Feasibility of keeping clown triggerfish and blueline triggerfish in the same tank

adesotopu · Sep 3, 2021

Hello everyone!

Here is my dilemma, and I would appreciate any help or suggestions I can get!

I currently have two triggerfish, albeit in separate tanks: a 2" clown triggerfish in quarantine, and an 8" blueline trigger in my main 125 gallon.

I'm currently setting up a 270 gallon tub (6' L x 3' W x 2' H) with the intention of moving both fish to it within the next month and keeping them in it long term.

What is the best way to go about adding them to the 270? Should I add the clown first, let it settle for a week or two, then add the blueline?
What are the chances of them fighting and potentially harming one another supposing I keep them both well-fed, and have dither fish around to reduce aggression?
Will the 270 even be large enough to house both of these fish long term?
Is this even feasible? Please let me know if I am being unrealistic and this is a pipe dream. I know both of these fish get extremely large and aggressive as adults, so I am willing to trade one of them in to the LFS if that is the best way forward.

I look forward to seeing all of your suggestions and recommendations!

lion king · Sep 4, 2021

Do I see 8" blueline, just my opion buy it's just not goung to happen, the clown will likely be chomped in half. I have raised a couple of bluelines for tanks in the 500g plus, my experience with this fish rivals the undulated. An aggressive lightly stocked 270g may keep the blueline because each fish will have a different temperament, but the 6' length is a little slight for this fish. Clown triggers do grow slowly and will be happy for a couple of years in the 125g.

adesotopu · Sep 6, 2021

Ok, thank you for your advice. I'll probably end up trading in the blueline to the LFS in that case. It is good to hear the clown trigger grows slowly and will be fine for a few years. My blueline grew extremely quickly - I bought the blueline when it was the size of a quarter, and just over 2 years later it has reached 8".

socalfishy · Sep 8, 2021

A 270 will be great for those 2 tiggerfish. I keep a mix of large and small triggerfish together largest being right under a Foot my big Clown, and the smallest being a 3-4 inch pineapple triggerfish.

IMO and experience. I pay ALOT OF ATTENTION TO THE PERSONALITY OF THE FISH. No two triggerfish are the same!! If you feed the blueline until it stops eating and it is still blowing sand, throwing rocks or chasing aggressively towards the glass, you have a killer, lol. It will investigate and prod new things. My triggerfish when fed full will park and sit like a pufferfish.

The entire decision will be solely based on what your blueline acts like. If it was me i would setup the clown trigger fish, add several larger fish with it like tangs or a angel fish. Throw the big blueline in very LAST. If you throw the blueline in with the baby clown by itself. it will be investigated and potentially killed. You have the clown already living with 3-4 other fish with substantial size and enough rock rock, then you drop in the blueline it will try to figure out and cope with its new surroundings versus protecting territory it has already determined to be its own.

The key to keeping triggerfish at bay is feeding and enough rock space.

As a avid triggerfish keeper, i only say one thing... do not buy a undulated triggerfish. Green with orange lines, this sub species has a serial killer personality and i have tried 4-5 times over the span of 25 years. Gorilla warfare tactics is the style of attack, larger fish just start to show bite damage all over the place.

adesotopu · Sep 8, 2021

socalfishy said:
A 270 will be great for those 2 tiggerfish. I keep a mix of large and small triggerfish together largest being right under a Foot my big Clown, and the smallest being a 3-4 inch pineapple triggerfish.

That is great to hear!! How big is your tank? What other triggers do you have in it? And in what order did you add them to the tank?

socalfishy said:
IMO and experience. I pay ALOT OF ATTENTION TO THE PERSONALITY OF THE FISH. No two triggerfish are the same!! If you feed the blueline until it stops eating and it is still blowing sand, throwing rocks or chasing aggressively towards the glass, you have a killer, lol. It will investigate and prod new things. My triggerfish when fed full will park and sit like a pufferfish.

My blueline is currently housed with a small group of 5 three-striped damsels roughly 1-2 inches in length, as well as a longnosed hawkfish ~3 inches. He doesn't really bother them as long as they don't try to steal his food, but I am unsure how he'll react to another triggerfish.

socalfishy said:
The entire decision will be solely based on what your blueline acts like. If it was me i would setup the clown trigger fish, add several larger fish with it like tangs or a angel fish.

This seems like a good strategy; I will consider giving it a shot. Will update on what happens.

socalfishy said:
As a avid triggerfish keeper, i only say one thing... do not buy a undulated triggerfish. Green with orange lines, this sub species has a serial killer personality and i have tried 4-5 times over the span of 25 years. Gorilla warfare tactics is the style of attack, larger fish just start to show bite damage all over the place.

Noted - I've heard many horror stories about this fish. It's a shame because they are very interesting and beautiful.

socalfishy · Sep 9, 2021

200 gal about 200lb's of live rock.

Clown 10-11" i'v had this one almost 5 years bought it around 5"
Humu 7" This was purchased the same time with the clown 5 years

These 2 are docile, they have adapted very well to a certain feed schedule and do not interact with each other much

3" pineapple was added about 8 months ago. There was aggression from the humu and there still is, but they dont bite. Its more like a charging and running off. I added a 5-6" adult emperor angel shortly after maybe 2 months. This fish basically keeps everything under my clown trigger in order.

5" pink tail 6 months added same time with angelfish. Zero aggression from any fish, its just the perfect citizen.

i want to throw in 4 ORA captive bred orchid dottybacks and a dwarf angel. the fish seem passive enough and there is alot of rock.

HB AL · Sep 17, 2021

I would add the clown first then the blueline. Being that the Blueline is so large it's probably gonna ignore the baby clown since it won't feel threatened. I'm a little biased towards triggers as they have been my favorite fish since I started keeping tanks 35+ years ago. Only trigger I would not ever own again is a QUEEN trigger as they are pure killers(story for another day). I currently have 6 triggers in my reef tank, a Clown, Assasi, Hawaiian, Huma, Niger, and Pinktail, and a pair of Crosshatch triggers I'm waiting on.

adesotopu · Sep 18, 2021

Your tank is awesome!!! How large is it?

predawin · Nov 27, 2021

adesotopu said:
Hello everyone!

Here is my dilemma, and I would appreciate any help or suggestions I can get!

I currently have two triggerfish, albeit in separate tanks: a 2" clown triggerfish in quarantine, and an 8" blueline trigger in my main 125 gallon.

I'm currently setting up a 270 gallon tub (6' L x 3' W x 2' H) with the intention of moving both fish to it within the next month and keeping them in it long term.

What is the best way to go about adding them to the 270? Should I add the clown first, let it settle for a week or two, then add the blueline?
What are the chances of them fighting and potentially harming one another supposing I keep them both well-fed, and have dither fish around to reduce aggression?
Will the 270 even be large enough to house both of these fish long term?
Is this even feasible? Please let me know if I am being unrealistic and this is a pipe dream. I know both of these fish get extremely large and aggressive as adults, so I am willing to trade one of them in to the LFS if that is the best way forward.

I look forward to seeing all of your suggestions and recommendations!

I got a juvi blueline prob about 3 inch. Would love to see your bigger one

adesotopu · Jul 18, 2022

predawin said:
I got a juvi blueline prob about 3 inch. Would love to see your bigger one

@predawin Sorry for the late response, I just saw your post. I ended up donating the blueline to the local aquarium. He's swimming around in a much larger tank now. I miss that fish soooo much but it was for the better.

Here's a picture I took just before donating (the fish is roughly 9 inches in this pic):