Trigger Aggression

[mony97]

I've read on here that triggers are an aggressive fish. I was wondering how aggressive (any stories?) I love the look of the small clowns and I'm trying to finalize a stock list and running through ideas (process of elimination I guess) and was wondering if a trigger would work in a non aggressive tank? I have a feeling my tank will be to small to have one even if it would work but thought I would ask.

 

[chrisnif]

Originally Posted by mony97
http:///forum/post/3184989
I've read on here that triggers are an aggressive fish. I was wondering how aggressive (any stories?) I love the look of the small clowns and I'm trying to finalize a stock list and running through ideas (process of elimination I guess) and was wondering if a trigger would work in a non aggressive tank? I have a feeling my tank will be to small to have one even if it would work but thought I would ask.
I had an undulated trigger and I have the scars to prove it... If you are doing a tank with smaller fish my best recommendation is the blue throat. Someone in my reef club has one in a full blown reef tank and it's gentle as can be with all the fish and the inverts. They are not cheap sadly, but they are beautiful, so whatever works

 

[halamaya]

I hear clown Triggers are among the most aggressive and likely to go postal eventually. I have a Bursa Trigger one of teh smaller Triggers 8 inches full grown. So far he's being a good boy with soft puppy dog like eyes but..... I throw in some Guppies or Ghost shrimp and he almost always gets first blood!! Very powerful fish, I just hope to keep him happy. No Postal work for this guy.

 

[crypt keeper]

I wouldnt say they are bully aggressive. They are I will eat you aggressive. Clown Trigs are in my top 5. How big is your tank? They will kill any smaller slower moving fish as they grow

 

[mony97]

Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/3185066
I wouldnt say they are bully aggressive. They are I will eat you aggressive. Clown Trigs are in my top 5. How big is your tank? They will kill any smaller slower moving fish as they grow

haha I didnt know that the were not bullys but I will eat you aggressive, tank is only a 65g and many of the fish once the trigger starts growning will be smaller and most likely slower as well.

 

[crypt keeper]

Clowns Trigs grow very fast. They grow over 15 inches in our tanks. Even as a 3 inch fish most fish are slow too them. They really need a 10 foot tank IMO.

 

[rcreations]

My experiences with triggers differ. The agressive ones I've had were bullies, they didn't want to eat any other fish. For example... my old niger trigger. He would guard the nori sheet, even though he didn't want to eat it. But would attack any other fish that got close to it. Then another time he got fed up with the maroon clown and pretty much ripped it to shreds. No intention to eat it, just got upset with it. My humu was just a bully to other fish that got in his way. My clown trigger is a bully as well, I can see him pick on fish just for the hell of it.
So yes, they are big bullies, just make sure you put them with other fish that can deal with it.
btw, I wouldn't put any trigger in a 65gal, especially with other fish. Triggers tend to get more agressive in small spaces.

 

[crypt keeper]

I have only had two a niger and a Humu humu. They werent bullies at all. Just ate all my cuc and tried to eat a blenny. Maybe due to their size. Hell my humu humu now gets pushed around by my Female clown.

 

[small triggers]

triggers that are LESS aggressive: blue throat, crosshatch and sargassum... still need a large tank 120+..
I wouldnt say any triggers are not aggressive, i just think they have less aggressive tendancies than others...

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by small triggers
http:///forum/post/3185401
triggers that are LESS aggressive: blue throat, crosshatch and sargassum... still need a large tank 120+..
I wouldnt say any triggers are not aggressive, i just think they have less aggressive tendancies than others...
Sure! Triggers are big, aggressive carnivores that will eat anything they can.( Yes, there are exceptions) But saying a blue jaw, for instance, is not an aggressive trigger is correct. But,this does not mean a blue jaw is not an aggressive fish.
Edit: I did a quick peek at three big onlindealers. One calls the blue jaw (chin, throat, whatever) "bold", another "semi-aggressive", another "aggressive".

 

[rcreations]

I can tell you about my Sargassum Trigger, which is listed as one of the least agressive triggers. True enogh but he's still pretty agressive. He'll bite me when I clean the inside of the tank and will occasionally go after any fish that gets in his space for too long.

 

[roastreef]

My crosshatch pair doesn't show any aggression towards any of the other fish in the tank. It's a generalization that triggers who have their mouths pointing up are less agressive than the one's who have their mouths directly in front of them.

 

[small triggers]

Roastreef, I think you are reffering to the assumption about being reef safe... being reef safe and 'less' aggressive id say are maybe hand in hand, but like i said earlier i think there are less aggressive triggers, not NON aggressive.

 

[roastreef]

Originally Posted by small triggers
http:///forum/post/3186233
Roastreef, I think you are reffering to the assumption about being reef safe... being reef safe and 'less' aggressive id say are maybe hand in hand, but like i said earlier i think there are less aggressive triggers, not NON aggressive.
Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. By "less" aggressive, I meant that they are a lot less likely to be terrors in the tank i.e. clown triggers. In general though, I do think the "reef safe" triggers are a little more easy going than some of there counterparts. Hope this is more clear.

 

[stealth hippo]

I think if you're lucky enough you'll get a trigger with the personality of a teddy bear, could get the exact opposite though. Also you should consider adding it as one of your last fish. If you allow your other non aggressive fish to establish themselves and grow then add a small trigger he may learn his place... for a period of time

 

[crypt keeper]

he has a 65g that tank is too small for any trigger

 

[psychic_alice]

I was told by a friend that he knew a guy that had a queen trigger in his tank with other fish. They had lived peacefully for years, then one time when he came back from a vacation all the other fish were killed and had a huge chunk out of all of them. The guy got so mad he took the queen trigger and threw it into the street. (I'm not saying this is necesarily true just what I've heard)

 

[halamaya]

I am indeed breaking the rules aswell right now. I love the trigger fish and asked my LFS to locate the right Trigger for me (even if it's still wrong.) He found me a 4" Bursa Trigger, which is what I asked for. I've been watching him very closely and he was the last fish in. He is on the smaller end of a Trigger which is still BIG 8 plus inches full grown. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

 

[reddhead]

Originally Posted by RCreations
http:///forum/post/3185774
I can tell you about my Sargassum Trigger, which is listed as one of the least agressive triggers. True enogh but he's still pretty agressive. He'll bite me when I clean the inside of the tank and will occasionally go after any fish that gets in his space for too long.
My Niger does the same thing. I have to tap him with something to make him go away when my hand is in the tank and that doesn't last for long! He is not scared of anything! I could scoop him up in a net very easily!

 

[small triggers]

lol my niger likes to be petted when i put my hand in the tank, and hes my largest trigger at almost 6 inches....now my female maroon clown will try to remove a finger, shes almost 5 inches long now too though!! larger than my other 2 triggers!