Humu Humu Trigger

[bwets_angel]

I have had a humu humu trigger in my tank for over a year and I don't think it has grown at all. It was the first fish I put in my tank and all of my other fish have grown but it hasn't. Is this normal for them or is there something else going on? He eats just as much as all the other fish when I feed them but for some reason they're growing and he's not. He is only about 2 inches long and use to be the biggest fish in the tank but he is now the smallest. If anyone know anything about this please advise about what to do.

 

[bwets_angel]

55 for now but upgrading soon.

 

[gkp]

I think there is 3 reasons fish dont seem to grow...one is diet and how often you feed... young fish should eat very often and any aged fish will grow slow if not fed right. 2 is water quality or lack there of.......3 is all animals can have there size stunted by lack of feeding or a bad diet at an early age( meaning they will never get to full size even if fed right later). You dont know what this fish has been through before you..
Your tank size .....CAN not and WILL not stunt a fishes size

 

[conogre]

The most likely answer is the foods that you are feeding it and the amounts of those foods.
Get some raw shrimp or crab legs from the seafood section of the gocery store and cut it up into pieces for the trigger 2-3 times per day and stand back and watch.
If fed brine shrimp, flake food etc. you're lucky it's still alive.

 

[puffygrrl]

I got my Humu when he was only 2" long about a year ago, now he is almost 6"! I would agree that is is most likely the feeding and diet. All the books or articles I have read about triggers says they need to be fed 2-3 times A DAY! That seems rediculous from a "clean tank" perspective, but I can tell you it can be done.
My Humu is in a 90-gallon with a Passer Angel, Lunare Wrasse and Sharpnose Puffer. I have a 30-gallon sump with basic filter pads instead of Bio-balls. I run the EoroReef E6-1 skimmer and have over 150lbs of LR. I restock the tank monthly with crabs to help clean and provide a live "hunting" food source for the boys to wear down their teeth.
I feed twice a day from a menu of mysis, krill, shrimp, clams, squid, silversides (large and small), angel formula, trigger formula, formula VHP, Prime Reef, Spirulina, beef heart and plankton. In addition, every other week I put in seaweed (which ALL eat) and every month I pick up three fresh raw longneck or cherrystone clams or mussles from the grocery store.
I run zero nitrates on the tank and my fish are happy and healthy. A couple battles have yeilded some cuts and bites every now and then, but they heal and disappear within 3 days.
Hope this was of some help. Good Luck!

 

[petem]

Well, your post helped me. I just bought my Hummu trigger today. He is about an inch in length, and a $9.99 I couldnt resist. I saw a 4 or 5 inch one for $35, but thought I'd get the smaller one. My lfs also told me to buy this Frozen "variety pak" which contains chock ful o' nuts of starfish pieces, and other food stuffs suitable for triggers and other fish. I havent read the entire ingredients. But, I gave it to him earlier, and he gobbled it right up. I also bought a Maculosous Angel (juvie). He's a bit frightened. He hides in the PVC pipe that I put in the QT.
As far as the feeding schedule you mentioned...there are some days where I feed my puffer and eel twice, and somedays where I feed them only once. The eel has grown to 6 inches since I bought him back in Feb. as a baby. I've been giving him chopped up squid, and scallops. I had to give him this, since he wouldnt take Krill. Since I got my puffer last month, the eel has been eating the Krill. I think he enjoys snatching it right from the puffer.

 

[bwets_angel]

My hummu hummu gets fed the same thing and just as much as all my other fish and he's the only one not growing. I also have had a Niger Trigger for like six months and it has grown several inches but not my hummu hummu. Something I just thought of was when I changed out the sand in the bottom of my tank, him and a coral beauty I had got left in the tank while the water was nasty and cloudy for several weeks since my filter broke right after the sand change. Well the Angel died and he lived but hasn't grown since. Could that be what caused his lack of growth since he was in the cloudy water for at least a week while I was trying to find him?