To all Trigger lovers

[fastazzr1]

Originally Posted by alfon76
Wow, this got ugly quickly. I am very surprised both of you (fastazzr1 and BIGMAN) are being successful keeping so many triggers together but at the same time I am happy they appear to be doing good. Advice and criticism sometimes go hand in hand and we have to be mature enough to take it either way.
There are no fish Gods but there is a lot of literature out there that serves as a guideline for many of us to follow in order to establish a healthy marine environment and many, if not all, of these guidelines say that triggers are nothing short of mean and territorial towards almost anything, especially other triggers. Based on this I can see everyone here taking a position that clashed with both of you guys. However, if you are being successful and this is indeed a controlled risk (meaning you have a plan if the experiment doesn't work other than allowing the fishes to kill each other) then by all means you have my blessing and my awe as the tanks should look incredible with so many wonderful species together.
Rest assured I will never, ever advice anyone to do what you guys are doing as I don't want that on my conscience but if you are successful I can always tell people that it is not recommended but has been done by a few individuals.
We are all here looking after the best interests of the fishes but even if you guys feel attacked you still need to realize one thing, you are both going against the current so you are bound to find resistance.
Happy fish keeping guys and God bless your fishes/experiment.
Ivan
thank you for a very intelligent reply and i'll keep you informed. but now can we get back to the question that this topic was started on. what other beautiful and rare triggers are out there for the home aquarium?

 

[alfon76]

How about Titan Triggers (Balistoides viridescens)? I have only seen them available once, maybe twice, and they are always in demand. And from what I have read about them, quite aggressive too.
Ivan

 

[fastazzr1]

Originally Posted by alfon76
How about Titan Triggers (Balistoides viridescens)? I have only seen them available once, maybe twice, and they are always in demand. And from what I have read about them, quite aggressive too.
Ivan
do you have any pics or know where i can see a pic of one?

 

[alfon76]

Type Titan Trigger on google images and voila.
Ivan

 

[bigman]

i too thankyou for the positve and maybe negative advise at least your not saying it cant be done and we are gonna lose all our fish it seems like you have an open mind about it even though you dont agree with it. I will also keep you advised and yes i have a back up plan if or when things go south.i just pick up a african golden trigger. so far so good.

 

[aw2x3]

Titan Triggers are not rare, per say. They're just not kept, often, because they are the largest of the Trigger species...reaching upwards of 3' in length. Be careful, when looking for this particular species because they're often mixed up with Yellow Margin Triggers.
Good luck with the Golden Heart Trigger. They're quite rare (haven't been imported in the last 10 years). There was just an influx of them, into the United States. I was going to purchase one but did not feel my current tank was large enough, with the current stock list. If I could drag one of my 200gal+ tanks out of my garage, I'd certainly have purchased, but I have no where to put such a large tank in my current housing situation.
Please, post pics of your tank, when you can.

 

[bigman]

I will post pics i tryed but files to large so im working on that. And i also thank you for your comments as well weather or not i agree with them . i see your trying to help but some of us just are stubburen and or hard headed. Im only doing a trigger tank because ive seen several done.

 

[aw2x3]

Other than Morays Eels (which are my forte), Trigger fish are my favs. At one time, I had a Queen, Clown, Blue Jaw and a Black Durgeon in one of my 200gal. tanks.
I wasn't trying to say that it COULD NOT be done, I was simply saying it could not be done, long term, in the size tank you currently have.
If you have plans to considerably upgrade, in the future, then you'll have one hell of a tank.

 

[bigman]

so your saying that a 350g is to small? just asking because ive see them huge in a 200g my lfs has them in there and he has a clown trigger about 15inches with lion fish and other triggers and has had them for disply for about 6months,

 

[aw2x3]

In my honest opinion, for the species you're wanting to keep, yes...350gal. is too small.
You'll hear story after story about people keeping Clowns and say how peaceful they are, how gentle they are, how they'd never hurt their other fish. I've heard instances of this happening for 5+ years. Then, you'll see the post of "I came home and there was only bits and pieces left of over $1000 worth of fish and my Clown Trigger was swimming around with a full belly!". When we say it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN, we're serious.
I've personally been attacked by Queens, Clowns and even chased down by a 24"+ Titan, while diving. They have no fear, don't care how much bigger than them you are, etc. If you're in their territory, you'll either be chased out or killed.
A buddy of mine had a Queen Trigger for quite a long time, in a tank with a 15" Volitan, a 16" Miniatus Grouper and a 14" Dog Faced Puffer. One day, he found the Volitan with it's head completely eaten off, the Puffer with it's stomach ripped out and he only found half of the Miniatus. The Queen now resides alone.
I'd have to say a minimum of 500gal display and even that might be a little too cramped, once these guys get big.

 

[fastazzr1]

Originally Posted by AW2x3
In my honest opinion, for the species you're wanting to keep, yes...350gal. is too small.
You'll hear story after story about people keeping Clowns and say how peaceful they are, how gentle they are, how they'd never hurt their other fish. I've heard instances of this happening for 5+ years. Then, you'll see the post of "I came home and there was only bits and pieces left of over $1000 worth of fish and my Clown Trigger was swimming around with a full belly!". When we say it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN, we're serious.
I've personally been attacked by Queens, Clowns and even chased down by a 24"+ Titan, while diving. They have no fear, don't care how much bigger than them you are, etc. If you're in their territory, you'll either be chased out or killed.
A buddy of mine had a Queen Trigger for quite a long time, in a tank with a 15" Volitan, a 16" Miniatus Grouper and a 14" Dog Faced Puffer. One day, he found the Volitan with it's head completely eaten off, the Puffer with it's stomach ripped out and he only found half of the Miniatus. The Queen now resides alone.
I'd have to say a minimum of 500gal display and even that might be a little too cramped, once these guys get big.
so its a good thing that im switching to a custom 533 gal next week?

 

[bigman]

well thanks for the info now its getting better i can take you comments and advice without being defensive. I am cureently storing an 800g but its to big to put in my house so until either i move or cut down the wall i have to use the 350g i have the 800g will always be there . my friend is holding it for me.
Whats the story on Golden Heart Trigger i just got it the other day. Small but i have it. its about 3inchs.
.

 

[alfon76]

AW2x3, I am not trying to play devil's advocate here but, is it possible that in a tank with excess hiding places fishes can survive a trigger attack or even triggers can survive other triggers?
I know that in freshwater keeping you are not supposed to keep several cichlids together (mainly central american or even african species) as they tend to be very territorial and aggressive. However, if you provide many hiding places/territories and a heavy stock of fishes (larger than normal quantity) the aggression gets diminished by the principle that the aggressor can't focus on one "victim" alone and gives the fishes enough places to hide and protect themselves.
I ask this just wondering if this could be the case with this 2 "trigger-only" tanks and also because I am in the process of setting up a 300 gallon tank and a Clown Trigger was part of the blueprint of fishes I wanted for it.
Ivan

 

[bigman]

Originally Posted by alfon76
AW2x3, I am not trying to play devil's advocate here but, is it possible that in a tank with excess hiding places fishes can survive a trigger attack or even triggers can survive other triggers?
I know that in freshwater keeping you are not supposed to keep several cichlids together (mainly central american or even african species) as they tend to be very territorial and aggressive. However, if you provide many hiding places/territories and a heavy stock of fishes (larger than normal quantity) the aggression gets diminished by the principle that the aggressor can't focus on one "victim" alone and gives the fishes enough places to hide and protect themselves.
I ask this just wondering if this could be the case with this 2 "trigger-only" tanks and also because I am in the process of setting up a 300 gallon tank and a Clown Trigger was part of the blueprint of fishes I wanted for it.
Ivan
Thats what ive always been told that the more hiding spaces the better because each space represents a different territorial zone, and I was also told you wanna mix larger and small triggers just because if one gets aggresive the smaller ones can hide and swim faster.
and thats what ive always done with cichlids and other fish i have had.
good luck

just do all of the little things to help minimize the agression like dont feed live food and when adding a new fish keep the lights off and feed heavy and provide with alot of hiding or rocks.

 

[aw2x3]

When you get into keeping fish who's territories are hundreds of feet wide, then no...hiding places aren't going to stop them from killing each other.
Triggers are terrific predators, often picking up rock/turning over rock, to find their prey. I've seen some species of large Trigger actually bite THRU rock, to get at prey.
The "aggression gets diminished by the principle that the aggressor can't focus on one "victim" alone and gives the fishes enough places to hide and protect themselves" factor may take precedence when you're talking about fish such as Cichlids, but you're talking about fish that can kill another with a single bite. I've witnessed a large Clown Trigger that actually bit off the entire lower mouth of a Grouper, that was much larger than it and they were only going after the same piece of food. Cichlids have to pick at and attack fish for a longer period of time, due to their size, hence giving the victim time to flee and hide.
On to the Golden Hearts. From what I understand (from two friends that are keeping them), they're relatively passive, but both people have only had them for a short amount of time (2 months or less). With these being so rare and not collected within the last 10 years, you're gonna be hard pressed to find anyone that's had one long term.
Here's an instance for you, to show that it doesn't matter how passive the fish seems, they can kill at any moment. I'm currently keeping a Hawaiian Dragon Moray and a Whitemouth Moray. Both of these have been kept with everything from a 15" Volitan, down to a 3" Queen Trigger and neither has EVER shown any aggression towards other fish. For the past 4 months, or so, I've been housing an 8" Giant Hawkfish in the tank with them and they've been perfectly fine...the Hawkfish would often perch on top of the Dragon, with no problems. While I was posting, before, I was also doing a water change. Unfortunately, I found my Hawkfish with a very large gash in it's side, which could've only been done by one of my Morays. The fish is still alive, but I do not forsee it lasting thru the night. Neither of these Morays has EVER shown aggression towards any live fish, until now and I've had both Morays for years.

 

[bigman]

thanks for the info on the trigger, So what are you gonna do with the fish?

 

[hatessushi]

It's like I said, it's not a matter of if the triggers will kill but a matter of when. But understand this, that doesn't mean I am a hater. I have a trigger and I love it. I havne't had a bad experience with a trigger ever and I don't condone keeping multiples in the same tank. So before you call us haters and idiots I suggest you do a lot of research on the fish you are trying to keep. If that research doesn't include asking for advice on this forum then don't ask. There are a wealth of opinions here and before you call any of them wrong, or any of the people trying to help "haters" or "idiots", you should be an expert on the subject which I hardly think you are based on the questions you are asking. I suspect that it doesn't matter what you ask. If you don't hear what you want to hear then we are all idiots, haters, etc.
At the same time I can say good luck in your endeavor with triggers, I don't hate you, and I'm not neutral (neutral is just a way of not taking a side because of lack of knowledge). I would like to know the outcome of this endeavor whole heartedly

The way this thread has progressed, I suspect a shark or is it a troll?

 

[fastazzr1]

Originally Posted by HatesSushi
It's like I said, it's not a matter of if the triggers will kill but a matter of when. But understand this, that doesn't mean I am a hater. I have a trigger and I love it. I havne't had a bad experience with a trigger ever and I don't condone keeping multiples in the same tank. So before you call us haters and idiots I suggest you do a lot of research on the fish you are trying to keep. If that research doesn't include asking for advice on this forum then don't ask. There are a wealth of opinions here and before you call any of them wrong, or any of the people trying to help "haters" or "idiots", you should be an expert on the subject which I hardly think you are based on the questions you are asking. I suspect that it doesn't matter what you ask. If you don't hear what you want to hear then we are all idiots, haters, etc.
At the same time I can say good luck in your endeavor with triggers, I don't hate you, and I'm not neutral (neutral is just a way of not taking a side because of lack of knowledge). I would like to know the outcome of this endeavor whole heartedly

The way this thread has progressed, I suspect a shark or is it a troll?
its not about what i want to hear that turns you into a hater or an idiot( and you forgot fool). its what you say after i ask you a question about something and you respond with an answer that has nothing to do with what i asked you. i never once asked for any advice on the fish im trying to keep. but ill keep you up to date as of the outcome.

 

[titan]

Goldhearts are actually very similar to the Queen Triggerfish, but are not a Balistes Vetula. Once some beef is put on these "large" triggerfish; they start claiming some serious real-estate. Don't let the pretty looks fool you

 

[bigman]

Originally Posted by Titan
Goldhearts are actually very similar to the Queen Triggerfish, but are not a Balistes Vetula. Once some beef is put on these "large" triggerfish; they start claiming some serious real-estate. Don't let the pretty looks fool you

Thanks for the info on the trigger, i dont know much about this type of trigger except there pretty and unique.