Those that have owned Clown Triggers...

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I'm in the planning stages of my next tank. Won't happen until at least OCt. or Nov., but I like to research It will be in the 240G-340G range.
I know that Clown Triggers are the

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of the trigger world, but Ilike to hear from anyone that has had success keepin them w/ other fish. I plan on a varied, aggressive, FOWLR tank. Very interested in stars and stripes puffers, lunar wrasses, tangs, Tusks, and SFE. I'm not set on a stock list yet, though.
I know that there's always a possibility of deaths in aggressive tanks (I keep piranhas right now, so I've had a few casualties), and especially w/ a clown trigger. I've thought of going the huma huma route, but I'm still stuck on the clown trig, so much personality and activity! It's actually the fish that convinced me to bail on the idea of a 240G Piraya tank.
There have to be some success stories out there....right.....maybe?
Thanks alot,
J

 

[transman]

I currently have a clown with a dogface puffer,lion,panther grouper,and a damsel.the trigger had issues when first introduced to the tank but has been fine since.he tried to bite the puffer at first then the puffer bit back and they have been happy ever since,the only casualty was a cleaner wrasse that was put in later he only lasted two days before the trigger had lunch.i belive that the trigger doesnt show his real aggression until he is an adult,mine is only about 5inches and i have had him about 7 months he was about 2 inches when i got him.hopefully he will be in his new 250 by the time he is mean
i dont know if this helps you just food for thought

 

[cubuffs]

I had one with a tusk, lion, panther grouper, S&S puffer, and a zebra moray. He did fine, but I would encourage you to buy one that is at least 3" long. If they are under that length, I've noticed and done research that says that the probability of them living is much less. So, please buy one that is of a greater length to get the best results.

 

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Originally posted by cubuffs
I had one with a tusk, lion, panther grouper, S&S puffer, and a zebra moray.
Wow, add a purple tang and a b&w Heniochus to those, and you've got the exact tank that'd I'd love to have.
Yeah, I've read the same thing about their mortality at small size. My lfs guy won't even order em unless they're at least 3-4".
J

 

[conogre]

The problem will come when you've had it several years, which is likely to happen if you actually get the 240-340 gal. tank.
Have you ever seen an adult Clown trigger?
Take a football and paint it the same colors and that's what, 12"?
A Clown that size will be the same general shape as a football, getting much wider and more muscular than most people imagine...OK, now make it almost TWICE that big.
WHEN, not if, it goes postal, there's nothing that can stand up to that fish when it attacks!!!
Don't forget, their skin is so leathery that it's almost like armor.
Oh....one last thing.
Watch your hands when working in the tank...that puppy bites through the BONE too.
A pirhana is a complete Wussy compared to many triggers, and since I used to breed red-bellies pirhanas(Serosalmos natteri) that's not just an abstract visualization.
Heck, I had a red devil that would put the fear of God into a pirhana in a heartbeat......when the pirhana tried to sneak up and bite the tail off (their usual attack strategy) the Red Devil would turn and hit it right between the eyes.
If that didn't kill it outright, I'd have to remove it because it would stay in the corner and not come out, terrified of the cichlid.
Don't forget...they occur together in the wild.

 

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The more I look into it, the more I think I'll go w/ a Picasso trigger for my set-up. I know there's still possible probs w/ any trigger, but there seems to be a lot higher success rate with them. They seem to have a "bold" demeanor too, which was probably the most intriguing aspect of the clown trigger. I'm tired of skittish fish.
BTW, you're preaching to the choir about the p's. Red bellies are the worst (pygocentrus nattereri). I have the other two pygo species (Caribe and Piraya) that are, generally at least, much more bold than red bellies. They are nervous, frustrating, and very undeserving of their rep. They have , however, afforded me experience in keeping "unstable tanks". They plowed through a collection of Cichlids that were in the tank (including Oscars, Red Terrors, Convicts, etc.)
At least I've got time to decide.
Any more thoughts would be , as always, appreciated
J

 

[conogre]

Triggers are awesome fish, but the best ones for community tanks are the pelagic species like the Bluechin, which can actually be sexed and kept in pairs, the crosshatch, the Sargassum and the pinktail.
The Undulatus, Queen, Titan and Blueline turn into something that usually ends up owning its own tank.
These guys can and do attack scuba divers and trust me, trying to fight one off underwater is something you remember.....I've seen divers with chunks the size of quarters bitter right out of their ear.
We catch triggers while grouper fishing down here (yes, they're edible, delicious and put up a heck of a fight) and tourists are warned DO NOT get your fingers near their teeth!
It's so hard to believe some of those tiny fish you see in the shops end up being armor plated holy terrors.
One that often gets good reviews for larger tanks is the Niger trigger....these get big but seem milder mannered MOST of the time tha the other big ones.
Many LFS, in order not to lose sales sell small nigers very cheap, and being so graceful with the lyre tails, blue coloring people buy them like hotcakes.
On the other hand, you'll often see large triggers with red fangs that are really impressive called a Vampire trigger...guess what, it's the same fish.
They sell subadults under a different name so people won't realize it's the same fish as they are considerig for their 55 gal. tank and not buy them.
Let the buyer beware is all too often the case.