If you walk into any Local Fish Store worth its salt and ask “what triggerfish should I get” you might get a variety of answers, but the Striped Trigger will be on the list. If you ask “what triggerfish should I get for my reef tank?" The Striped Trigger will be on the top of that list. And this is true for a few reasons. Xanthichthys genus fish are all very hardy and generally subsist on planktonic foods suspended in the water column. This explains why their mouth is so oddly placed, but it also means they aren't going to bother your corals. They will, however, munch on your hermit crabs and snails. Many aquarists report that feeding them a lot will prevent this, but this cannot be counted on. We have seen some very chubby triggers extract hermits from their shells. Keeping this triggerfish well fed with foods that have shells will help prevent/reduce hermit crabs and snails from becoming snacks. Gamma Cockle-In Shell is what we feed inhouse at Quality Marine!
