Clown Trigger In A Mixed Reef ?

[BMMMW]

My clown doesn’t touch a thing in my heavily coral/fish stocked mixed reef.

May I ask how old this tank is? Wow!

 

[HB AL]

lol,...have to laugh at your stories.

Years ago my Niece made a ''May Basket'' with her classmates in school. She would stop by after school to feed our fish, buy mainly Bubba Joe, our Clown. She asked me if it were ok to put food in her basket and see if he would eat it, I said where did you come up with that ? lol....She replied, in a dream.

She put some clam in the basket and it sunk to the bottom of the tank. After about 10 minutes and several swim by's, he took the bait. After that day, when his was hungry he'd pick up the basket and swim the length of the tank, back and forth, so we'd feed him. Such a funny guy. The tank was a 200 gallon.

Yep, now because of you guys, we gotta get one again ! (your fault if he eats all the corals and other fish)

That’s a great story, if you get one just don’t get a really big one cuz you might have issues if he doesn’t like your fish and is big. Mine was about 2.5 to 3 inches, perfect size as coloration and patterns were complete and I knew at that size I had a good chance he would fit right in. All I know at this point for sure is no matter what the future holds with his attitude, if in the years ahead he starts getting crazy like eating corals or fish I will just get another tank for him.

 

[HB AL]

May I ask how old this tank is? Wow!

I set this one up a little over 3 years ago, all corals grew from small frags. I can honestly say it’s been my most successful tank in the 30+ years I’ve had aquariums.

 

[408Dartfish]

I set this one up a little over 3 years ago, all corals grew from small frags. I can honestly say it’s been my most successful tank in the 30+ years I’ve had aquariums.

It really looks great, one of best on here. Dustin

 

[MrObscura]

I've always loved triggers(have a story about being a little kid in an lfs and asking about the Niger trigger... Let's just say I mispronounced niger).

Anyway, I've never had a tank large enough for one but if I did I'd probably just stick to Xanthichthys for a reef. Beautiful triggers and little worry.

 

[427HISS]

That’s a great story, if you get one just don’t get a really big one cuz you might have issues if he doesn’t like your fish and is big. Mine was about 2.5 to 3 inches, perfect size as coloration and patterns were complete and I knew at that size I had a good chance he would fit right in. All I know at this point for sure is no matter what the future holds with his attitude, if in the years ahead he starts getting crazy like eating corals or fish I will just get another tank for him.

We like adopting small kids, not only to see them grow up, but they don't have quite,......the bad attitude
It will hard, mot to get him before adding others. He'll be the last fish to join our home unless, he's only a 2''-3'' like with Bubba Joe.

 

[HB AL]

It really looks great, one of best on here. Dustin

Thanks

 

[Mark'sReef]

I really have to crack up at this point, anyone that knows anything about triggers knows that these guys will eventually wreck havoc on your reef. That includes the niger in the vid above. It will be a very rare occasion that this does not eventually happen. You will find people with juveniles or recently added post about the perfect gentleman, trust me that is short lived. They will nip, chomp, chew and spit, pick up and rearrange; and you are talking a 125g. If you get an inch little itty bitty clown you could get maybe 3 years out of him before he outgrows or starts to cause havoc.

The xanthichthys genus triggers are the exception, they are relatively reef safe. There was store around here giving terrible advice and recommending triggers for reefs. I had a friend that thought their advice was more sound than mine. It took about 2 years and that clown trigger started snapping his sps like kindling and he watched him decimate a euphyllia(can't remember which one) right in front of him. I think the damage was around $1000 and years of nurture before he got him out. I could not help to lol right in his face. So good luck.

Forgive the algae in the pic, it's a very high nutrient 180g fowlr, this is an example of what my niger does. He lays on his side and tunnels or something and substrate goes flying all over the tank, there are piles of substrate all over the tank with bare bottom spots. That rock, which is not that small, was stacked on the top of the rocks behind it. The niger wedges himself between the rocks and tumbled it down, then lays on his side and pushes it around, while fanning substrate all over the tank. I'm standing there going "what is this nucklehead doing?". That's what triggers do.

My pair of niger triggers were under 3 inches and they piled substrate all over the rocks, glass bottom of tank always visible... ate all of the food before any other fish could get to it. One of the most beautiful marine fish though. They never bothered my corals (leathers, frog spawn and elegance) but did eat every shrimp in the tank. Sadly I decided to re-home them.