Adding Reef Safe Triggerfish

Triggerfish (Family: Balistidae) is one of the most peculiar, oddly-shaped marine fish species and somehow with an unpredictable temperament. Overall, unlike common fish species whereby the eye position is located very near to the frontal region (close to the mouth) but for the triggerfish, the eye position is at a different location close to the middle belly region. This feature actually makes the fish look slightly larger compared to their actual size although in general, the species only grows up to an average of 6 inches in length and depending on the type, some might get as far as 1 foot.

Triggerfish is also known to be one of the smartest fish species around with this view shared within the group of experienced marine hobbyist who has kept them before as pets. They are known to be able to grasp simple pet training to perform some of the coolest tricks like swimming through hoops and although I’ve never seen one being performed before, what I know is that they are known to be able respond to signals and make some peculiar noise by grinding their teeth to denote that they understand and acknowledge your intention. But NO, they don’t bark like a dog does but that is somehow enough to convince some people to try and experiment it out themselves. Some triggerfish are very tame in the sense that they can get pretty close to their keeper (up to the extent of allowing belly rub) but somehow, there are also reports of triggerfishes attacking and biting their owners and injuring them with their strong jaw.

With those characteristics in mind, most people would be instantaneously interested in getting one. Fortunately triggerfish is not one of those rare or protected species and occasionally you will bump into a few up for sale at marine aquarium shops. They are decently priced although somehow in certain countries, traders were actually jacking up the price due to demand. Triggerfish is a tropical species meaning that they are found in oceans in tropical region and the only difference is whether the breed or species that you are getting are more colorful or more tolerant to artificial aquarium system. Some of the most popular types are the Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum), Sargassum (Xanthichthys ringens), Crosshatch (Xanthichthys mento) which are suitable for the reef tank, including Blue throat (Xanthichthys auromarginatus) and also Redtooth (Odonus niger). Overall, the fishes are not particularly demanding when trying to make them adjust from the wild natural condition in the ocean to your reef aquarium but care must be taken when purchasing the fish which might potentially be poisoned with cyanide (in order to make them easy to catch). Avoid buying frail-looking fish especially those with torn fins.

Caring for the fish is relatively easy and simple and the minimum requirement is that you must have at least some knowledge in marine fishkeeping. Triggerfish can be kept in a community tank comprising of different marine species like angelfish, tang and damselfish but care must be taken to ensure that the space you are providing to them is large enough to avoid overcrowding. Anything below 50 gallon aquarium size for one single triggerfish alone is deemed not suitable. Like what was mentioned earlier, Triggerfish also has very unpredictable temperament as they can easily turn against their tank mates, attacking and killing them even though everything was just fine earlier before. They are particularly aggressive during the mating period as they are known to defend their nest from intruders. Fine examples would be the Queen Triggerfish which is notorious for attacking unsuspecting divers encroaching close to their territory. When it comes to diet, they will accept just about anything but varied diet should be supplied from time to time and the best environment to grow them must have a supporting refugium system to cultivate life foods.

Other marine pets that you should consider: Seahorses
If you are an aquarist who prefer solitary setup rather than a collection of community fishes, you should consider Miniatus Grouper