Triggers?

[jerseydiablo]

Are there any reef safe/invert/small fish safe Triggers?

 

[JRodrig692]

The blue throat and the crosshatch are the only two that I am sure about. I know that there are people that keep Niger triggers also, just not enough experience on my end with those.

The first two definately are, but they do get big, the cost is high on the crosshatch and you rarely see anything lees than 5-6" in size for sale, because that is the size of them that are captures.

 

[Erich]

Keep in mind all triggers have been known to be lumped into "not reef safe". Its just some people had better experiences with blue throats and so forth. Many have been found not to be reef safe. So always use caution when introducing a trigger, even if they are recommended by others.....
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[AqOb]

you can throw in sargassums into the "reef safe" group. I also have a customer who introduced a pink tail into his reef. He was fearful of it going after his shrimp but informed me the other day that he actually visits them for his daily cleaning.

 

[Brian]

The reef tank @ The Pratt Institute (Where Manhattan Reefs frag swap was held) has a Pink Tail in it.

It's a really sweet fish... Very tempting!

 

[drunktank]

i've also heard a well feed trigger, with a mixed diet is well likely to be aggressive, as one which isnt feed well and always on the hunt.

In my own experience, i've found blue throats and pink tails to be the safest choice if your set on having triggers

 

[kharn101]

what about nigers??

 

[Brian]

I've kept a Niger in my older reef tanks. It was fine with shrimp, snails, leathers and shrooms. I would ASSUME that it would be ok in most reef tanks.

 

[kathainbowen]

Keep in mind all triggers have been known to be lumped into "not reef safe". Its just some people had better experiences with blue throats and so forth. Many have been found not to be reef safe. So always use caution when introducing a trigger, even if they are recommended by others.....
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

This truly is the best way to put it.

I've had people swear up and down that their clown triggers are like "sweet puppies" and claim that their humu humu wouldn't hurt a thing in their tank. Then again, I've also heard such people come back a few weeks later and tell me the trigger suddenly turned wild. Triggers and angels fall into a class of wildly unpredictable animals, especially when it comes to reef compatability.

However, there are definitely species that are "more-reef-safe-than-others." These do include the crosshatch, blue jaw, sargassum, and (at times) the niger. This is not to say that they are completely reef safe, but that, out of all the triggers, those four seem to come with the highest success rate. These triggers are reputed for not completely decimating reef systems like other triggers do, but they are also a few horror stories here and there of what any trigger could be capable of in a captive reef system. I hadn't heard of keeping a pink tail, but, considering how similar in build and behavior they are to the other four, it doesn't really surprise me that other people could have success with them.

Different tricks can help increase reef capatability so long as you start with a good candidate for your tank. Definitely, I've heard more success with people who keep their triggers well feed with several small feedings throughout the day. Seems to keep 'em fat and happy, less prone to grazing on your tank. The other tricks seem to include ensuring that your tank is quite large, large for a trigger (because triggers already need a pretty big tank in their own right!). I've also heard of people who offer up corals like little sacrafices to their triggers to appease their grazing habits, putting in lots of cheap, hardy things like zoas, mushrooms, gsp, xenia, etc.

And, when all else fails, it IS a rather good excuse to start yourself a second tank if a trigger starts eating everything.

;D