What is your favorite Trigger?

[lion king]

In my reef I have a Sargassum trigger, Clown trigger and I just added an Assasi, they get along fine with the other 11 fish, 2 of them being a gold stripe maroon and a tomato clown. I have a clam and they dont even look at it. My hermits only come out once the lights are out. My tank is full of all kinds of corals and they dont munch on any of them. Coco worms would probably be ok, ornamental shrimp probably will get munched. Only way to find out for sure is to try it.

my first time recalling you saying 1 in 1000 chance....what are you referring to?? that those triggers will work in a reef? or something like greeni/kiri would work?

A 1 in a 1000 chance that triggers other than ones from the xanthichthys genus will not become destructive at some point. In référence to the clown, niger, and ones from the rhinecanthus genus I have always seen some level of destruction at some point. Some live with a certain level of destruction, and obviously there's a différence between individual. But à mature above mentioned trigger kept in captivity is going to chomp, chew, crunch, etc. I cant imagine that clam making it, but I could be wrong, like I said 1 in a 1000.

 

[HB AL]

A 1 in a 1000 chance that triggers other than ones from the xanthichthys genus will not become destructive at some point. In référence to the clown, niger, and ones from the rhinecanthus genus I have always seen some level of destruction at some point. Some live with a certain level of destruction, and obviously there's a différence between individual. But à mature above mentioned trigger kept in captivity is going to chomp, chew, crunch, etc. I cant imagine that clam making it, but I could be wrong, like I said 1 in a 1000.

After decades of having fish tanks I’ve seen my share of destruction, I’ve learned from that and can live with a certain level. Just today the clown trigger was picking at the clam shell eating some bubble algae along with the naso. I like and enjoy the fish more than the corals, but the corals add some nice color and growth to the tank. As for the clam I was sure it would have been munched right away by the triggers but they’ve left it alone, although if they do eat it someday I hope it’s nutritious. Right now the fish are all antsy as they saw me get the cups I thaw there food in and I can swear they are eyeballing me as I type this waiting for the nightly feeding frenzy. I’ve come to the conclusion that the clown trigger is smarter than some of the people I know. I gotta go now and feed em as they are really jacked up waiting for dinner.

 

[sawdonkey]

I don’t really agree with the 1 in 1000 thing. I’ve hav me my Picasso since 2003 and my Niger since 2009. They cause no issues with corals except them picking up and spitting gravel. The only other issue is that they can be temporarily aggressive to newly added fish. It usually subsided quickly though. I used to have tons of blue leg crabs that lasted for years. I did recently tried to add a clam and my Picasso nipped at it.

I don’t think think I’d call my trigger destructive. Like most fish, they don’t mix with certain things.

 

[BadFish619]

Always been a fan of the Niger, the dark dark blue with red teeth. Cheapest one but coolest to me

 

[lion king]

I have known a few keep them for many years in reefs, very large tanks, and accept what they call minimum and insignificant damage, and be very happy. But I will say I have known dozens of people, deeply regretful that ever added one of these triggers to their tanks. I'm a fish guy, I have 2 reefs, and really don't care what kind of damage any of my fish would ever cause to my reefs. as @HB AL stated, if you enjoy the fish more, you will overlook any damage. I had a good friend lose at least a $1000 in corals before he was able to the clown trigger out. It;s not an absolute hobby, but they are not what most would consider to be called "reef safe".

 

[mcpeachy]

A 1 in a 1000 chance that triggers other than ones from the xanthichthys genus will not become destructive at some point. In référence to the clown, niger, and ones from the rhinecanthus genus I have always seen some level of destruction at some point. Some live with a certain level of destruction, and obviously there's a différence between individual. But à mature above mentioned trigger kept in captivity is going to chomp, chew, crunch, etc. I cant imagine that clam making it, but I could be wrong, like I said 1 in a 1000.

phew. i'm glad you weren't talking about xanthichthys genus. but i think the triggers mean more to the poster than the clam most likely. they are certainly cool. do you have general rules for the xanthichthys genus as far as what will not make it?? they are, afterall, triggers?? does it make a difference male vs female and how do you know which one you've got? Also, some triggers have this pronounced belly that almost point down a bit. whats the deal with that? mine doesn't have a pronounced one. is that how you know male vs female??

 

[lion king]

phew. i'm glad you weren't talking about xanthichthys genus. but i think the triggers mean more to the poster than the clam most likely. they are certainly cool. do you have general rules for the xanthichthys genus as far as what will not make it?? they are, afterall, triggers?? does it make a difference male vs female and how do you know which one you've got? Also, some triggers have this pronounced belly that almost point down a bit. whats the deal with that? mine doesn't have a pronounced one. is that how you know male vs female??

I'm not sure you can sex kiri triggers, I'm only positive of sexing with the bluejaw or crosshatch. Males in the tank will lkely cause some angst, to a much lesser extent females may, but many times can play well together. Mixing x genus may be a little trial and error, tank dynamics between male/male, male/female, or couples. I have encountered many positive long term results with these triggers in a reef. Whatever negatives seem to be more individual, and like many, occur in smaller tanks.

 

[Lukas75]

Bluethroat. No, no, niger. Wait maybe rectangle. Clowns are pretty but jerks.... Do I really have to pick just one?

 

[mcpeachy]

I'm not sure you can sex kiri triggers, I'm only positive of sexing with the bluejaw or crosshatch. Males in the tank will lkely cause some angst, to a much lesser extent females may, but many times can play well together. Mixing x genus may be a little trial and error, tank dynamics between male/male, male/female, or couples. I have encountered many positive long term results with these triggers in a reef. Whatever negatives seem to be more individual, and like many, occur in smaller tanks.

how long do this family of triggers seem to live. from my understanding kiri is used to deeper colder waters but i dont see that as recommendations from the fish sellers???

 

[lion king]

how long do this family of triggers seem to live. from my understanding kiri is used to deeper colder waters but i dont see that as recommendations from the fish sellers???

Yeah the deeper cooler water is likely to be a cosideration. The kiri is not kept as much, I don't know anyone who has one. I know a couple of people with crosshatch, still not enough being kept to get a real accurate read. Bringing them up from such depth does create possible issues. I've seen crosshatch colors fade over time and some die rather quickly, the 2 pairs I know of now have been going a couple/few years. Relitively speaking they haven't been around in the hobby that long and kept in such numbers to get a good read. Some people have a hard time telling you they lost a $1000 plus fish, especially when it's their 3rd pair(someone I know). Bluejaws easily live 10 plus years. One trick, a guy I know only runs his blue light lights only the tank with the crosshatch pair. You figure they are from deeper waters, and perhaps the high intense reef lighting some run can be the cause of color fade, and maybe even eye issues. these are just my personal theories.

 

[tkiry1]

Yeah the deeper cooler water is likely to be a cosideration. The kiri is not kept as much, I don't know anyone who has one. I know a couple of people with crosshatch, still not enough being kept to get a real accurate read. Bringing them up from such depth does create possible issues. I've seen crosshatch colors fade over time and some die rather quickly, the 2 pairs I know of now have been going a couple/few years. Relitively speaking they haven't been around in the hobby that long and kept in such numbers to get a good read. Some people have a hard time telling you they lost a $1000 plus fish, especially when it's their 3rd pair(someone I know). Bluejaws easily live 10 plus years. One trick, a guy I know only runs his blue light lights only the tank with the crosshatch pair. You figure they are from deeper waters, and perhaps the high intense reef lighting some run can be the cause of color fade, and maybe even eye issues. these are just my personal theories.

I keep my water 75 and crosshatch seems to really like that..

 

[mcpeachy]

I keep my water 75 and crosshatch seems to really like that..

yeah, i was just looking at something that said water should be 75. i have a heater that lets me do either 76 or 74 so not sure. i want to keep sps and corals so what would you do? 76?? can corals live well and grow (acroporas) in 74?

 

[tkiry1]

My buddy has a reef tank.. He keeps his temp at that temp and his corals are flourishing... It's consistency. And gradually getting that temp down.

 

[mcpeachy]

My buddy has a reef tank.. He keeps his temp at that temp and his corals are flourishing... It's consistency. And gradually getting that temp down.

does he keep it 76 or 74?

 

[Zos4me]

Nigers and Undulate for me

 

[tkiry1]

does he keep it 76 or 74?

74

 

[Metalhead670]

I remember having a niger and a humu picasso trigger before. They were nice fish, both hid a lot though.

 

[McPuff]

I've had my humu for almost two years and he's been in with a pair of clowns and I added an azure damsel early this year. It was quite small and the trigger didn't look twice at it. A couple weeks ago I added my Assasi trigger but I coincided this with a complete switch of my lagoon. It was a 40gal trough and I put everything into a 75gal tank instead. Completely changed the tank. The triggers basically hang out together now and even when I feed them they don't get aggressive with one another. Last week I added a blue eye yellow tail tang... though the humu was going to chew him up at first but the tang has settled right in thankfully. I've kept pairs and trios of triggers before and never with any aggression between them. The same is not true of a Clown and an Undulate (they both created problems). The Rhinecanthus genus are generally mild-ish mannered towards other fish but I've never had one grow to full adult maturity. This time will be different and I plan to keep these guys for as long as I can.

I've been feeding mine a mixture of everything. They even eat nori... greedily! Pellets, freeze-dried plankton and krill, anything frozen and meaty. Triggers are amazing little creatures and I'd highly recommend one if you have the interest. Just make sure to remove any inverts (I should say I do have one very careful hermit that has survived over a year).

 

[vetteguy53081]

Male crosshatch and male blue throat

 

[Damon Jensen]

Favorite trigger? U mm all of them.

Clown trigger is why I got into this hobby.
Niger, I had a stunning one I lost last year
My Picaso is about 4 years old now
Blue line is new to my tank, but is very cool

Bottom line, I need more tanks so I can get more triggers