niger trigger really reef safe?

I had one, back when I had a larger tank, and he was a model citizen. Didn't bother any coral, inverts or the other fish. He was definitely one of my favorite fish I've owned.

i too agree, great fish, no problems, very agreesive torwards food, and oly torwards food.

I have one now in my 125, with clowns, purple firefish, tailspot blenny, and some shrimp. So far hes been good. He does go crazy when im feeding though. If I hold a cube of shrimp in the water he will bite my fingers, but with no food he leaves me alone. Fun fish to watch

I want one too.  I know the online stores say 75 gallon minimum, but would it do ok in a 75 you think?  I thought I read they get from 12-18 inches long?

I want a tiny one to start out with and maybe by the time it is big I will have my 250 tank done.

How small?

They are reef safe with caution., When they get larger (and they do get fairly large) they will take to eating hermits, snails, shrimp, etc. They can also be aggressive towards new additions. That being said, when they are smaller they are great fish won't bother corals or other fish that are already in the tank. 

A Niger trigger is one of those fish that I would really love to get into my tank as I love them!  I think the responses so far to this thread accurately represent what my survey of these fish has been.  Several people have good luck with them, but every once in a while, somebody gets a triggerfish that kills all of the other fish in the tank.  Is there anyone that can explain this?  I don't harbor any ill will towards any of you that had trouble with this fish, but I am curious if anyone can explain this somewhat varied behavior of these fish.  Are some just not well fed?

I tend to have more aggressive fish in my tank and am regularly bitten by my clown fish.  I am actually quite afraid of adding any fish to my tank that cannot hold their own against my clown fish.  At the same time I don't want a fish that will kill my clowns, as they were expensive and I love them even though they have drawn several drops of my blood.

russianrick wrote: Is there anyone that can explain this?  I don't harbor any ill will towards any of you that had trouble with this fish, but I am curious if anyone can explain this somewhat varied behavior of these fish.  Are some just not well fed?

In response, my trigger doesnt even look at my clowns.  He has never chased them off or done anything to them.  He doesn't like the anthias, but they are annoying to everyone in the tank.

The yellow tang dominates the trigger and always has, so maybe that is why mine is pretty good.  Even when he was tiny, the trigger didnt come out hardly at all in the 75 gallon and was much more territorial/ aggressive in that tank.  In the 180 he just swims around and is a pretty good tenant.  I would probably say he is like the grumpy old man on your street.  Annoying, but mostly harmless.

I think the aggression comes from too small of tanks, under feeding, and fish that may like to try and share space.

Oh and a final note, if a fish is sick or having a slow acclimation, he will nip at them.  Like a shark, I think he senses the weakness and sees easy prey.


Edited by Tanuki - September 16 2011 at 8:59am

^I guess just make sure you get a good deal on one so you don't feel bad when you have to sell it and are the one giving the good deal.  If I can catch mine you can buy it ;)  The big issue is they are hard to catch, and pretty fast. 

If your yellow tang is healthy and you get a small enough trigger it may do what my tang did and just pummel the trigger into submission.

Yeah I guess you could just check and see.  I would only try if you are not too attached to your rock work (may need to pull it down to get him out), and if you have time to monitor him for the first little while he is in there.