Related FAQs: Balistapus Triggers, Balistapus 2, Undulatus Identification, Undulatus Behavior, Undulatus Compatibility, Undulatus Selection, Undulatus Systems, Undulatus Feeding, Undulatus Systems, Undulatus Disease, Undulatus Reproduction, Triggerfishes in General, Triggerfish: Identification, Selection, Selection 2, Compatibility, Behavior, Systems, Feeding, Diseases, Triggerfish Health 2, Reproduction,

Related Articles: Triggerfishes (Family Balistidae), Red Sea Triggerfishes, Triggers of the Cook Islands

/The Best Livestock for A Marine Aquarium (Series)

Bob Fenner

 Balistapus undulatus

Balistapus undulatus (Park 1797), the Undulated  or Orange-Lined Triggerfish is both loved and vilified in our hobby. On the one hand it’s a gorgeous species that is very hardy. On the other it can be a pure terror towards its tank-mates, eating or "sampling" them all to death. Don’t despair if you have a penchant for keeping this fish. True, most Indo-Pacific ones are mean to a fault and must be kept only with like-mad-minded fishes, but do look for the more mellow Red Sea specimens if you can. These are much more peaceful toward other species. An Undulated Trigger in the Red Sea above, and a small individual ( three inches) in captivity, six inch specimens in French Polynesia and the Red Sea respectively below.