Niger Trigger, in a reef tank?

[MikeP]

I saw one of these fish in someone else's reef tank over the weekend. I've always liked triggers but hadn't considered getting one for my reef tank because I didn't think any were compatible. I've read lots on the internet and some sites say they will be fine and others say no way. Most info says they will not harm any corals but may go after shrimp/snails. I have one large cleaner and a large coral banded shrimp as well as about 40 nassarius and about 6-10 astrea snails. Anyway does anyone have experience with Niger's or other info to share?

Thanks!

[Chowder]

Actually just put one in my reef tank this weekend. Mostly just hiding in my rock work right now. They are usually considered hit or miss. I was told they don,t touch corals but might go after the smaller fish in your tank. There are a few reef tanks in the Vancouver area that have triggers like Pink Tails, Crosshatch , Bluejaws and Nigers. Only complaint I have heard from some of the people that I know that keep them is they like to rearrange the corals in the tank. Not sure what mine is going to do yet but if you get one make sure you can catch it if it does act up.

Chris

[justinl]

Well, first you have to realize that there are two kinds of triggers. those with down-turned mouths who specialize in benthic feeding, mostly on crustaceans, and those with upturned mouths who specialize in feeding in the water column. The first group includes the may-eventually-go-psycho-and-kill-everything triggers like clowns and undulated among others. The second includes the more peaceful crosshatches, nigers, pink-tails, blue throats, etc. Obviously you would want to pick one of the latter.

Another thing you have to consider is that they swim. a lot. and fast. big triggers can easily snap corals so you may have some unintentional fragging going on as well as some corals just being knocked over if they aren't secured well enough (zip ties, big rocks, and superglue come in handy here).

You may also want to think hard about putting a trigger in an acrylic tank. Their skin is like chainmail and can put a lot of scratches in your front glass if they swim there often (associating you with food). The bigger the tank, the less likely this is to occur I think; but you would probably need a VERY large tank if I am right.

[Aquattro]

I've had nigers in my reef. They don't touch corals, but will go after shrimp and fish small enough to take bites out of. Actually, mine moved a coral all the time. I'd put it back, and he moved it again. We did this for weeks. No damage though, just picked it up and carried it to the other side of the tank. Small shrimps, crabs, etc, will likely be food.

[ElGuappo]

From what i have heard anything "in" your tank may be fine, but any inverts added after the triggers will be considered food as anything else thats added to the tank.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by ElGuappo

From what i have heard anything "in" your tank may be fine.

nope, mine went after anything that was already there, if it was small enough. He tried the snails, but wasn't big enough yet to crack them.

[hecks220]

I have one in my fowlr. thinking about putting an auto feeder in there because he is always hungry, and don't want him to go on a homicidal rampage. he didn't touch the cleaner shrimp at first before i removed it, and hasn't touched the snails. he did however want to kill the big hermit i placed in there as a test last night. i need crabs for the cleanup crew, so i'm still thinking what type would suffice. the problem is when they are accustomed to a tank, whatever you add new after that is viewed as an offering!

[Trigger Man]

For triggers I think it is on a case by case situation, I've had a Clown and Picaso along with a Crosshatch live in harmony with my coral and shrimp, crabs and snails in the past. But currently when my tank got wiped out and I started up again and tried to add the same things I had in the prior one, it seemed that all my fish wanted to kill everyone else in the tank. Currently I have a Crosshatch and for the longest time I had a Picaso (which I removed thinking it was picking on some of my fish, which later I found out it was another fish that was the culprit) in my reef tank and they do not harm my coral, shrimps, crabs or snails. When adding new items to my tank I give all my fish a good feeding that night and then add the newbies in about an hour after the tank lights have gone off.

[MikeP]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I might be a little worried about the nassarius snails cause they aren't very big, but they only really venture out of the sand at feeding time and at night so they might be okay. I'll keep my eye out for a small niger trigger around town.

[fishytime]

We have/had 1 about 2 1/2" at the shop. Not sure if Kev sold it this week or not.