Are Blue Throat triggers safe with inverts

[Fishfanatic]

Like the title says can you keep them with inverts I have heard mixed opinions.

[balistidae]

I keep a pair with an arrow crab, cleaner shrimp, pep shrimp, snails etc.... The triggers dont even look twice at any of them.

[Psyire]

Mine was good with 50+ snails, 30+ hermits, & 10 shrimp

[Snowmaker]

what about with giant clams????

[UnderWorldAquatics]

Would you leave a friendly pitbull with your unattended child?
The trigger has the tools to to do what you dont want it too, do whatever you want, just be prepared to accept any outcome......

[Delphinus]

But I thought blue throats were supposed to be fairly strict planktivores? In fact I was advised against trying them because I wanted a pair to try to de-crabify my ritteri reef (which is infested with about a dozen hitchhiking crabs and at 30" deep I can't remove them manually, they see me coming, and rearranging the rock is not really an option since it's supporting a 24" anemone that I don't want to move! And an eel doesn't work because it's an open top tank, so that means an octopus is a certain no-no as well, and a mantis is something that .. well once the crabs were gone how do I get the mantis out if I ever want to have fish? You see my dilemma. So I was hoping there was some kind of hope for the bluejaws to go after crabs, because I quite like them, but pretty much everyone I asked was skeptical that they'd do anything to the crabs because of the strict-planktivore thing).

[bsyoun]

I don't know if this helps, but this article seems to suggest that blue-throat triggers may be reef safe. The article is mainly about crosshatch triggerfish, but the last paragraph does mention blue-throat triggers and that...

"They should not pose a problem with corals in an aquarium and tend to have a more placid disposition than many of their triggerfish brethren"

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/Fish.htm

[Fishfanatic]

I should have been more specific when I wrote this post I am mainly worried about it eating my clam. I have heard that they are fine with crabs, and snails but a few sites have said that clams are a part of their natural diet. Has anyone on here sucessfully kept one with a clam?

[UnderWorldAquatics]

rs may be reef safe.

"They should not pose a problem with corals in an aquarium and tend to have a more placid disposition than many of their triggerfish brethren"

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/Fish.htm

Read the above quote.....when you get to the words "may" "should" and "tend", emphasise them and let those words sink in... We are putting wild animals in little viewing boxes and getting upset when one of our caged critters has a bad day and eats one of his fellow jailbirds...... If you dont want to lose one of your prized specimins, keep a species tank, otherwise your playin a game called russian roulet, chances are in your favor that your gona come out ok, so are ya feelin lucky punk???

Cheers

[justinl]

like UWA pointed out, it'll be random with something like a trigger. Ive heard they stick to plakton too tony, but you never know with triggers right?

btw tony, if you get a small mantis It'll be just fine really. smaller species are even considered reef safe. A mantis can move rocks/frags about 1.5 times their own weght maximum (probably an overestimate on my part anyways). So if all your frags are down tight to rocks the mantis can't budge, your corals are safe. Now which mantis? well keep to the small ones like G. viridis, N. wennerae, or G. smithii. Stay away from G. chiragra and O. scyllarus (peacock). note that lfs almost never ID mantids properly. I got a g. smithii in my 8gal reef-to-be.

[Chaloupa]

I have a pair of blue throats that will eat any clam that I put in the tank....and eat it quickly BUT that being said they are eating clams from the local seafood shop that I give to my Copperband Butterfly.......don't know if that gives you any idea as they aren't "pretty clams" that we covet in our reefs :biggrin: they do try to open them up themselves too.....

[Joe Reefer]

I added a niger trigger to my reef about 2 weeks ago. He hasn't touched any snails, clams or crabs yet, but my fingers are still crossed.

[Fishfanatic]

I caved today and bought the blue throat so I will let you all know if he eats my electric crocea.

[KrazyKuch]

I have found that Blue throat triggers a fine with inverts, as long as the inverts are in the tank first....if you try and put them in afterwards you can't let him see you doing it or he will try and eat them!!

[danny zubot]

But I thought blue throats were supposed to be fairly strict planktivores? In fact I was advised against trying them because I wanted a pair to try to de-crabify my ritteri reef (which is infested with about a dozen hitchhiking crabs and at 30" deep I can't remove them manually, they see me coming, and rearranging the rock is not really an option since it's supporting a 24" anemone that I don't want to move! And an eel doesn't work because it's an open top tank, so that means an octopus is a certain no-no as well, and a mantis is something that .. well once the crabs were gone how do I get the mantis out if I ever want to have fish? You see my dilemma. So I was hoping there was some kind of hope for the bluejaws to go after crabs, because I quite like them, but pretty much everyone I asked was skeptical that they'd do anything to the crabs because of the strict-planktivore thing).

Tony, have you tried a crab trap? I'm thinking it's the same concept as a mantis trap? You know, the whole pop bottle dealy.

[Delphinus]

Yeah, but all I seem to catch is my cleaner shrimp. I guess I should just move them temporarily to the sump or something.

[revgeoff]

My Blue has been in the tank since December (he is about 5 1/2" now...grows fast) and has not touched any of my shrimp, the few corals that I now have or my 6" squamosa. Although he is the largest fish, he is by far the least aggressive. I am adding a pair of Crosshatch (if they come in on this order...please please please) next week so hopefully they will be as docile.
From what I understand, the Blue feeds from the water column and not off the reef. This is the basis for them being "reef safe". I have added snails and a sand sifting star in the last month and he isn't even interested.

[Delphinus]

Yeah, .. see that's basically what I heard about them too. Strict planktivores that feed from the water column.

Crosshatch triggers too? Wow, what size is your tank? That would be an awesome display. :cool:

[revgeoff]

Right now its only a 120...but its growing to a 180 soon. You know that poll about lying about how much fish cost? Well, when the wife asked about the 180 I just said "oh, don't worry, its just a little longer on each side". See, that is technicallly not lying...just avoiding the question.

[Fishfanatic]

K i have had my blue throat trigger for a little while now and he has not even looked twice at my clam, he is actually the most timid fish in my tank. So much so that my algae blenny even bulies him around.