Clown Trigger with Zebra Moray?

lion king · Mar 1, 2023

Go The Eels said:
@lion king , would love your take: For my Zebra and Banana Eel setup (both are eating and doing GREAT by the way), if I were to get a pair of triggerfish for my 6 foot, 150 gallon would you suggest a Picasso and Niger, or Picasso and Clown?

Pretty settled on the Picasso, but would love a second trigger and I love the look of these both. It kinda comes down to an aggressiveness/size debate for me. Happy to raise both from as tiny as I can find.

Also, would getting either the Niger or Clown preclude me from adding in a purple tang or larger sized angelfish afterward? Thanks in advance as always!

The picasso is doable for a 150g, but you will be limited on the triggers you can keep. The niger grows fast and will get to a full 12"; while the clown does grow slowly, their aggression does lend to a larger tank. You have to consider the starting size in relationship to the size of your banana eel. You might consider the Indian trigger(Melichthys indicus), a really nice looking mild mannered but not wimpy medium sized trigger. Many will keep the blue jaw or red tail in smaller tanks, but I'm not a fan of the Xanthichthys genus species, they are on the wimpy side and I'm sure if they would stand up to a banana eel.

Go The Eels · Mar 1, 2023

lion king said:
The picasso is doable for a 150g, but you will be limited on the triggers you can keep. The niger grows fast and will get to a full 12"; while the clown does grow slowly, their aggression does lend to a larger tank. You have to consider the starting size in relationship to the size of your banana eel. You might consider the Indian trigger(Melichthys indicus), a really nice looking mild mannered but not wimpy medium sized trigger. Many will keep the blue jaw or red tail in smaller tanks, but I'm not a fan of the Xanthichthys genus species, they are on the wimpy side and I'm sure if they would stand up to a banana eel.

Thank you! I will totally look into the Indian Trigger. I appreciate your candor about the Clown as well as I’ve heard so many differing things on them. The Niger Trigger I still love but the Indian looks a lot like it. Will see what I can obtain!

speedjester · Jun 28, 2023

I understand this is an old thread. I keep 3 clown triggers, 3 Niger triggers and 2 Hawaiian triggers. All basically mind there own Buisness .. going on 2yrs now. But I do keep them well fed.

vetteguy53081 · Jun 28, 2023

JC1977 said:
As title says I really want to get a clown triggerfish for my 360 gallon I’m setting up. I’m aware of the potential aggression and most of the suitable tank mates however I can’t find much about compatibility with them and eels. Specifically the zebra moray because that’s what I have. Has anybody kept these two species together?

Clown trigger has teeth and will use them at will. They are great when little but as they grow are not afraid to bite most anything. I want to say if they grow together, they should cohabitate well but like the undulated trigger, they can strike if theyre in the mood to

JC1977 · Jun 28, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Clown trigger has teeth and will use them at will. They are great when little but as they grow are not afraid to bite most anything. I want to say if they grow together, they should cohabitate well but like the undulated trigger, they can strike if theyre in the mood to

Thanks I ended up getting a 3” clown trigger about 4 months ago. So far so good with the zebra eel and every other fish for that matter. A little scaredy cat for now except when there’s food in the water lol.