Triggers in a reef

Mpal771

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Are there really any triggers that are reef safe? It is said that crosshatch, niger, and bluethroat are reef safe. I have seen things that are contrary to this. Is this because they eat your snails or is because they eat coral? I am willing to buy new snails here and there if it means having the fish i want. I am looking to stock 2x comb tooth blenny, maybe pearly jawfish, wrasse that max out from 5-6", a tang, bicolor goatfish, and anthias. How big of a tank would you need to house 1-3 nigers, a parr of blue throats, and maybe a pair of crosshatch. IF AND ONLY IF they are actually reef safe!

Generally look to the Xanthichthys family of triggers when considering "reef safe" my friend. Agree with much here. The Niger needs a tad more vigilance than the Crosshatch, Sargassum, Pink Tail... In reading threads like this I have seen 80-20 pro Niger. My experiences have been good and I also know who is responsible when hermit crab/snail shells are empty. Your initial question was about keeping as many as 7 triggers in the same tank. If you can afford a tank that large-you are living large.
 

Mpal771

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It's absolutely ridiculous and unethical to have a niger in a 90g, so anything else believe at your own risk.
Its certainly not ridiculous and as far as ethical, lets be honest; Everything we buy is going to die, unless we're breeding and giving back to the hobby. Nigers and trigers in general are extremely hardy and comfortable in any setting. I would say a 4-5 inch Niger Trigger in a 90G isnt ideal depending on scape/space and number/type of other tank inhabitants.
Hes doing something right if hes had it for 3 years and its grown that much!
 

AbnormalReefer

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To answer OP’s original question, I personally believe bluethroat and all triggers in their genus are reef safe. Nigers are usually from my experience; however there’s always a psychopath in the mix!

I would also like to state that any trigger I know of in a 90 gallon would be ridiculous as an adult. I’ve seen nigers well over 12 inches. Heck I’ve heard friends see them up to 20 inches and I don’t doubt it! I am fully ok with keeping one in a 90 as a juvenile, but you WILL have to upgrade as it matures.

Also, as a question for @lion king, I didn’t think nigers were in the mix with the clown and Picasso triggers? I thought nigers were more planktonic compared to the clowns and Picasso ones? Does this mean that my whole reef is at risk?
 

mcpeachy

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I have a pair of spawning blue throats in my 150 reef. They dont kill any coral.
They will irritate coral if they are spawning. While the fish are spawning if you have coral or clams on the sand bed they will pick them up and move them. They are about 5 or six inches in length. I have hermits, snails, cleaner shrimp, blood shrimp, harlequin shrimp(added after triggerfish). I also have a video somewhere that shows the triggers getting cleaned by the cleaner shrimp.

Here is a video of mine spawning in my tank.

with that said I am getting rid of them because I value my coral a nd the monthly spawning is causing them to bury everything. I wish I were able to start another tank.


what's that green that you have on the back of your tank? are you happy with it or does it sting everything??
 

Ecvernon

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what's that green that you have on the back of your tank? are you happy with it or does it sting everything??
On the back wall of my tank is green star polyps. It doesn't sting anything, but it can be a pest coral that can grow over surfaces very quickly and become a nuisance. Care has to be taken to ensure it does not come in contact with main rock structures or occlude the teeth of my overflow. Overall I'm happy with the movement it adds to my display wall.
 

mcpeachy

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On the back wall of my tank is green star polyps. It doesn't sting anything, but it can be a pest coral that can grow over surfaces very quickly and become a nuisance. Care has to be taken to ensure it does not come in contact with main rock structures or occlude the teeth of my overflow. Overall I'm happy with the movement it adds to my display wall.
yeah that is so beautiful!! i thought it might be gree star polyps. i've seen in a lfs a tank like that but it was so much smaller. does green star clip off and stay off things easily? is it a matter of scraping if it covers the overflow?
 

Zos4me

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Never say never. My niger never touched anything until i dropped a 100.00 cleanup crew in with him and he devoured it all. Never touched a crab or snail until then. my undulate wiped out a whole colony of zoanthids in 1 hour while i went to do an errand. Just my 2 cents
 

saltyhog

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One on line supplier mentions Blue Throats spitting water out of the tank. Is that a common behavior with them? I've heard of other species doing that but wasn't aware it was common with that genus. Because of where and how my tank is set up that wouldn't be a good thing.
 

eatbreakfast

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One on line supplier mentions Blue Throats spitting water out of the tank. Is that a common behavior with them? I've heard of other species doing that but wasn't aware it was common with that genus. Because of where and how my tank is set up that wouldn't be a good thing.
I wouldn't say its common with any of the planktivores species.
 

lion king

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One on line supplier mentions Blue Throats spitting water out of the tank. Is that a common behavior with them? I've heard of other species doing that but wasn't aware it was common with that genus. Because of where and how my tank is set up that wouldn't be a good thing.

Mine do, I can hear the smacking at the water surface down the hall. Even after years they are kind of skiddish, it took me a while to catch them and figure out what they were doing.
 
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