than the Titan.

My wife thinks Nacho is a dwarf Titan Triggerfish. I might have to agree.

[BowieReefer84]

I have my Titan Triggerfish who was supposed to be a solo display in a 300ish gallon wide tank. I ended up getting a Jewel Damsel to help clean up the smaller bits of food and since Jewels are bruisers I figured they should be ok together. The Jewel does eat all the smaller scraps and when feeding a clam the Titan gets very aggressive and may chase the Jewel who is a billion times faster and zips through the rocks. But, normally the Jewel ambushes the Titan who will then go "pout" in a hole for a bit.

When talking about growth rates I think some triggers grow fast but others grow very slow. I am getting about half an inch a year growth out of my Titan. There is no way he is "stunted" as the fish is only about 4.25 inches in a massive tank. Heck, the Jewel who I have had about 9 months started at 1 1/2 inch and is now bigger than the Titan.

My wife thinks Nacho is a dwarf Titan Triggerfish. I might have to agree.

Do you ever get bored just having one fish in such a large tank? Especially when it is still small?

[collegeman]

I use to keep 1 fish in a tank a while ago and i found it boring. I think a mixture of fish with different personalities are fun to have. For instance in my tank i have a yellow tail damsel that guards a shell 24/7 and defends it against a niger trigger, 6in mag foxace and others. This is very funny since the damsel is around 1in. My blue jaw trigger follows me around when i walk from one end of the tank to the other and is the boldest fish in the tank. My six line wrasse acts like a drunk and is extremely fun to watch. I also have a pair of black and white clowns that does laps around the tank around the same time everyday.
With multiple fish the chances of you getting bored are very slim and you have more action in your tank. Even my girlfriend who is semi-interested in the tank loves watching the tank and will not let me get rid of any of the fish i have. I am glad that she love the fish that much so. Now i can upgrade the tank once they get bigger without trying to convince her.

[TitanTV]

Do you ever get bored just having one fish in such a large tank? Especially when it is still small?

I do not think its boring at all. The Titan and Jewel are both very responsive to me and always beg for food/come see me when I walk up to the tank. I like the fact they have tons of room to swim and are in a very healthy environment having just 2 fish in about 410 gallons of water. I do not like the idea of shoving way too many fish in a tank. Instead of keeping a "Marine Aquarium," I keep a pet.

Plus to be honest both the fish I have are known/supposed to be brusiers. I have no desire to add 10 other fish to wake up one morning and the Titan went crazy in the night and killed them all. Heck, one morning I may wake up and just have a 8 inch adult Jewel Damsel if that Titan doesn't start growing. Before I let that happen I will try and split the tank or something.

[collegeman]

I agree with you titantv. Since you have one of the most agressive triggers i would leave it as the only fish in the tank. I am not knocking you for having 1 fish but from my experience i like a couple of fish. I do not think bowiereefer do not plan on having a super agressive trigger but probably one of the more calm ones. If 1 of my trigger became super agressive i would set up another tank for them since they are my favorite fish.

[collegeman]

I agree with you titantv. Since you have one of the most agressive triggers i would leave it as the only fish in the tank. I am not knocking you for having 1 fish but from my experience i like a couple of fish. I do not think bowiereefer do not plan on having a super agressive trigger but probably one of the more calm ones. If 1 of my trigger became super agressive i would set up another tank for them since they are my favorite fish. I also think that fish love to interact with oneanother.