Blue Chin Trigger Help.....

[guitarplr85]

Hello,
I have purchased a blue chin trigger, I have done my research and found that they were peaceful and reef safe fish. Now thats not the problem, I got him about Four days ago and I understand at first that threre shy. He swims like crazy in and out of the live rock all over the tank, but when I walk up to the tank to feed the fish he will hide and I dont think he is eating. Could he still be shy? Im feeding Cyclopeeze, Mysis shrimp and Krill, not all at once I mix it up between the week
Thanks
Eric

 

[t316]

I am not familiar with the blue chin, but this behavior in general is normal for some new fish. However, you must get him to eat if you want him to live. Try some fresh seafood from the grocery store, soaked in some garlic juice to entice him. As long as you get him to eat 'something'.

 

[kjr_trig]

Very common for the Xanthicthys family of Triggers (Blue Jaw, Sargassum, Crosshatch), does he have any aggressive tankmates bugging him? Like T316 said try a variety of meaty foods with garlic to entice him, a fresh open clam is good too. Give him time, these are hardy fish like all Triggers, the trick is getting them comfortable....Future reference, the fewer fish in the tank, the quicker these guys will adjust.

 

[kevin34]

how big is the trigger? If its large enough give it large chunks of meaty foods instead of the tiny stuff. I dont think a trigger would bother eating cyclopeeze or mysis unless you have a very small one. have you seen it eat anything at all?

 

[aquaknight]

KJR has it correct. When I had my first Blue Jaw, I didn't see him for at least the first week and a half. I could peek around the corner of the room, but if I got too close, he'd dart back in. Some fish are more shy then others, and in some cases, some Xanthichthys triggers can be extremely shy. I would ditch feeding cyclopeeze, unless you have other fish that eat it, and try and feed a bit more meaty foods like chopped pieces of silversides, squid, and clam.
What other fish do you have, by the what? Just make sure to watch out from aggressive from other fish.

 

[guitarplr85]

I have two Percula clowns, a lawnmower blenny. Then i have a Coral Bandet Shrimp, 3 Snails, 3 crabs. I have Mushrums, Frog spawn, brain coral, and zoanthids. The blue jaw trigger is about an inch and a half maybe two. My clowns, and my lawnmower eat the cyclopeeze and the mysislike crazy, my coral bandet gets krill every once in a while. All the food I seperate in containers with a drop vita chem and Kent marine garlic xtreme. Like I said the first day he hid but the secound day he was in and out. he would hide, then swim around. When I feed the fish he will come up like he is going to eat then go down and hide. Maybe he is realy shy, I have read that they can be very shy but then they will open up with time.

 

[guitarplr85]

Sorry forgot to say, none of the fish mess with him at all. He will swim with the clowns. They dont pick on him at all, nither will the lawnmower.
Thanks again