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Related FAQs: Red Sea
Triggers, Triggerfishes in General,
Triggerfish: Identification, Selection, Selection 2, Compatibility, Behavior, Systems, Feeding, Diseases, Triggerfish Health 2, Reproduction,
Related Articles: Triggerfishes,
Pet-fishing in the
Cooks, Triggers of the
Red Sea,
/A Diversity of Aquatic Life
Triggerfishes of the Cook
Islands
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| Bob Fenner |
Sufflamen bursa
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Triggerfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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Balistidae, the Triggerfishes. This area is a balistid lovers
paradise. All told there are fourteen triggers in the Cooks?
"Nice" ones from here include:
The three "Lagoon Triggers" often sold as
"Picassos", Rhinecanthus aculeatus (aka, the Blackbar
Trigger), Rhinecanthus lunula (aka the Halfmoon Triggerfish) and
Rhinecanthus rectangulus (aka the Wedge-tail Trigger). Other
relatively (for the family!) easygoing Triggers from here include the
Black Triggerfish found all around the world in tropical seas,
Melichthys niger, and the shy Pinktail Trigger, Melichthys
vidua. Though it?s not a great beauty, we?ll mention the Lei or
Boomerang Trigger, Sufflamen bursa here as it?s found in the
Cooks and isn?t so aggressive?
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Rhinecanthus abyssus Matsuura & Shiobara 1989, the
Deepwater Triggerfish. Western Pacific. To about eight inches in
length.
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No pic
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The most popular Rhinecanthus species is immortalized in the
song of none other than Don Ho himself. This is the Humuhumu
nukunuku apua'a (literally "water pig with a
needle" in Hawaiian, in reference to grunting noise they
make and their spiny dorsal "trigger"), AKA the Picasso
or Lagoon Trigger (aka the "Blackbar" to science),
Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Linnaeus 1758). Two and six inch
specimens in captivity shown.
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One of the most rare members of the family, the Halfmoon
Picasso or Crescent Trigger, Rhinecanthus lunula Randall
& Steene 1983, can be had for a few hundred dollars out of
Fiji or Australia.
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No pic
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The Rectangle or Reef Triggerfish ("Wedge-Tail
Triggerfish" to science), Rhinecanthus rectangulus
(Bloch & Schneider 1801)shares the waters and common Humu
name with the Picasso in Hawai'i. Indo-Pacific, Red Sea,
east African coast. Shown here in Hawai'i. To one foot in
length.
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Most wholesalers offer two species of Melichthys more or less
continuously, the circumtropical Black (Durgon) Triggerfish,
Melichthys niger (Bloch 1786) (usually out of
Hawai'i), to eighteen inches. Pictured: an individual in
the Bahamas, and one in Maui, Hawai'i.
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And the Pinktail Trigger, Melichthys vidua
(Richardson 1845), is the other commonly offered member of the
genus. Found throughout the Indo-Pacific. These are
"medium" aggressive fish species that grow to about a
foot in length in captivity, sixteen inches in the wild. Here are
specimens in captivity and Hawai'i.
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Most commonly offered are the Sickle, Lei or my favorite,
Boomerang Triggerfish, Sufflamen bursa (Bloch &
Schneider 1801), (mainly out of Hawai'i), an adult there
shown and a smaller (four inch) individual in the Cooks.
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Bad Boys:
Such can?t be said for the bruisers, the Undulated Trigger,
Balistapus undulatus, The Titan Trigger, Balistoides
viridescens, Redtoothed Trigger, Odonus niger, Yellow-margin
Trigger, Pseudobalistes flavomarginatus and Yellow-spotted
Triggerfish, Pseudobalistes fuscus. These are fishes of
considerable ultimate size and capacity for doing major damage to
peaceful fishes and most invertebrates.
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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.
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The Titan Trigger, Balistoides viridescens (Bloch &
Schneider 1801), tops out at about two feet. Here much more
subdued hiding under an Acroporid coral... much better than
leaving its nest to come bite you!
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The Red-Toothed or Niger Trigger, Odonus niger (Ruppell
1836), gets its first name from the color around the mouth that
develops as the fish attains maximum size (to 18 inches).
Indo-Pacific, Red Sea. This is generally a medium
aggressive species, safe for rough and tumble fish-only systems.
An aquarium specimen and one in Moorea, French Polynesia.
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Yellow Fin, Margin or Face Triggerfish, Pseudobalistes
flavimarginatus (Ruppell 1829). A beauty and peaceful for a
triggerfish when small. To two feet. Indo-west Pacific, Red Sea
to along Africa's eastern coast to Natal. Here is a one inch
individual in the Maldives and an adult in the Andaman Sea off
Thailand.
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The Blue Line Triggerfish ("Yellow-Spotted
Triggerfish" to science), Pseudobalistes fuscus
(Bloch & Schneider 1801). Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, east African
coast to South Africa. To twenty two inches in length. A juvenile
in captivity and a full size adult in the Red Sea shown.
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Not mean, but not necessarily hardy.
There are two species of the genus Xanthichthys here as well,
but these shy, oceanic species should really only be displayed in huge
public aquarium systems. They languish in small (less than thousands of
gallons) tanks. Much the same can be said for the circum-tropical
Spotted Oceanic Triggerfish found here. It rarely survives long in
captivity.
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Like the Blue Throat or Gilded Triggerfish, Xanthichthys
auromarginatus (Bennett 1832), that are true reef dwellers.
Here is a female and a male off of Maui, Hawai'i. Indo-west
Pacific. To about a foot total length.
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Xanthichthys caeruleolineatus Randall, Matsuura &
Zama 1978, the Blue-Line Triggerfish. Indo-west Pacific. To
thirteen inches.
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No pic
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Xanthichthys lineopunctatus (Holland 1854), the Striped
Triggerfish. Indo-west Pacific to Africa's east coast. To a
foot in length.
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No pic.
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A more open ocean species, the Redtail or Crosshatch
Triggerfish, Xanthichthys mento (Jordan & Gillbert
1882). Entire tropical Pacific. To a foot in length. This one in
captivity.
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Canthidermis maculatus (Bloch 1786), the Spotted
Oceanic Triggerfish. Circumglobal. To twenty inches in length. A
pelagic species that adapts poorly to captivity in general. To
about a foot and a half in length.
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Triggerfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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