Trigger fish buddies

trigger boy

Member
Hello I'm new and I have a 70 gallon tank and I would like to have a Niger trigger and I was wondering what would be some other easy to care for fish that would get along with the Niger trigger.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Welcome to the boards! Niger triggers are the most docile of the triggers. They grow over 19 inches though. You can house them with other fish with ease.I wouldn't necessarily pick very small fish, but they are not terribly aggressive toward tank mates. Be sure to keep them fed and don't feed them live feeders, which can increase aggression, among other problems. Check out our aggressive forum for stories about triggers and what others keep with their Niger.
 

nicetry

Active Member
No disrespect intended towards sepulation, (or anyone), but I have to chuckle whenever I read that Niger triggers are the most peaceful of the group. As juveniles, they are fairly compatable with many other reef fish. Once they put on some size, they can, and frequently do, exhibit the same Jekyll and Hyde personality traits as other members of the family. There are many acounts of Nigers becoming quite aggressive and killing other fish, or harassing them relentlessly. My lfs had a full grown niger kill a lionfish, puffer and a blue angel in a large 220 display tank. This happened overnight.These behaviors are exacerbated in a closed system. This fish will quickly outgrow a 70 gallon tank and my sense is it will likely display it's aggressive potential. Blue throats, cross hatch and sargassum triggers are notably more peaceful, and more expensive. If you don't have a major upgrade planned in the next year or so, I'd pass on this fish.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by nicetry
http:///forum/post/2627856
No disrespect intended towards sepulation, (or anyone), but I have to chuckle whenever I read that Niger triggers are the most peaceful of the group. As juveniles, they are fairly compatable with many other reef fish. Once they put on some size, they can, and frequently do, exhibit the same Jekyll and Hyde personality traits as other members of the family. There are many acounts of Nigers becoming quite aggressive and killing other fish, or harassing them relentlessly. My lfs had a full grown niger kill a lionfish, puffer and a blue angel in a large 220 display tank. This happened overnight.These behaviors are exacerbated in a closed system. This fish will quickly outgrow a 70 gallon tank and my sense is it will likely display it's aggressive potential. Blue throats, cross hatch and sargassum triggers are notably more peaceful, and more expensive. If you don't have a major upgrade planned in the next year or so, I'd pass on this fish.
Duly noted. If I am incorrect then I apologize for misleading anyone. This is why I encouraged the OP to check out the aggressive forum for people that have Nigers. I do not have one and do not plan to. I was stating what I have read about Nigers. Obviously in this case experience pulls more weight than research. My apologies again for any misleading information that I gave
 

nicetry

Active Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2627867
Duly noted. If I am incorrect then I apologize for misleading anyone. This is why I encouraged the OP to check out the aggressive forum for people that have Nigers. I do not have one and do not plan to. I was stating what I have read about Nigers. Obviously in this case experience pulls more weight than research. My apologies again for any misleading information that I gave

Nah..not misleading, just info that is put forth a lot of time about these fish. Even a lot of sites say they're a relatively peaceful fish, and some hobbyists have kept them w/o problems. In the bigger picture, I think any trigger must be considered a risk. There are a few that are consistantly more docile than others, but the Niger is unpredictable. I personally wouldn't have one in a community tank, unless the system was huge and there was a lot of room for other fish to avoid the trigger.
 

prime311

Active Member
Ya my LFS has a Niger right now. My guy there said they got him from someone who's tank was decimated by the thing. They definitely can have a bad temperament, but not as likely as Clown or Undulated. Wrasse and Puffers usually go well with Triggers, but your tank is kind of small for any large puffers or even the Niger. Its still a Trigger though, you never know how theyre going to be as adults.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by nicetry
http:///forum/post/2627890
Nah..not misleading, just info that is put forth a lot of time about these fish. Even a lot of sites say they're a relatively peaceful fish, and some hobbyists have kept them w/o problems. In the bigger picture, I think any trigger must be considered a risk. There are a few that are consistantly more docile than others, but the Niger is unpredictable. I personally wouldn't have one in a community tank, unless the system was huge and there was a lot of room for other fish to avoid the trigger.
I have read a lot about them on here as well as outside research. They are noted for being very docile. Then again ich is noted as coming from stress so experience definitely has it's merits. I definitely agree that any trigger is a risk.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
I have a Huma and a Niger in my 150gal and let me tell you... the Niger is far more agressive than the Huma. It absolutely hates my maroon clown. I had to take the clown out of the tank because the Niger pretty much shred it to pieces and the clown is large, same size as the Niger. The clown made a full recovery and is in my other tank.
But it's not always true that Nigers are the nicest triggers.
As for fish that get along with Nigers... he seems not to bother my yellow wrasse and foxface. And of course he doesn't dare act up against the huma.
 

trigger boy

Member
Is a 70 gallon to small? Plus I would love a cross hatch but I don't have the money for one. And one more thing can someone tell me if maye a lunar wrasse would get along with each other?
 

kjr_trig

Active Member
I would certainly agree with Nicetry (no offense Sep), Nigers are far from docile as adults, they are great as Juvi's, but are quite aggressive as adults. This fish is recommended far too often on this site...It is not a good community fish as an adult. My first one tore a huge Maroon Clown to shreds after they had been together for 2 + years.
I also agree with RCreations, my Niger was far more aggressive than my Huma.
As for your tank Trigger Boy, you are rather borderline in a 75 with any Trigger, if you really want to keep one, get a small Blue Throat and surrond him with some moderate aggressive fish that can hold their own...Maroon Clown, maybe 6 line Wrasse, Coral Beauty Angel.
As to your Lunare ?...I would say no, this is a very large, very very very aggressive and territorial wrasse, I would not recommend this in that small of a tank
 

trigger boy

Member

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2628429
I would certainly agree with Nicetry (no offense Sep), Nigers are far from docile as adults, they are great as Juvi's, but are quite aggressive as adults. This fish is recommended far too often on this site
...It is not a good community fish as an adult. My first one tore a huge Maroon Clown to shreds after they had been together for 2 + years.
I also agree with RCreations, my Niger was far more aggressive than my Huma.
As for your tank Trigger Boy, you are rather borderline in a 75 with any Trigger, if you really want to keep one, get a small Blue Throat and surrond him with some moderate aggressive fish that can hold their own...Maroon Clown, maybe 6 line Wrasse, Coral Beauty Angel.
As to your Lunare ?...I would say no, this is a very large, very very very aggressive and territorial wrasse, I would not recommend this in that small of a tank
Thanks for your help I might be able to get a 100 gallon but I'm not positive could the Niger do well in a tank this size? Wow it seems that Niger triggers don't like maroon clowns.
 

kjr_trig

Active Member
Originally Posted by Trigger boy
http:///forum/post/2628436
Thanks for your help I might be able to get a 100 gallon but I'm not positive could the Niger do well in a tank this size? Wow it seems that Niger triggers don't like maroon clowns.

I had my first Niger in a 130, that was borderline....The smaller the tank the nastier the adult Niger will be IMO....Niger Triggers are great fish with a good price tag and loads of personality. They are slow growers, and are commonly available in small sizes, and they are mellow as juviniles in my experience....However they are amonst the largest of the family as adults, and contrary to popular belief, there are a lot less aggressive Triggers. I would look at the BlueThroat or even Huma over Niger....Niger get 20 inch in the wild, Huma and BT only a foot....BT would be far and away my first choice in a smallish tank. BT a great fish too that once established never leave the front of the tank, the only drawback is the slightly higher pricetag.
Sincerely,
Trigger Man
 

kjr_trig

Active Member
Oh, about the Maroon Clown

I think Maroons are very prone to stake out a piece of rock that is "theirs", mine used to chase the Niger away for from the rock for the first few years as he was much bigger, then the Niger caught up in size and seemed to decide "i'm not gonna take your crap anymore", I had to move the Maroon to my smaller tank within a day of when that started or he would have been dead....He recovered after a month and I tried to put him back in the big tank, he went right back to defending his rock and the Niger went right back to kicking his a$$....Back to the small tank he went to live out his days.
 

hlcroghan

Active Member
they have them on this site. if you just look it up over on the left where is says fish. i think the prices here are pretty reasonable for fish.
 

kjr_trig

Active Member
Originally Posted by Trigger boy
http:///forum/post/2628471
Hey how are YellowMargin triggers they look interesting?
The worst of the worst...They get huge (over 2 feet) and horribly aggressive, this is a single species only fish in most cases. I will break it down for you on a scale of 1-5, 1 being the least aggressive Triggers, 5 being kill everything they can.
1's...Bluethroat, Sargassum, Crosshatch
2's...Pinktail, Black Hawaiian (both get really big though)
3's...Huma, Rec. Huma, Assasi, Niger, Starry
4's....Bursa, Clown
5's....Undulate, Queen, Titan, YellowMargin, Blueline.
There are a few not listed, but that covers most I think.
 

trigger boy

Member
Uggg the nicest ones are the most expensive.
Ok another question would any of the 3's be good for a community 100gallon tank?
 
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