Trigger Help

[Jtisle506]

Well after a few months of debate I decided to add a Blue Throat Trigger, my LFS had him for about 2 weeks even tho when I got there he was hiding behind the powerhead. He seemed very healthy and when food was added to the tank, he went to town. He just seemed a little timid. So I brought him home and drip acclimated him for 3 hours. About a half hour ago I added him in, as soon as he was in he started swimming in the corner continuously and not stopping now he is just laying on his side on the bottom of the tank, I'm going to keep an eye on him but it makes no sense, he was doing fine and all. I fed the tank as soon as he went in but he didn't go for anything, I also turned all the lights off so he could feel secure. What do you think is he just in shock? I'm going to keep an eye on him throughout the night.

 

[alco1]

yea i would say its shock.....

hopefully he doesn't get too stressed...

does he have rocks etc it the tank for him to hide??? they normally hide for several days/weeks until they feel more comfortable and then they start appearing

 

[Jtisle506]

Update- I just went and checked on him and he moved, now he is in the back of the tank in a little cave/arch wedged up between the rock and glass, he seems to be calming down as His breathing is starting to regulate. Im gonna check in another hour or so.

 

[alco1]

yea if it's hiding out in between rocks and stuff.... what its doing is pretty normal. just make sure itll eat now and again and itll be fine. doubt he would be wanting food for the next few days but just drop some food around near his cave and itll come out and grab it if he wants it.

 

[mr_X]

I bought a Blue Throat a couple years ago (my first trigger), and it hid as soon as I released him and never came out. I pulled his carcass out a few days later. They are so easily freaked out.

 

[Dary421]

Triggers are just weird,...mine ( rectangular ) also disappeared for a while after I introduced him and hid in the rocks and I couldn't find him at all for a day or two then he came out and three years later he's still weird lol

 

[alco1]

is there any type of trigger out there that's reef safe and wont try and eat smaller fish like firefish???

 

[Jtisle506]

Blue throat^^^ lol females you can get rally small

 

[Jtisle506]

Update, i watched him for about an hour and he has been moving spots, I think he found his favorite towards the top left of the tank wedged in some rock. Ill update tomorrow to see if he eats

 

[AquaRick]

So I brought him home and drip acclimated him for 3 hours.

A 3 hour acclimation is an awfully long time. What was the temp of the water after those 3 hours? If the temp difference was big enough, temp shock could have been an issue.

 

[alco1]

lol hmmmm to get a blue throat or not to get a blue throat.... the only issue from what I know.... is that if a fish can fit in the trigger's mouth, it will eat it lol.

I used to have a niga trigger, which back in the day my LFS said they were very docile.... little did I know that when I put him in the tank and he got all comfortable... he was very aggressive and ate a lot of my fish.... so I kinda traded it in and never really looked into a trigger again.

 

[AquaRick]

Blue throats and x-hatches are the least aggressive of triggers. There is always a chance, but I've yet to encounter a blue or x-hatch that will go after corals. Shrimp and snails is another story.

 

[Dary421]

IMO I think anytime you get yourself a trigger it's a gamble against time,.... Certain triggers may be a little less of a risk than others but they pretty much will eat up all of your inverts and may or may not go postal on their tank mates,... But on the plus side they are characters and are so cool to watch,... I agree that the blue throat seems to be the best suited and the least of a risk,.. I think the larger the tank the better they'll be, they tend to be territorial and aggressive but in a larger setup they seem to be less agitated ,... Greg has one in his 300 gal tank that seems to have blended in and so far has been a good citizen. ... Good luck , they are definitely cool .

 

[Jtisle506]

Update - He seems to be calling down. He's doing exactly what he did at the LFS, hiding behind the powerhead and swimming out here and there to check things out only to dart back in hiding. I'm going to feed the tank in about an hour and see where it goes from there. Right now Im just feeding small and big mysis, but I may try silversides if he wont eat. Its kind of funny tho because every time he comes out my little chromis try's to investigate him and he darts back and is scared of him LOL.

 

[Jtisle506]

I decided to feed him now, I fed a generous amount of big and small mysis ( PE and Aqua Treasures). He didn't bite. He seems a little timid still. There were some fish swimming around him and you could tell he wasn't ready yet. Im gonna try feeding around 3 or 4 but this time im going to soak the food in garlic to see if he bites.

 

[Jtisle506]

Fed again, he finally took some good but not much, mabye 2-4 small mysis shrimp. I'll try again later but he seems to be doing well

 

[Jtisle506]

Full tank shots, although it look a little messy as I haven't scraped the coralline off in a while and some green slime is starting on some rock and the sandbed, I have to do a WC this week. But on the other hand the corals are doing great

 

[woody390]

I bought one 2 weeks ago won't eat much meat but happily munching on algae. And mine is still settling but at the moment seems to stay out then come out when's there's food at the moment when I first got him though he just stayed in one corner and wouldn't come out

 

[alco1]

if hes already eating... you've done well

 

[Gregcoyote]

They are super active swimmers. I wish mine had more room frankly as he's getting big. He doesn't touch coral but inverts are toast. He does spar a bit with my largest tang. I think they are the least troublesome in a reef.