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FAQs about the Undulated Triggerfish
Disease/Health Related
FAQs:
Balistapus 1, Balistapus 2,
Undulatus Identification, Undulatus
Behavior, Undulatus Compatibility,
Undulatus Selection, Undulatus
Systems, Undulatus Feeding,
Undulatus Systems, Undulatus
Reproduction,
Triggerfishes in General, Triggerfish:
Identification,
Selection,
Selection 2,
Compatibility,
Behavior,
Systems,
Feeding,
Diseases,
Triggerfish Health 2,
Reproduction, Related
Articles: Triggerfish,
Balistapus Species,
Red Sea Triggerfishes, | 
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Sick undulated triggerfish (Health; environment?)
10/20/08
Hi Bob,
<It's actually Neale today!>
I
have had my Undulated Triggerfish for the past year and a half, give or
take a few months. The other day when I came home from work I found her
lying on her side on the bottom of the tank.
<Hmm... while Triggers
sometimes adopt unusual resting poses, particularly when they're wedged
into crevices, if the fish is out in the open resting on the sand, then
that's not at all typical.>
She has always been a very skittish fish
and usually hides whenever anyone comes near the tank.
<Triggers
generally aren't skittish when settled; indeed, they're usually at least
curious about things outside the tank, and sometimes outright
aggressive. Do review environmental factors. Fish commonly become
nervous when kept in too-small a tank, when exposed to poor water
conditions, or when subjected to loud noises such as TV sets or banging
doors.>
She has also always been a great eater and hasn't come out to
eat since I found her like that. I nudged her with a wood dowel to see
if she was just being lazy, and she swam to her usual cave/archway she
hides in. She doesn't seem to be breathing heavy or anything like that
and there are no color changes.
<If there aren't any external
symptoms, then I'd strongly suspect water conditions.>
She is in a 30
gallon tank with a yellow tang, I realize this is way to small for the
tang, and will be way to small for the trigger also.
<Far, far too
small for this fish. Even a tank three times this size would be of
dubious value for this large, highly territorial trigger.>
I am in
the process right now of upgrading to a 90 or 150 gallon tank.
<Suspect all will be well once the fish is moved into a cycled 150
gallon system, pending proper acclimation of course. Wouldn't waste your
money on a 90 gallon system. The price difference between that and the
150 gallon system will be small, but the advantages of the 150 gallon
system over the smaller tank are substantial.>
The tang is still very
active, although also skittish whenever anyone comes by, and eating
great. I checked the parameters and found that everything was pretty
good. Ammonia=0, Salinity=1.022, Temp=76, pH=8.2, Nitrite=<0.2, and
Nitrate=20.
<Well, apart from the salinity being a bit on the low
side, the nitrite level is dangerously high. Few marine fish will
tolerate continual exposure to detectable levels of nitrite. Frankly,
there's either zero nitrite (safe) or non-zero nitrite (unsafe). Review
in particular filtration, though I suspect the size of the tank will
make providing proper filtration difficult.>
I usually do a 5 gallon
water change every two weeks so that is in the plans for next week.
<For an overstocked tank with large, messy fish, this isn't a terribly
generous water change.>
When I read through the FAQs the only thing I
found that was close was someone whose Niger Trigger had that problem
due to a high pH. I don't think that is my problem and the rest of the
time, it seemed that you advised to just wait and see what happens due
to the triggers being such tough customers.
<Well, it's true that the
Balistidae have remarkable levels of hardiness, even compared to
freshwater fish, let alone marines. But the cards are stacked against
you here, and I don't see any advantages to delaying the aquarium
upgrade.>
The only thing that has been different was I fed her some
silversides a few days ago which I hadn't done in a long time, could
those fish have gone bad and made my trigger ill?
<It's conceivable,
but good quality frozen foods should be safe for, say, three months
after being opened if kept in a deep freeze.>
I've had those frozen
silversides for about 4 months at least and haven't fed them in 1-2
months. She gets fed krill or squid mostly at least once a day or every
other day, and twice a day with Algae flake stuff for the tang. Any help
would be greatly appreciated, sorry this was so long. Also, she is not
lying on the bottom anymore and is upright in her cave, she just hasn't
come out.
<Suspect this is more a reaction to steadily deteriorating
environmental conditions as the fish is growing and getting bigger.
Likely to get worse with time, so do pull forward the aquarium upgrade
if possible. In the meantime review filtration, and concentrate on why
you're getting incomplete processing of the nitrogen cycle. You should
have zero nitrite, but that's not the case, so something is amiss.
Likely not enough capacity for biological filtration. Perhaps not enough
live rock or else the canister filter being used is too small or has not
properly serviced. Cheers, Neale.
Triggerfish/Health 8/8/06
Hello,
<Hello Brent>
I am writing to you because I am in a situation where I feel asking for
help may be the best thing to do at this point. I purchased a 3 1/2 inch
Undulated Trigger 3 days ago. After the usual acclimation period I added
him to his 75 gallon new home. Quarantine was skipped because this tank
is due to be stripped and redone in the near future and my 30 gallon QT
tank is occupied. All seemed to be the norm and after a few hours I
tended to my regular maintenance. I have a Aqua-C Remora pro w/ Mag 3
for a skimmer. I removed the sponge from the pump to clean it and never
thought twice about it being a problem. I left it off while I did other
things and eventually took a nap. After waking up and checking on my new
pet I found him stuck to the intake of the Mag/3. Like an idiot I
reached in to help him without first turning off the pump. More than
half of his one side is now a big hickey. He seems to be active. His
color (minus the sore) is normal. I would think that this fish would be
well on the road to recovery except he hasn't eaten. I have offered cut
shrimp, krill, formula one, trigger formula, squid and Mysis shrimp.
Here are my water readings.
Temp 78
SPG 1.023
ph 8.3
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10 or lower
The tank is fully
cycled and the only other fish is a 3 stripe damsel. I have added 10
teaspoons of Epsom salt. What else if anything can I do?
<Give it a
little more time. Once the trauma period is over the appetite should
return if no internal injuries to the fish occurred. James (Salty Dog)>
Brent Failing Undulate Trigger ...No, failed aquarist. - 2/15/2006
Hello.
<<Hello Amber.>>
I have a four year old Undulate Trigger.
He was recently moved (December) into a larger tank (40 gallons).
<<This fish reaches a foot in length. He needs a tank at LEAST double
this.>>
All of his familiar shells/ornamentation was moved with him.
About a month went by before the algae started to show ("normal" levels
that have never bothered the fish here before); the algae were a mix of
the green and the red. Recently, the red algae began to "GROW" into
membrane-like coverings throughout the tank. This obviously did not make
trigger happy.
<<Poor water quality is bugging him more, I ‘m
sure.>>
Last Thursday I physically removed as much of the algae as I
could while I prepared to do the water change/ maintenance (I know I
should have changed/cleaned the filter sooner, but was out of carbon).
<<Not a compelling reason to skimp on maintenance.>>
Between Friday
and Saturday, I cleaned as much as I could while I prepared the new
water/ treated it with buffer and Prime. I took a water test on
Saturday, and the Nitrite/Nitrate were off, everything else was within
ideal range.
<<What does 'off' mean. Please give numbers. If you
were detecting nitrIte, something is very wrong in your tank. You need
to move your trigger into larger quarters.>>
I had plans to do a 25%
water change, clean filtration etc. on Monday.
<<Had plans? Did
you?>>
Alas, Sunday Morning, trigger was not as vigorous as usual.
He came out of his shell only once for a quick nip and that was all.
<<He is being poisoned by his own waste. I’d be ornery too.>>
Sunday night, he wouldn't come out to eat, and was 'gasping' and looking
generally stressed.. I did a quick 10% water change.
<<Not nearly
enough to keep toxins down.>>
Monday afternoon the Trigger was lying
down outside of his shell, breathing rapidly, and otherwise NOT
swimming, even when I tried to 'nudge' him.
<<Bad idea, will only
stress him further.>>
I broke down the filtration (a magnum 350 with
activated carbon), cleaned the hosing, did the 25% water change, put a
bubbler in to give him more Oxygen.
Tuesday morning the only change
was he is lying on the sand floor on the opposite end of the tank.. He
is not breathing as rapidly and does not look as stressed, but his color
is darker than normal, and he still will not swim or eat that I can see.
<<Doesn’t sound any better to me.>>
I took water test, showed
ammonia ideal, Nitrite .5, Nitrate 40, PH and Alkalinity, showed high.
<<These subjective terms ‘ideal, high’ mean nothing to me. Please give
numbers. NirtIte showing is a sign of terrible water quality, and
a lack of appropriate cycling bacteria.>>
I have new water again to
do another 10% water change today (Wednesday) & to remove as much red
algae as I can.. Is there anything else I can do for this fish??
<<Yes. Do LARGE (75%+) water changes as many times per day as needed to
keep ammonia and nitrIte at 0, while you go buy a larger tank.>>
I
don't see any white spots or other discoloration, and frankly.. I am out
of ideas.
<<It’s quite obvious what the problems are here.>>
Any
advice would be helpful at this point.
Thank you.
Amber A.
<<Lisa.>> Re: Failing Undulate Trigger ...No, failed aquarist. -
2/15/2006
You know, I e-mailed you looking for help and advice..
NOT for mockery and debasement!
<<I did not mock you, Amber.>>
Obviously we are aware that the Trigger will need larger quarters.
<<Was not even mentioned.>>
We have a 150 gallon tank that will be
his future home; we are currently researching equipment & environmental
choices to see which would be the best options.
<<Awesome.>>
When I say that ammonia is ideal, it is because on the quick-strip test
that is the readout option! There are no numbers!
<<Ah I see, hence
the confusion.>>
I realize nitrite and nitrate are bad... if you
were reading my e-mail, you would have noticed I took IMMEDIATE steps to
rectify those levels!!
<<I did read it; I simply feel/felt that
larger water changes are in order. Nothing rude in that.>>
There
was no need to mock my maintenance methods... the scheduled maintenance
was not due until the last week of the month... so it is understandable
that I did not have carbon on hand.
<<I did not mock you, just
stated that lack of carbon is not a reason to let water quality slide.>>
But gee, thanks for all your great advice!
<<Although you are being
sarcastic, you’re welcome. If you set aside the fact that you think I
mocked you, you will see that I suggested larger quarters/water changes,
and that these are quite helpful. I am sorry, but there is no other
answer to give you.>>
Meanwhile this trigger is very lethargic..
probably starving...and I'm doing water changes every day (I only did
25% because the action was stressing the fish more!)
<<Even if so,
reducing the toxins in his water is the main concern here, and will kill
your Trigger if not corrected.>>
So I'll continue doing daily water
changes, with hopes this fish will pull through, without any helpful
information/advice from you.
<<Sorry you feel that way, but not
true. Lisa.>>
Amber A.
- Is My Trigger OK? -
UNDULATE TRIGGER HELLO. first time
writing! <Greetings to you, JasonC here...>
I have received tons
of helpful info from your FAQ'S. Good to know someone cares. My
question is I purchased an undulate trigger 5 in today from local
LFS which I ordered. When I arrived to pick him up he was floating
upside down in a bucket I touched him and he swam down and then
floated right back up so I rushed him home to my quarantine tank.
Well he seems a little better and staying right side up but still
seams to be listing a little and looks bloated in the belly. Maybe
just fat? What could it be? Is it possible for him to have long term
damage from shipping or swim bladder problem? <It is possible...> I
would greatly appreciate any suggestions or help. <I'd just give it
some time. Capture and shipping are very stressful and every animal
takes that stress a little differently. All in all, Triggers are
pretty tough customers so as long as its new home is in good shape -
clean water, places to hide, etc. - it should be ok in time.>
I'VE INCLUDED A PIC - THANKS, COREY
<Cheers, J -- > |
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