Juvenile white tail... trigger... ID, comp.  9/13/07
Hi Bob and all at WWM!
<Howdy Phil!>
Always a pleasure to visit your site. I recently bought a baby white tail trigger, about 2 inches long, purported to be a Sufflamen chrysopterus, but it has a complete white border around its tail. Does that indicate that the specimen is a Sufflamen albicaudatus?
<Mmm, yes, likely so>
Also, I know the adults of this species are sexually dimorphic (males have more blue in their throat area, I understand), but is this feature present in juveniles, or does it appear later as the fish matures?
<The latter... and faint at first>
My specimen is just a dark gray brown on its dorsal half and cream-colored on its ventral aspect.
Lastly, how suitable are Sufflamen for reef setups?
<I rate them highly... always found in association... don't seem to be quite as adventitious as other genera... in "trying" sessile invert.s>
My trigger is rather docile now because he's so tiny, but can they coexist with mushrooms, anemones, and other sessile invertebrates? I realize that crustaceans are always dicey.
Best wishes,
Phil S.
<I do give you good odds of all getting along here... with food training of the trigger from such a young age especially. Bob Fenner>

Bursa trigger, sel.   6/30/07
Hello all at WWM!
<Phil>
I am a former marine aquarium aquarist,
<"Come on back to the fold">
getting back into the hobby after a hiatus of a few years. I saw a nice 4.5" true bursa trigger (Sufflamen bursa) at my LFS. As triggers go, I have heard that they are a little on the smaller, more docile side, relatively speaking, so I'm thinking it might be a good candidate for my new FOS.
<For one of size, yes... relative to most Balistids>
I like their color scheme--attractive, but not garish. Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.
Love your site! Best wishes--Phil in Lancaster, PA ... <Ooh, near the fab TFP retail outlet>
<Thank you... Do please send along a/the "rest" of your intended stocking plan, perhaps some particulars re the size, shape, make up of this system. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Adding A Whitetail Trigger - 12/24/06
Today I purchased a 2-inch Whitetail Trigger for my 165 gallon FOWLR.
<<Neat!>>
I probably have somewhere between 150-200 pounds of rock.
<<...!  What about "room for the fish?">>
Counting the trigger my tank has 7 fish total, and I'm not planning to add anymore. I have a pair of Black-White Clowns (2 1/2 to 3 inches), a Half Black Dwarf Angel (3 inches), a One Spot Rabbitfish (5 inches), a Swallowtail Large Angel (4 inches) and a Yellow Tang (5-6 inches). I have always wanted a trigger, and have done quite a bit of reading, but would like to know your opinion. All 6 have lived rather peacefully in my tank for over a year. Did I make a mistake? Thanks!
<<Well Scott, I'd rather see you "finish" your research "before" you make a purchase...but in this instance I think you will be fine.  Sufflamen albicaudatus is considered a rather peaceful species...as triggers go...though I'm sure you are aware all fish are individual in their temperament and this is no "guarantee" all will be well.  One thing I would like to state...you may want to consider removing some of your rock to give these fishes more room to roam about.  You can look to ancillary filtration such as a fluidized-bed filter if you determine more bio-filtration is needed after removal of the rock>>
Scott Mickle
<<Regards, Eric Russell>>

Blue Throat Triggers in a Reef? - 04/19/06
Hi Bob-
<<EricR here today...Hello!>>
We have a 260 gallon reef tank with:
2 purple fire fish
2 fire fish
A mated pair of tomato clowns (with eggs now) living in a hosting anemone
(and two other bubble tips)
A psychedelic mandarin
A coral beauty
A yellow tang
A hippo tang
A young (perhaps 3”) Naso tang
Three cleaner shrimp
2 fire cleaner shrimp
Lots of hermits
Two emerald crabs
Corals (and a small, but beautiful, Crocea clam)
We are considering some other fish but after spending days fishing the damsels out of the tank……we are determined to keep a peaceful tank now that the fire fish actually come out to swim and eat.
<<Mmm, yes...these "sweet tempered" little fish (towards non-conspecifics anyway) usually suffer terribly in a tank with bullies such as the damsels>>
We would love to get a male and female blue throat triggerfish.  I have read many of your comments on them and it seems that you like these fish.
<<Indeed...as do I.  I have a male Blue Throat in my 375g reef tank.  I had a pair to begin with, but sadly the female was stricken by internal parasites some months after I acquired her and
stopped feeding...but the male has been doing great for about a year now>>
Do you think that they would be a good (and fairly non-aggressive) addition to our tank?
<<They are boisterous and aggressive feeders which can intimidate some fishes, but otherwise have proven quite peaceful in my experience>>
We have read that they can bother “ornamental shrimp”, do you think they would hurt the cleaner shrimps?  I hope not!
<<Mine doesn't bother shrimp or snail>>
They are the friendliest creatures in the tank-they always eat right out of our hands.  What about the clam?
<<I have three T. crocea that have never been a problem where the trigger is concerned>>
We are open to other suggestions in addition to the trigger too.  Do you think another type of tang would be a good idea?  Perhaps a Kole?
<<I think you might be "full up" on tangs>>
We are also thinking of adding a few royal Gramma for color and action (since they hide less than the fire fish).
<<Should be fine...though I'm not sure two will peacefully cohabitate, even in your large tank>>
We look forward to your advice as always.
<<If you decide to get a "pair" of Blue Throats, may I suggest you try to acquire specimens from Hawaii as they will be in better condition due to proper handling and shorter transit time.  Also...make sure you order/receive the male and female at the same time...have them quarantined together...and introduce them to your tank together when the time comes>>
Thanks a million! Pam and Rob
<<Is a pleasure to assist.  Regards EricR>>

Blue Throat Triggers in a Reef? II - 04/19/06
Thank you so much for the advice Eric!  I think you sold us!
<<Ah, great!>>
Have a great day!
-Pam and Rob
<<I know you will enjoy the triggers.  Regards, EricR>>

Is there any sure fire way to tell the difference between the Half-moon Trigger
and the White tail?
<Yes. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/triggers/sufflamen/index.htm>
The reason I ask this is because I recently purchased a "White tail Trigger" for $5, but now think it is actually a Half-moon.  I first
bought it because when it was fully happy it was a solid brown not like the other white tail they had that has the top portion a cream color and the bottom
a brown.  This little guy also had the vertical white cheek bar that the other White did not have and looked in a book and showed that the Half-moon has it.  I
saw on your site that the Half-moon does not have a continuous tail edging and mine does not (ends about 1cm before the tip of the tail on both upper and lower
portions).
  Generally Half-moons wholesale for $175 dollars, so is it possible that our supplier made a very valuable mistake?
<Yes>
Is the tail the sure fire way to tell half-moon apart from White tail?
<As far as I know, yes.>
  I swear some triggers must be nightmares for taxonomists (juv Titan and Pineapple-Yellow Margin, and the Half-moon and White tail).  I have an appreciation for their job after getting so confused with the above triggers!  BTW, the White/Half is 4" long not including tail.  Sorry for the long question and thanks in advance for any info you can provide!  White or Half I will still love him the same no matter which he is!  
<Real good. Maybe check fishbase.org re these two as well. Bob Fenner>

Re: Halfmoon vs. Whitetail Trigger
Mr. Fenner, Thanks for the reply.  After more investigation after sending you the email I am pretty sure that it is a Halfmoon!  Also after looking at the
Sufflamen page more the trig I have looks EXACTLY like the last picture of the Halfmoons photo gallery.  They look identical.  Thank you very much.  Kim
<Ah, good. You're welcome. Bob Fenner>

Blue Jaw Trigger
Bob, first of all -- great website; great information. All of your responses are so helpful and knowledgeable! I am on a network, so I cannot e-mail directly through your website. Hope this will work.
<So far, so good>
Okay, I have a 180 gallon saltwater tank that has been up and running for about 3.5 years. Inhabitants include a 3ft. Zebra Moray, 1 powderblue tang (3"), 1 yellow tang (3"), 1 Kole tang (3"), an Imperator angel (6") that we got as a juvenile 3 yrs ago and are watching him change -- very enjoyable experience, and a bunch of little guys -- 12 assorted damsels, a royal Gramma and a little (1.5") percula clown.
<Nice>
Last week I "rescued" from our tank at work (180 gallon, same set up as my home tank), a blue jaw triggerfish (about 6") who was very shy and had first been harassed by a large powderblue (he stopped eating for 2 wks as a result!) and finally by a trio of Heniochus (he retreated to hiding in a shell and only coming out for the occasional feeding). I loved the trigger and could not stand to see him be sent back to the pet store because of his apparent unhappiness. I consulted with the store owners and they felt he would do well in my tank and probably not bother the small fish as he was so shy.
Plus, my group gets along very well (even the tangs, if you can believe it -- though that took a little coaxing) -- so not much threat of harassment, I felt.
<Always the "X" factor (unknown) when dealing with Triggerfishes... though this species, whole genus lies on the mellow side of balistids>
Anyway, I took him home and after 5 days he is doing great. Seems very comfortable, eating well
(silversides and small shrimp chunks -- even a few flakes). I'm still worried about the damsels -- I count them every day. I was also concerned about how the Emperor would react as she is "queen bee", but she doesn't seem to care.
<So different in shape, likely the Angel doesn't recognize it as a threat>
So -- what are the chances of him turning mean? I have read from various sources that Bluejaw's
(aka Bluechin, aka gilded triggerfish) are more docile. Also, I'm a bit worried about being overstocked. Do you think I'm okay?
<I do think you will be fine here. The strongest statement I can make is that I would have done the same as you.>
Thanks for the advice.
<Be chatting, Bob Fenner>

Bursa trigger
Hi! 
<cheers, my dear. Anthony>
I have a 30 gallon tank with a 3 in bursa (black patch) triggerfish for about one week. I was originally told that he would be compatible with other fish (such as a clown and various tangs) but have since found out that he is not. 
<actually, they normally are quite compatible in an active community tank. You just get exceptions sometimes...apparently he didn't read any books to tell him how to behave in captivity <wink>>
What other fish would he be compatible with? 
<a tough question to answer really...because his adult size will be too big to nearly live in a thirty gallon alone. So any further recommendations would be irresponsible on my part>
Additionally, I have discovered that a 30 gallon tank is too small. How long can I keep him in a 30 gallon tank? 
<ahh...you are ahead of me! Good insight. Six months would be tolerable...sure to be out into bigger quarters by that time. In a bigger tank, small grouper species, a large female maroon clownfish, a feisty sailfin tang, and a swift wrasse are just some possible tankmates>
Should I not add any other fish until I upgrade? 
<absolutely do wait>
I'm also confused about what is considered normal behavior. He has built 2 caves and stays in them almost all of the time (except during feedings which appear to be normal). He seems very sensitive to noise and will dart back in his cave if I walk past or the phone rings. His black patch also changes color to a creamish tan at times. Is this normal? 
<all very normal behavior for some triggers... a larger tank with "dither" fish may entice him to come out more>
Is there anything I should be doing to make him feel more comfortable?
<they love to play with small snail and hermit crab shells!>
The aquarium store told me to keep the light off. Is that correct?
<that's insane... do be very wary of future advice from that fountain of wisdom...hehe. Please put the lights on a normal photoperiod (8-12 hrs typically) that you can enjoy with your lifestyle/schedule. >
Thanks, Lisa
<very welcome...Anthony>

Bursa Trigger
I bought a medium Bursa Trigger yesterday. I brought him home, acclimated him to the new tank (though I tested the fish store's water and the levels were the same except I have almost no nitrates and the fish store's was over 150 ppm) and when I released him and he got used to the tank he began scratching and banging himself against the rock. Since, I have looked at pictures in books and online and some of the Bursa Triggers have a large dark spot towards their tail and some do not. 
<You are correct>
Mine does and that is where he continues to scratch and bang against the rock. He is in a 40 gallon tank with only a tobacco bass. He eats well, brine shrimp and plankton, and I put phytoplankton in the tank as well. Is it typical behavior for them to scratch against the rock?
<To some extent, yes>
Is it possible he has ick? Is the spot normal or a sign of him hitting himself against the rock? 
<Did you at least freshwater dip/bath this fish? Am sure you're aware that it will get too big for the forty...>
Thank you so much for your advice, your site is indispensable!
Arienne Wyatt
<At this point I would take a wait and watch perspective... Please do read through the marine disease sections of WetWebMedia.com 
Bob Fenner>

Re: Bursa Trigger
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your quick response. Yes, I freshwater dipped him last night, but only for about 3 minutes due to his high agitation. Will that be long enough?
<Hopefully yes>
He did not appear to have the normal white spots (I recognize ick now because I had a puffer who infected one of my other tanks and I had to freshwater dip everything in the tank and almost lost a striated wrasse because she tried to jump) of ick. I was not aware that the tank will soon be too small for him, what size does he need? 
<Mmm, "the bigger the better" as the saying goes... Really, ultimately at least a hundred gallons.>
I am constantly shutting down smaller tanks and starting new larger ones. Also, the scratching and banging at the rock is incessant, he will swim a little then go back to the rock to scratch and bump himself against it. Something I forgot to mention earlier also is that he will occasionally dart quickly around the tank and then go bang his spot on the rock. So is his spot normal or is a bruise from bumping against the rock? Thank you so much for your time!!
Arienne Wyatt
<If you have a larger system to move this fish to, I would. Also, please experiment with placing dark paper on the sides, back of your system. It may sound odd, but this fish may be reacting to its own reflection (you might not be able to see it from outside the system)... Bob Fenner>

Re: Bursa Trigger
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your quick response. 
<Anthony Calfo with the follow-up>
Yes, I freshwater dipped him last night, but only for about 3 minutes due to his high agitation. Will that be long enough? 
<3 minutes is a bare minimum... really too short for good efficacy IMO. Agitation is normal and expected for fishes in FW dips. They just have to deal with it and triggers are extremely tolerant of FW dips. 5 minutes minimum... and can go as long as 10+ minutes. Trying to jump out of the bucket or shooting streams of water out from the surface are bad signs... all else is a ticket to stay in the bath (including laying flat on bucket bottom...normal)>
He did not appear to have the normal white spots (I recognize ick now because I had a puffer who infected one of my other tanks and I had to freshwater dip everything in the tank and almost lost a striated wrasse because she tried to jump) of ick. I was not aware that the tank will soon be too small for him, what size does he need? 
<it would be nice to see an 8-12" fish in a six foot long tank in the 2-3 year picture. I'd recommend a 150/180 in a perfect world. You could make an intermediate jump to 90 gallon... but that still won't hold him comfortably in the long run and is a waste of money IMO unless you'll keep little or no other fishes>
I am constantly shutting down smaller tanks and starting new larger ones. 
<yes... a pain in the but and waste of money>
Also, the scratching and banging at the rock is incessant, he will swim a little then go back to the rock to scratch and bump himself against it. Something I forgot to mention earlier also is that he will occasionally dart quickly around the tank and then go bang his spot on the rock. So is his spot normal or is a bruise from bumping against the rock? 
<hmmm... not sure without a picture. If bilaterally symmetrical then natural no doubt>
Thank you so much for your time!! Arienne Wyatt<best regards, Anthony>

RE: Tank Toxicity, Triggerfish
Hi Bob,
Welcome back, and I hope Tijuana was grand... or was that Cancun?
<The latter and a sprint to Cozumel>
I had a
situation (as described below) when you were in Mexico. Many thanks to Steve
for his excellent advice. You gentlemen perform a great service to aquarists
and their pets alike.
<Thank you>
(after the tide contamination)
Here's what I did: I performed 2 50% water changes, 2 days apart. After the
first, my Atlantic blue tang showed serious amounts of his ever-present ich.
Just before my Tide debacle, I began raising the salinity with my weekly
water changes from 1.020, and was about 1.021 when this incident happened. I
had lowered it to fight the ich about 6 weeks earlier. I now lowered the sg
to 1.019 over the 2 changes, and added another 25lb of very cured live rock,
and a bunch of Caulerpa. Yesterday and this morning, the tang looked better
than I've seen him in months. He had been getting very pale overnight, and
this morning had crescent pale patches on his sides, like I believe he
should.
<Yes... and do change considerably during dark/sleeping times>
Of the guests in my 72 gallon, (3 hermit crabs, 1 maroon clownfish 5", 1
lionfish 8", 1 blue tang 5", 8 snails, 1 very small and sickly quadricolor
anemone, chocolate chip star, and brittle star) who do you believe would be
the first to show the long-term affects of my possible (ok, ok.. probable)
poisoning?
<Depending on type/cause... the snails, crabs, anemone...>
My Choco appears to have lost a little weight, but I think I
might just be paranoid. Also, do you have a suggestion on how long I should
hang on to the anemone who has lost a number of tentacles from his move, but
still has a number that are bulbous?
<Hang on? As long as it's alive>
I don't want to throw a viable creature
away, I don't want his death to add even more pollutants into my system and
kill more livestock. My clown paid attention to it the first few days, but
has abandoned it - making me believe that it is doomed.
<Not necessarily>
Additionally, I've been planning on adding 2 more fish to my system. I'm
thinking that a Sufflamen albicaudatus would be my best choice for my next
addition.
<I would not add a triggerfish to this mix>
I'm still not extremely confident that I can properly keep more
difficult specimens - and my occasional stupidity clearly reminds me
whenever I gain confidence. I would also like to add a large angel, but I
would wait a few months. I'm not too awfully concerned about the eventual
size of the fish, because I've been itching for a much larger aquarium
anyway. So, how long do you believe I should wait before adding my next
fish? Would it be advisable to set my q-tank up awhile, or should I put off
any additions for more than a month?
<Get the larger tank, up and running first>
Also, out of curiosity, I've been hand-feeding my maroon clown. Is this
practice common?
<Yes, common enough>
I was very surprised - just after feeding one day, a krill
was pinned up against some LR, so I reached in and picked it out, and the
clown swam over to my hand, so I just handed the food to him. He eagerly
grabbed it.
Thanks in advance for your always knowledgeable advice.
And, if you make it to Arizona to do any reef diving, look me up.
<Mmm, am out to the Desert Marine Aquarium Society in a few months. Bob Fenner>

Lei Triggerfish
Hi Bob, I recently acquired a Hawaiian Lei
Triggerfish (Sufflamen bursa) about 6 inches long for
my 70 gallon tank. 
<This is a large one to start with... shipped at this size?>
It is the only inhabitant right
now. You described them as mellow but what type of
inhabitants would you recommend with this type of
trigger. Any more information or experiences you have
had with this particular fish would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you.
Sam
<Have just been diving with this species about (in Indonesia)... most any non-tasty invertebrate, not-so-smart or slow fish tankmates of size will do... A list of prospective livestock is easier to respond to. Bob Fenner>

Re: Lei Triggerfish
<Hi Samir, Lorenzo Gonzalez, responding for Bob. I see he's already replied to your earlier message, but he's in Indonesia, and can't get online much.>
Mr. Fenner, I'm sorry to bother you again but I just
wanted to make my request for information more
specific. I want to keep an angelfish species with
this trigger. I am interested in the French, Asfur.
or Passer Angelfish. I know these particular species
get big especially the French and asfur. Would I be
able to keep one of these with this trigger in a 70
gallon tank for about two years until I have the
resources to upgrade. Your recommendation would be
greatly appreciated.
<Any of the big angels will probably be fine with that trigger. But two aggressive, heavy-bodied, heavy-eating, 6 inch fish... is too much for a 70 gallon, in my opinion. You (and those fish) definitely wouldn't last two years in those confines. Fully grown, those fish need 90 gallons each. Regards, Lorenzo>