Humu Humu Trigger ? is this normal

[rolling_g]

I would like to know if this is normal This is my first trigger .....He is making my tank cloudy every day by rubbing his side up on the LR and sand . He also eats the sand and spits it out all the time . What can I do ? He is so cool of a fish but I hate seeing my tank cloudy like this . I'm put a new carbon prefilter in the wet dry but not really helping .

 

[mile_high]

He's making your tank cloudy from rubbing on the live rock? I'm not sure I understand this. is he knocking stuff off of the rock and thats whats causing the cloud up ?
I understand that it chews on the gravel and spits it out but this should not cause the water to cloud up.
Help us out a little bit . How big is the tank and water peramiters and such. any thing you have done to the tank lately. new rock or sand how long has it been up and running. how big is your fish.

 

[rolling_g]

the tank has bin running for 2 months . water conditions ammonia 0ppm nitrite 0 nitrate 10 ph 8.0 . Tank size 125 gals with 100lbs of LR and 120lbs LS . He is hitting the side of the rocks and sand and and its turning up stuff in the tank cloudy . The trigger is about 3 1/2 inches long

 

[triggered]

Yep, ours does the same thing. We have a Pinktail, Picasso, and Undy. The Picasso is always hitting the live rock, looking for food.

He also picks through the substrate looking for food.

Is it real cloudy, or just a little? :notsure: Ours stirs our water a little, throughout the day, but not to the extent it is real cloudy.........................Peace

 

[reeftank27]

if he is hitting the rocks he might have ich. does he have any parasites you can see? ph that is too low can also cause them to scratch at rock and sand. just some thoughts.

 

[barkdog]

Sounds like he has ich if he is rubbing his side on the rock. Its often hard to see ich on the humu's, but you may notice that his tail fin has white specs or just looks a little ugly on the clear part. If you let him do this for too long he will lose his scales and die. Good course of action would be to give him a freshwater dip, then put him in a copper treated quarantine tank for at least 3 weeks. Make sure the Q tank doesnt have any abrasive rocks or other stuff he can continue to damage himself on.

 

[triggered]

In my opinion, as a beginner, and watching ours for the past year, as well as snorkling and seeing their behavior, I disagree that it has ich. If he is hitting the rocks with his body, it is a sign of aggression. All three of our triggers show their dominance by hitting the rock with their bodies. I saw it when we went snorkling as well. That is normal behavior........Peace

 

[reeftank27]

ive owned many triggers, clowns, nigers, humas, undulated, and never once did they hit the rocks or scratch, i think he isnt happy, you cant always see the parasites, if he doesnt stop i would treat him, it cant hurt. its better to be safe than sorry

 

[rolling_g]

He looks ok no signs on his body , but boy he loves to lay in the LR all day and night . I just checked the water all the levels are ok PH is 8.2 . Heres a ? how much do you guys feed them ? 1 a day , 2 a day , every other day ?

 

[reeftank27]

i used to feed mine once a day and i would switch it up with mysis siversides, clams, and krill killed one of my clown triggers, it ate to much and couldnt pass it, so if you feed krill do it in moderations.

 

[carpe_diem]

my tank is ich free and my picasso and niger does it once in awhile. as far as picking up sand/biting rocks, this is normal. they are known to be rock movers.

 

[rolling_g]

thanks guys sounds like my trigger is normal then .....

 

[barkdog]

Is he focusing on one rock trying to move it, or is it just anr rock in the tank? Keep an eye on him and make sure that he is not damaging himself.
I've had a triggers for a few years now, and the only time I saw that behavior was when one tank had an ich outbreak.
I also got back from Hawaii 2 days ago and saw plenty of triggers while snorkling. Didnt see a single one hitting a rock.

 

[triggered]

When we went snorkling in the Keys, the fish were doing it, (hitting rocks)

It is a territorial thing, domination. I saw parrot fish and other species doing it as well. So unless the Atlantic Ocean has a huge case of ich, I would say it is normal behavior...........Peace
P.S. Our Pinktail is famous for laying on it's side, the Undy goes upside down, and the Picasso sleeps on his nose. Pinktail hovers over the Undy, laying flat. I swear they would mate if they could, really! I think it is more the "male" in the Pink than the "female" in the Undy

 

[reeftank27]

yes laying on their sides and sleeping weird is normal, but i agree with barkdog that scratching at the rocks is not, you can do what you want but if it was my fish, i would treat him as if he had ick.

 

[triggered]

Well, I know what we saw, and my man has seen it before. As a matter of fact, the first fish I saw in that manner was a Parrot fish on the Looe Key Reef. We pointed it out to one another. It is territorial and a show of aggression.
So, if I have witnessed this occurring in the Atlantic Ocean with Parrot fish and other species, does the Atlantic has ich? I don't think so..............Peace

 

[rolling_g]

Well he looks ok , but He does this everywhere in the tank on the rocks on the sand even the sides of the tank . I don't see anything on him but he does this more after I feed him .

 

[oreo12]

Mine spits out sand all the time but the only time I ever seen it rub up against anything he had ich. They can get into some real tight spots and hide as well.

 

[triggered]

Originally Posted by rolling_g
Well he looks ok , but He does this everywhere in the tank on the rocks on the sand even the sides of the tank . I don't see anything on him but he does this more after I feed him .

He is full of himself after he eats, it is his way of showing the other fish who is boss, they are in his tank, he owns it. It is a show of dominance, really.
What other fish do you have in with him? Are they showing any signs of ich?
I am new to this, but I am an "avid" watcher and have witnessed this behavior in the wild as well as in tanks, not just ours. It is "normal" for them..........Peace

 

[oreo12]

Any pics?