Clown Triggerfish

[PuffersKick]

I just got a 3-3.5" Clown Trigger for my 215 FOWLR. His temperment is so different from what I expected. I put him in with 2 puffers, 1 lunare wrasse, 1 picasso trigger, imperator angel, sohal & sailfin tangs, & lion fish.

I was really expecting him to be a pretty rowdy with with very outgoing personality. In fact I almost didn't even get him b/c I read where they can be too mean and aggresive! But so far it's the complete opposite. He is very skiddish and just hides most of the time. He swims around slowly at the bottom of the tank & pretty much igonores all my other fish and keeps to himself. And nobody messes with him either.

Granted he's only been in a couple of days and maybe needs some more time to settle in, but does this seem like normal behavior for this fish? He does seem to eat a little bit, but he does not go nuts for the food like all the other fish. And when he swims up to the food he seems rather finiky and the other fish will swim by and take food that's right in front of hime b/c he's too slow.

So did I just get a laid back version of this fish or will he show a different side over time?

[justgeorge]

I'd give him more time. When I first got my blue-jaw trigger he hid whenever I came in the room - feeding him was tough cause he would duck into the cave when I approaced the tank. I had to 'spot feed' him for awhile but now he's out and about all the time. It took about a month.

[jda]

A CT at that size will act nothing like a CT at 6". They can become holy terrors when they settle in and start to grow. I would pay special attention to the flesh on your hands and arms.

[marrone]

At the end of 1 year, when the CT about 6"-9", then come back with a list of fish. I bet a # wouldn't be there from your orginial. :(

[I like Triggers]

i read about many successful stories of people keeping these fish all the time. they only freak out and kill things if they have a reason to. nothing in nature murders for no reason. use good sense and you wont have a problem. in a 215 it will be fine.

[marrone]

A lot of people think that and what usually happens is the fish gets very large, a CT or almost any trigger at 10"+ is very aggressive. The fish attitude will start to change and becomes very aggressive and terrioral and takes over the tank. In a small system, and yes a large CT in a 215 is a small system, the CT will have attack almost all the fish and the reason will be space and aggression.

Just do a search on RC and you'll find the same thing happening over and over again.

[emperora]

he's still small wait until he grows a little ,he and the huma MAY get into some serious battles

[crazyfish]

I like triggers: let's not forget that our tanks are not nature. In the ocean they only kill for food because there aren't the territory issues like there is in a small glass box!

[Zoom]

It is now two years that you got the clown trigger any news about it, been very aggressive.

[spamin76]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6849241#post6849241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by I like Triggers
i read about many successful stories of people keeping these fish all the time. they only freak out and kill things if they have a reason to. nothing in nature murders for no reason. use good sense and you wont have a problem. in a 215 it will be fine.

Like when they hit sexual maturity coupled with an environment tremendously smaller than they would have in the wild. That's a good enough reason for most fish to go berserk. :fun5:

In the wild most triggers, during breeding season especially, will chase any intruder who wanders within their territories which tend to be 30 sq feet or larger. Chases persist for 30-45'.

No hobbyist tank will be anywhere near that size.
Now it is possible that the fish may become adjusted to captive life with tankmates, if their natural urge ever takes over there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

That's why when triggers go bad, they tend to do so in a major way. They are unable to chase unwelcome fish out of their territory, so chasing leads to fighting, which tends to lead to injury and death.

[Puterguru]

I was just asking in another thread if a CT would be ok with my Picasso. It's a 125 gallon tank. Sounds like they might be ok for a while when they are small but that might be a problem when they get larger.

[Zoom]

I try to get some information from the ones they had this fish for a long term to see haw they fair in a reef environment.

[agreeive?fish]

I would love to have a clown trigger but i think my asfur is enough of an jerk for the tank besides that i really dont want to take the chance of waking up one morning and find that i only have a clown trigger in my tank thats living

[ladyshark]

Zoom, I just took a look at your gallery pics--what a wonderful tank!! I am jealous....

[prime311]

I think I've heard of one account of someone keeping a CT long term(yes, just 1) in the same tank with the same other fish with no problems. I've read several accounts of people that run multiple large tanks that could move fish around as needed keeping CT's.

[elecbzerk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12761765#post12761765 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ladyshark
Zoom, I just took a look at your gallery pics--what a wonderful tank!! I am jealous....

Ditto!! That RBTA is huge!!

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12764060#post12764060 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by elecbzerk
Ditto!! That RBTA is huge!!
Sorry to tell you all, but the tank crashed about 20 months a go and kill about 80% of the animals.
I did start over again but the tank took about 18 months to come around it is just as good now as it was .
I restock the tank with a Clown trigger in mind i had one in my FO tank that i give away when my 200g tank crash i had the Clown trigger for five years and i put it to a many test to see if is a coral eater and is not so i rebuild the 200G tank to have a CT in with the reef .
I know what they like and what they eat so all the fish and my corals in this tank are CT safe one thing i have still to do is to cover the wires from the Tunze streams the last one was biting on them and cost me $345 to get a new pump .
I did get a new small clown trigger about two weeks a go it is now in the 200G tank with all my corals and some fish.