harlequin tusk

topfish

topfish

Member
I have a 250 gallon, with a niger triggerfish, a clown triggerfish, a blue line triggerfish (all triggers around 3 to 4 in.) a panther grouper(5 in.), and a chainlink eel (11 in.). Would a harlequin tusk do good in my setup? Also, my lfs said when harlequin tusks grow older there teeth turn blue, is this true? :confused:
 
dlight692000

dlight692000

Member
i dunno man.. to answer you questin there teeth are always blue, you would have to get tusk that is like 6 inches, well at least i would if i was gonna put it in there with all those triggers, and defintely put him at night
 
grouper 42

grouper 42

Member
They are great fish but are not cheap. I have had one for several months. They don't seem to have much capacity to defend themselves though. If the triggers begin to pick on him he may won't last. You may get away with it for a time because you have small aggressive fish in a large tank but it won't last for long. I have had triggers before and won't buy another let alone three.
 
topfish

topfish

Member
All of my triggers are nice, becides my clown, although he isn't that aggressive. The biggest one is the blue line which is 4 in. and he isn't aggressive at all. Hasn't done one bad thing yet, the clown and niger are 3 in. I was thinking maybe a 5 to 5 1/2 inch tusk.
 
tjswanson

tjswanson

Member
The bigger the tusk the better. They don't defend themselves very well. Especially w/ 3 triggers. I would try to get as big of one as you can and definetly put it in the tank at night. TJ
 
topfish

topfish

Member
just wondering, when you mean "by night", do you mean like turn the tank lights off, because I do that all the time to decrease stress, or put it in like at 8 at night? :confused:
 
dlight692000

dlight692000

Member
when the triggers are asleep in their rocks you should do it. also you should get lots of rock work for him to hide if someone does pick on him. the blue line i promise one day may just snap and kill everything
 
humuhumu

humuhumu

Member
You have baby fish that will grow large and more aggressive as they get older. The combination you have choosen will be a problem some day. Do yourself a favor and forget the harliquin tusk.
 
topfish

topfish

Member
I know these fish will get bigger, but that would be in a couple of years, by then I would probably have a bigger tank ready for these big fish. My blue line trigger is extremely docile and I mean extremely docile. He is the one who gets picked on, the niger and clown every once in a while pick on him, and he just swims away. I know blue line triggers have been known to be realy mean, but sometimes you get exceptions. I have a friend with a really wimpy undulated, i bet a cleaner wrasse can beat it up (we'll I may be a little exagerating ;) ) but the undulated is a wuss. I really think my blue line is one of those "exceptions". So I guess I'll have to pass on the tusk :( .
 
dasnake03

dasnake03

Member
Don't pass on the tusk,just get a nice size one. Turn the lights off and feed the triggers before you add the tusk and you will be alright. Tusks aren't little wimpy fish, they will defend themselves!
 
dasnake03

dasnake03

Member
A 5-6" one would be your best bet. Once he gets established he will hog all the food. My tusk chases my bird wrasse around trying to pull the krill out of his mouth.The bird wrasse is about 2" bigger than him too! The only trigger I would worry about, is the blue line when it gets bigger. But you should be fine.
 
makofury

makofury

Member
I know this may sound ridiculous, but one of my friends had a tusk, a clown trigger, a yellow tang, and a baby emperor angel all in a 20 GALLON!!! Yes, I know, grossly overcrowded, well, he loved the tusk, and when the trigger started picking on it, he ditched the clown trigger, but his tank is awesome and all of his fish are in perfect condition. Just a comment...
 
topfish

topfish

Member
All of those fish in a 20? Does he know its overstocking? That's pretty bad, but I bet it looks awesome!but not for the fish.
 
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