help me decide,...triggers...or a reef??????

[rankin]

ok i am trying to decide whether or not i want to do an aggressive set up or a reef tank.....if i go aggressive, i want a trigger, but i only have a 65 gallon tank (with a 20 gallon sump) are there any triggers that are not as notoriously messy eaters or as aggressive as most triggers.....and what size/type of trigger should i get if i decide to go this way.....also what other fish can be kept with them, i know they will move LR around but will they do damage to it?
the only reason i'm not sure that i want to do a reef again is that i really dont wanna fork out the big bucks for some MH lighting and alot of other things that i would need for a reef tank also i have never tried an aggressive setup. i have also heard that triggers are more of a pet than any other type of fish.......thanx for any help you can give in answering these ?'s
~Rankin <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />

 

[kev]

If I were you, I would get a baby Picasso trigger AKA Humu Humu. Although they do get pretty big when full grown, it should be ok. Most will tell you that ANY type of triggerfish will need a large tank when full grown. But they aren't too aggressive, and they look really cool! As far as other fish to keep with triggers. It needs to be a "larger" fish that can keep its own(obviously a little aggressive, and not the small, passive types of fish). Triggers may move your LR around a little... but this won't hurt your LR at all.

 

[silkks11]

Hello, For triggers you could get a pink tailed, niger, bursa, or a Huma huma, even a small undulate. Triggers are extremely cool and active so you should enjoy any of them. Fish to add with the, groupers, lions, sharks, all do fine, but I do not recamend a shark in a 65 gallon tank. Also wrasses and some angels along with some tangs are nasty enough to stay with the agressive setups.

 

[clowntrigger2k]

i would go with triggers because they are awesome and cool to feed , they swim around with this attitude of i,am the king and i hav a couple
undulated
clowntrigger
huma huma
niger
with a black lion
a big tomato clown
a snowflake eel
and they get along but at times they chase each other but it is cool to see the way there are for food but don,t get some thing that can,t defend them selfs because they will become food ,well good luck

 

[gibbus]

You cant keep triggers with sharks.

 

[karvis]

reef, you can get more fish that way!!!!

 

[karvis]

 

[platinum75]

If you get a trigger, but want a more tame type, I think you should go with a Niger trigger. They are a really cool indigo color and look a little like a bat or a manta ray swimming around. They also are one of the most peaceful of the triggers, so you could put in other fish like a yellow tang with it. The only drawback to meateating fish is that you always have to buy them feeder fish. not only does it get expensive, but it makes the tank get dirty fast. Watching your fish chow down on goldfish might be the main reason you want to buy a trigger, but I had piranhas. It was cool to watch them eat, but it got annoying after a while, having to buy a bag of gold fish every time I went to town.
to sum up: If you want a bunch of variety and interesting fish/creatures go with a reef. If you want to focus your attention on one fish and keep him as a special pet and are willing to buy him live food all the time, get the trigger.
(The piranhas I had made me tired of meat-eating fish, so I went with a reef tank.)

 

[perchpsk]

Well posting on this area you may find some bias as most of us have aggressive setups. If i had to do it over again personally i wouldnt put triggers in anything less than a 200 gallon, just so they had enough room to get huge and it looks better to display them. in a 75 i would recommend a small reef setup with tangs and the like. jusy my 2 cents

 

[joe's reefer]

go with a reef you cant keep that many aggressive fish in your tyanks size for long because you'll have to sell and get new ones every time one gets to big and you rank wil never really be settled

 

[rankin]

well i'm ok with the getting fish all the time because i already have pirhana's and a 30 gallon breeding tank with about 150 guppys.....gunna hafta restock soon though.....but if i got say a picasso or a niger would a powder blue be compatible with either of these fish.....
~Rankin

 

[platinum75]

At my local pet shop They always have picasso triggers in a tank by themselves, but They have a niger trigger and a power blue tang along with a zebra eel and other assorted fish in a 125 gallon tank. Just make sure the tang ins not smaller than the trigger. by the way how many piranhas do you have and do you ever post on the piranha board at piranha.org?

 

[tbone]

Thats a tough call rankin, 65 is not that big...
Well if you go aggresive get a Niger they are one of the least aggresive (all though fish have their own personalities so it's relly a role of the dice.)Add him last and get him small around 2 inches is good. (That's what mine is now) Honestly though if I were you I go the other way you will get more fish nice reef set up with inverts, There will be more going on in there. Just my 2 cents.....

 

[nss11110]

the niger trigger is surposed to be the least agressive and the smallest. they also got great personality imo

 

[400galloncharlie]

Actually, the only two triggers that are recommended (for life) in that size tank are the Blue Throat and Undulated. If you want a long-term set-up, you probably would not want to add more than one or two other fish, which wuld have to be able to fend for themselves (which, if you pick the undulated, is becomes a pretty mighty task as the undulated grows). If you want to have a decent amount of fish, along with other critters and some live rock that does not get chewed up by the triggers, go with the reef or reef-ish set up. The smaller fish would probably be more comfortable in a 65 than a couple of triggers when they get big. My $.02.

 

[tyrfing]

Just to clarify, you don't need to always feed "meat-eating fish" feeders. In fact, it's not reccomended in saltwater. The body chemistry of saltwater fish is different than freshwater. Putting freshwater feeders in may look cool, but in reality they offer little if any nutritious value. In fact, the oils and fats in freshwater fish build up in the liver of saltwater fish and become toxic after time. That's why most hobbyists on this board reccomend weaning lions and triggers from feeders ASAP.

 

[coolguys]

well ,that depends. when i first started the hobbie 7 y ago i had every coral you may think. after like 3 to 4 years i did not have time to mantained a well balanced aqu. (water changes etc.) plus you know corals die pretty easily with poor water quality. now i have predators including 3 triggers and i could not be happier. less hassles in terms on maintanience, etc, plus the coolguys are extremely hardy and with a sense of humor too. they are very intelligent. my set up is 1

[hr]
, 1 clown, 1 picasso, 1 yellow tang, 1 naso tang, 1 dogface puffer and a zebra moray in a 90 gallons. they are all about the same size excluding the clown of course(smaller). no problem whatsoever and they live happy. plus live sand and live rock of course, nothing else.
is pretty much a care free aquarium with water changes every 2 months, with good skimming of course and cleanings in between.

 

[b volitans]

I would go with the trigger... they have so much personality and are just cool! I wouldn't go with a Niger trigger because they get too Big (for a 65)I saw one at a LFS and they had a Niger Trigger that had to be at least 13-14inches... I would go with the Picasso because they stay around the 10inch length. They also are pretty mild mannered, so you could get smaller fish and make the Trigger the Pivotal species.

 

[katfish]

The answer to your question is --How much $$ are you willing to spend?
I would think for a properly set-up Reef Tank you would need a minimum $1000 for the correct lighting,protein skimmer,live rock,etc. <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />

 

[holacanthus]

BUrsa triggers stay in the 8" range and many never reach that. I have one right now in a 180g reef tank with a shoal of chromis that are 1.5" long and he has never touched 1. He does like crabs though but dosen't seem to like snails or shrimp. He is in the tank with the chromis, an emporer angel, a fishers angel , flame hawk, a dwarf moray, and a black longnose tang! Bursas, Picassos, Rectangulars, and Nigers seem to be the mellowest of most triggers though! and if you want a stand out show trigger, Get a Titan, they are stunning in adult coloration and seems to really light up the tank, but they grow to about 2' so a large tank is needed! Good luck though.