What triggers are reef safe?
- Thread starter nuzz
- Start date
R
rcreations
Guest
Sargassum, blue throat and crosshatch.
aquaknight
Active Member
Further explaination of what "reef-safe" means to you is needed. Do you just mean corals, and/or your standard inverts, snails, crabs, shrimp as well?
jdl
Member
Originally Posted by RCreations
http:///forum/post/2806094
Sargassum, blue throat and crosshatch.
I just purchased a sargassum. It is my favorite fish. All seems well, it doesnt even care about the inverts in the tank.
http:///forum/post/2806094
Sargassum, blue throat and crosshatch.
I just purchased a sargassum. It is my favorite fish. All seems well, it doesnt even care about the inverts in the tank.
R
rcreations
Guest
My Niger never touched any corals but it liked to sample the hermit crabs.
jdl
Member
Originally Posted by nuzz
http:///forum/post/2806173
"Reef safe" I thought meant harmless to anything that lives in a reef
But mainly yes I want a cool trigger that will not harm corals - hermit crabs I could care less about
Kara
what is your price range?
http:///forum/post/2806173
"Reef safe" I thought meant harmless to anything that lives in a reef
But mainly yes I want a cool trigger that will not harm corals - hermit crabs I could care less about
Kara
what is your price range?
kjr_trig
Active Member
I would stick with Sargassum or Bluejaw...Crosshatch is fine too, but a very hefty price tag, and needs a larger tank....I don't reccommend Nigers (I have said this 100 times on here), a Niger may not bother your corals, it may leave your inverts alone if your lucky, but the 2 inch Niger you buy will in time turn into an 8+ inch aggressive, red toothed, monster....Small, passive fish beware....In fact any sized passive fish beware. Nigers belong in large systems with large fish capable of protecting themselves.
jdl
Member
Originally Posted by nuzz
http:///forum/post/2806217
Any, I'd like to know all my options
Kara
cheaper and easier to find are bluejaw, but i would hold out for a sargassum.
price range:
Bluejaw around $50
sargassum around $130
crosshatch around $400
prices will vary but this is the general idea of pricing.
http:///forum/post/2806217
Any, I'd like to know all my options
Kara
cheaper and easier to find are bluejaw, but i would hold out for a sargassum.
price range:
Bluejaw around $50
sargassum around $130
crosshatch around $400
prices will vary but this is the general idea of pricing.
aquaknight
Active Member
Originally Posted by nuzz
http:///forum/post/2806173
"Reef safe" I thought meant harmless to anything that lives in a reef
But mainly yes I want a cool trigger that will not harm corals - hermit crabs I could care less about
Kara
Yea, I guess it means different things to different people. I consider myself to have a 125gal reef, but I have very little to no inverts, due to my puffer. IMO, inverts in the wild are on the bottom rung (or near, just after algae ), so they really just serve the purpose of food, and I don't consider them 'part of the reef.'
As far as just leaving corals alone, most triggers will not eat corals just to 'eat something.' They might accidently nip a coral, cause it's interesting, or it's in the way when they want to bite the live rock, but they won't set out to eat a coral.
The Xanthichthys genus(Sargassum, Blue Jaw, Crosshatch) is the most safe, safe with even inverts most of the time. Larger Crosshatches have been know to eat smaller fish. The Suffalmen genus (Lei/Boomerang, Flagtail) is the next most safe, probably even with some inverts. Next is the Melichthys genus (Pink Tails, Black Hawiian, and Black Durgeon), might even leave some inverts alone, but will be fine with other larger fish/corals, they might eat smaller fish too. The Odonus genus (Niger), will be fine with corals, but grows quickly (for a trigger anyway) to a large size, and gets aggressive as they age.
The last couple, Rhinecanthus(Picasso, Rectangular) and Balistoides(Clowns)/Balistes (Queens, Golden Heart)/Balistapus (Undulated), are the aggressive triggers, that might sample coral 'just cause.' Also, espeically dealing with some of the largers specimens, it can be a real challenge working around them with corals (they WILL bite your hand/arm).
http:///forum/post/2806173
"Reef safe" I thought meant harmless to anything that lives in a reef
But mainly yes I want a cool trigger that will not harm corals - hermit crabs I could care less about
Kara
Yea, I guess it means different things to different people. I consider myself to have a 125gal reef, but I have very little to no inverts, due to my puffer. IMO, inverts in the wild are on the bottom rung (or near, just after algae ), so they really just serve the purpose of food, and I don't consider them 'part of the reef.'
As far as just leaving corals alone, most triggers will not eat corals just to 'eat something.' They might accidently nip a coral, cause it's interesting, or it's in the way when they want to bite the live rock, but they won't set out to eat a coral.
The Xanthichthys genus(Sargassum, Blue Jaw, Crosshatch) is the most safe, safe with even inverts most of the time. Larger Crosshatches have been know to eat smaller fish. The Suffalmen genus (Lei/Boomerang, Flagtail) is the next most safe, probably even with some inverts. Next is the Melichthys genus (Pink Tails, Black Hawiian, and Black Durgeon), might even leave some inverts alone, but will be fine with other larger fish/corals, they might eat smaller fish too. The Odonus genus (Niger), will be fine with corals, but grows quickly (for a trigger anyway) to a large size, and gets aggressive as they age.
The last couple, Rhinecanthus(Picasso, Rectangular) and Balistoides(Clowns)/Balistes (Queens, Golden Heart)/Balistapus (Undulated), are the aggressive triggers, that might sample coral 'just cause.' Also, espeically dealing with some of the largers specimens, it can be a real challenge working around them with corals (they WILL bite your hand/arm).
nuzz
Member
That is very useful information, thank you AquaKnight. I'd like to believe that all inverts are the bottom of the food chain, but $25 on a skunk shrimp begs to differ ;P So yes what I'm looking for is a trigger that will rarely, if at all, bother any invert or coral. It looks like the Xanthichthys genus is exactly what I want.
Kara
Kara
jdl
Member
Originally Posted by nuzz
http:///forum/post/2806239
Thanks for letting me know about the Niger's full grown size. I will definitely consider the others.
I like the looks of both the Bluejaw and the Sargassum.
Why do you recommend the Sargassum over the Bluejaw?
Kara
I dont like the bluejaw of the males and i think the females become "not reef safe" but i may be confused.
http:///forum/post/2806239
Thanks for letting me know about the Niger's full grown size. I will definitely consider the others.
I like the looks of both the Bluejaw and the Sargassum.
Why do you recommend the Sargassum over the Bluejaw?
Kara
I dont like the bluejaw of the males and i think the females become "not reef safe" but i may be confused.
R
rcreations
Guest
That's true about the Niger. I had to sell mine when it got big because it was way too agressive, to the point that my other fish couldn't even eat.
rotarymagic
Active Member
male crosshatch FTW...
jdl
Member
Originally Posted by nuzz
http:///forum/post/2806331
Is there a visual difference between males and females?
bluejaws yes, big difference visual
ftw = for the win
http:///forum/post/2806331
Is there a visual difference between males and females?
bluejaws yes, big difference visual
ftw = for the win