Clown Trigger questions...

tijil

Member
I have just purchased a new juvenile Clown Trigger. He is currently residing in a 125 gallon tank with approximately 50 pounds of lace rock and 10 pounds of live rock. I do plan to get more rock. Anyway, his current inhabitants are a juvenile Niger, a 3" Tomato Clown, and 2 3" Blue Damsels. As the triggers grow, I will remove the damsels and clownfish. Now, I have 3 questions...
1. I eventually hope to buy a snowflake or yellow-head moray. Would this eel be safe in a tank with the triggers?
2. I have heard some rather unnerving reports that my clown trigger will remain peaceful for years, then suddenly get nasty and kill off the other fish. Will this happen? Will the Niger and the moray be safe?
3. I have also heard one final thought that baby clown triggers have very low survival rates. These fish are expensive way down where I live, and I would like to know if they are prone to dying fast. He seems to be eating, swimming actively, and looks fine.
I thank you for all help I get.
 

grouperhead

Active Member
1. More likely than not the eel would be fine provided he has plenty of rockwork, hiding places, and a pvc tube to call home.
2. Clowns can be very Jeckyll and Hydish, some stay peaceful, others "snap". They usually "snap" when they reach around 6" or a little larger. When they mature they often times become very belligerant. Many a time clown triggers that were bought small and raised to adulthood while living with other fishes will be more peaceful. Having your niger in the tank already will help, and the niger will possibly set himself as the dominant fish in the tank. As long as the eel has hides he should be ok...
3. They don't have a very low survival rate, some babies just die for no apparent reason really. Maybe shipping really hits them hard. Most die within the first few weeks or month I believe. For his best health, feed a varied diet soaked in zoe or selcon once or twice a week.
Hope this helps, Bo
 

tijil

Member
Thank you for the reply.
Unfortunately, my clown trigger died this morning. Seemed like he couldn't swim right or something. The constant harassment from the damsels didn't help, either. I took them out, but it was too late.
 

treble

Member
Baby pufferfish that I used to raise were the same... Some would loose and become disoriented. NO idea why...some bacteria or something that attacks the sensory organs.
 

grouperhead

Active Member
If you still want a clown, I suggest waiting a while (3 weeks) and then getting a larger one of at least 5". Bo
 

jdl/dayton

Member
One of the main reasons baby clown triggers die is the way many of them are caught. Unfortunately many of the locations where the babies are caught use cyanide in low levels to stun the fish and allow for easy collecting. This is prevalent in the Phillippines. Many times the fish caught this way die "unexpectedly"
 
actually the phillipines are banned of exporting any goods for the cyanide reasons. another thing is that clown triggers arent very good swimmers so they get diseases from breathing the same water over before the filtration process. I have a baby clown trigger and he's very hardy but withing two days he got fin rot and i have been treating it with some stuff that we use at the shedd aquarium and that's where i work. So far the fish hasnt got rid of the disease.:mad:
 

eslowfiddy

Member
The LFS has a beautiful 6" (or larger) clown trigger. He's in a tank all by himself. I asked why and they told me that he had killed FIVE snow flake eels.
Very pretty fish but after hearing that I am happy to stick with puffers, lions and tangs.
-E
 
I

irenicus

Guest
Does socializing the Clown early curb it's antisocial behavior?
 
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