Niger Trigger

johnnyd

johnnyd

Member
picked up a 3 inch niger and hopefully it can stay in my tank. it was aggressive at the pet store they said.
it has bit my dwarf angel (more of a peck) and my marron clown (peck also) when they go by his cave.
i think its just showing the fish whos boss and that the fish doesnt want them going by his home.
the niger also bit my eel cause it swims through the cave but the eel bit it back (soft bite/peck like when a dog plays etc) and later the eel swam up to the niger and the niger froze and turned on its side like it was summitting.
so any one has some storys with this fish, i know they can be really mean when they get bigger.
 
jag2232

jag2232

Member
One of the tanks at my school has one and its actually a model citizen. It gets pushed around alot by a powder blue tang.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Assuming that your tank is an appropriate size, I wouldn't worry too much about the minor aggression you described. Almost all fish will display some territoriality/defensiveness in tanks. I generally think that as long as there is no damage being caused, the fish will work it out with no ill effects.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
If it's pecking at your fish now, it will not get better. It's only gonna get worst.
I had a niger that was pretty peaceful at first, but it got more and more agressive as it grew. It absolutely hated my maroon clown. It completely shredded it up one day. Got there in time to take the maroon out and put it in my other tank. But things got worst. It got really agressive to the point that my other fish were hiding all the time and couldn't come out to eat. And we're not talking about wimpy fish here... foxface, queen angel, powder blue tang, harlequin tusk. Finally had to sell it to the pet store. I felt sorry because it was a cool fish. But sooner or later it would have killed my other fish.
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
Niger Triggers are commonly available at small sizes (2-3 inch), they are inexpensive, beautiful and hardy....Problem is your 3 inch Niger Trigger will turn into an 8 inch Red Fanged Monster (they get 20 inches in the wild) in a few years, as RCreations said the aggression will likely only get worse as he gets bigger.
My 1st Niger I got at 2 inch long in my previous tank, he was bullied by my big 5 inch Maroon Clown for a few years until my Niger got to about the same size, then he turned on the Maroon in a hurry, he tortured that Clown within an inch of his life before I got the Clown out to my smaller tank, after a month or so I tried to return the recovered Clown, the Niger did the same thing.....I had a more aggressive, faster, larger Achilles Tang in the tank that kept the Niger in line for the most part, I think anytime a Niger is the "boss" you are looking at trouble.
Juvi Niger's are great, however they grow into adults that belong in large tanks with "rough and nasty" tankmates that can protect themselves....Small, slow moving fish beware.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2861018
Niger Triggers are commonly available at small sizes (2-3 inch), they are inexpensive, beautiful and hardy....Problem is your 3 inch Niger Trigger will turn into an 8 inch Red Fanged Monster (they get 20 inches in the wild) in a few years, as RCreations said the aggression will likely only get worse as he gets bigger.
My 1st Niger I got at 2 inch long in my previous tank, he was bullied by my big 5 inch Maroon Clown for a few years until my Niger got to about the same size, then he turned on the Maroon in a hurry, he tortured that Clown within an inch of his life before I got the Clown out to my smaller tank, after a month or so I tried to return the recovered Clown, the Niger did the same thing.....I had a more aggressive, faster, larger Achilles Tang in the tank that kept the Niger in line for the most part, I think anytime a Niger is the "boss" you are looking at trouble.
Juvi Niger's are great, however they grow into adults that belong in large tanks with "rough and nasty" tankmates that can protect themselves....Small, slow moving fish beware.
I agree 100%. Like some kids (not mine, of course); Nigers are cute when little. Their genes tell them to be aggressive; and sooner or later, that's the way they turn out. There is no way you can tell how an adult fish will behave by seeing it at the lfs or in your tank for a short time. Research will tell you they are aggressive fish, and they are.
BTW, your maroon clown, especially if it turns out to be a big female, can be one tough fish too. Not like a trigger; but they are very territorial and usually won't tolerate other clowns; beautiful fish, though, one of my favorites.
 
U

usirchchris

Guest
Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2861103
I agree 100%. Like some kids (not mine, of course); Nigers are cute when little. Their genes tell them to be aggressive; and sooner or later, that's the way they turn out. There is no way you can tell how an adult fish will behave by seeing it at the lfs or in your tank for a short time. Research will tell you they are aggressive fish, and they are.
+1

My niger is getting to the 3-4" range and is begining to snap at everything in the tank (he was a model citizen). He will get along great with my mean porcupine who ironically was the same way. Nice while young, but now mean especially during feeding.
 
johnnyd

johnnyd

Member
its in a 75g it fine for the size of the niger and i know when its full grown it will need abigger tank. today it has been fine and hasnt bothered any fish. my marron acutally took some food from it and it did nothing. so im just keepping and eye out, i know there are alot of people that have less aggressive niger it seems 50/50 so i will post updates.
 
oceanlover

oceanlover

Member
Originally Posted by johnnyd
http:///forum/post/2861741
its in a 75g it fine for the size of the niger and i know when its full grown it will need abigger tank. today it has been fine and hasnt bothered any fish. my marron acutally took some food from it and it did nothing. so im just keepping and eye out, i know there are alot of people that have less aggressive niger it seems 50/50 so i will post updates.


AND PICTURES, remember to post pictures!
 
U

usirchchris

Guest
Originally Posted by johnnyd
http:///forum/post/2861741
its in a 75g it fine for the size of the niger and i know when its full grown it will need abigger tank. today it has been fine and hasnt bothered any fish. my marron acutally took some food from it and it did nothing. so im just keepping and eye out, i know there are alot of people that have less aggressive niger it seems 50/50 so i will post updates.

I think it will be fine in a 75 (for a while), and yeah, I was not trying to say that your fish would be exactly like mine. They are all different. Just saying from my experience...mine is unfortunately a jerk. I have had some very docile triggers in the past (picasso's, niger's, and an undulate...that was by itself
), but my last two (niger and picasso) have been very aggressive
.
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
Originally Posted by usirchchris
http:///forum/post/2863875
I think it will be fine in a 75 (for a while), and yeah, I was not trying to say that your fish would be exactly like mine. They are all different. Just saying from my experience...mine is unfortunately a jerk. I have had some very docile triggers in the past (picasso's, niger's, and an undulate...that was by itself
), but my last two (niger and picasso) have been very aggressive
.
they just take after me chris, thats all it is
 
johnnyd

johnnyd

Member
Originally Posted by OceanLover
http:///forum/post/2863871
AND PICTURES, remember to post pictures!
ya i def. will post some pics tommorow
today thr trig was normal chased at mny dwarf angel few times cause the angel is always swimming all over the place and swims where the trig sleeps.
so far things are going good.
 
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