added a lion and trigger to my reef -update

organicreefer · 01-23-2002, 12:17 AM

well ,the "experiment " is mostly going well so far and none of my corals/small fish have been touched ,just as i suspected

the only downside

is ive lost the ability to keep shrimp it seems

i had four peppermint shrimp and a cleaner when i introduced the fish .the peppermints were gone -like in a few days quick,and now today i dont see the cleaner anymore

it sux,i had that shrimp for a year and a half,and i feel guilty about putting these beasts in with him.

the main suspect is the lion ,i witnessed him chasing th peppermints,but i had also witmnessed him being cleaned by the cleaner

guess he got hungry,i dont know.

just want to keep everyone up to date on this situation in case anyone else decides to try it.its a trade off i guess,and i kinda expected this ,but after the cleaner lasted a few weeks i thought i might be in the clear-i thought wrong.

Aragorn · 01-23-2002, 12:25 AM

Sorry to hear that my friend. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it, I wouldn't feel comfortable w/ a Lionfish in the tank w/ small fish. Been there, done that. One of my perc's suffered an untimely death at the hands of our Lion. One would be surprised at what these fellas can "stuff" in their mouth.

organicreefer · 01-23-2002, 12:39 AM

aragorn,i should clarify that this is a dwarf fuzzy lion ,and a blue cheek/jaw trigger.
the small fish i have are : a maroon clown,a mandarin and a cleaner wrasse-all of which are well over half the lions size-but i would have to agree that they can suck down quite a bit and it does worry me a little-mostly for the clown who is the smallest of the bunch.i could catch the lion pretty easily and take him out ,but i think im gonna give him one last chance-any fish disappear and hes gone.

tendar · 01-23-2002, 03:20 AM

Well I added my small Niger Triger to my 125 reef 10 days ago and now that he is finally coming out I will have to keep an eye him but they are supposly reef safe other than shrimps and the such but I dont have any so will see how it goes over time. I am more worried about my Koran angle than the triger for coral picking.

dattack · 01-23-2002, 06:05 AM

So is a Niger Trigger reefsafe? Hmm, that could be a nice addition to the tank but does it harm hermit crabs and snails too? If it does, then I will have to forget about that.

organicreefer · 01-23-2002, 09:45 AM

dattack,the planktonic picking triggers (the ones with the upturned mouths) tend not to pick at anything not floating around,and are peaceful with smaller fishes. there arent any "guarantees" that they wont pick off crabs /snails/shrimp,but i havent witnessed it.like i said, im pretty sure my lion ate my shrimp,but im not positive......as far as corals both the lion and the trigger are definitely safe ,they have been with corals for a year or so-no problems.

tendar · 01-23-2002, 11:31 PM

My niger trigger was in my 50 FOWLR for 4 mounths with hermits and snails and never touched them but my long nose butterfly did get my snails.

Aragorn · 01-24-2002, 12:31 AM

We've got a Niger Trigger in our 135g as well. Very good personality and well behaved. For some reason, he's found a spot in the tank where he likes to scoop up sand in his mouth and spit it out. Too funny!

saltjunkie · 01-25-2002, 07:46 AM

I normally agree about nigers, but ....
The lfs I work at, we put a niger, kole tang, and an undulated trigger in the same tank.
The Niger which is half the size of the others is king of the tank. He has completly punked out the undulated, It is too funny to see that guy cowering up in the corner looking scared....
Rick

tendar · 01-25-2002, 10:30 PM

That will change as the undulated gets bigger. His will have a tank to him self sooner or latter.

organicreefer · 01-25-2002, 10:57 PM

another update ,found my pistol shrimp in peices in my refugium............this is definitely not the work of the lion .......the investigation has done a 180 and switched its attention to the trigger.........

well thats all my shrimps. zero shrimps left.im shrimpless.

i like shrimps damnit

but then again i love my trigger and my lion

do you guys think some kind of reef lobster might be able to hang with these guys?

Firefish · 01-26-2002, 09:58 PM

I just introduced a Pink Tail Trigger last week, ate my cleaner in less than 2 days. kinda confused because the trigger let the cleaner mount him only hours after being in the tank. other then that the trigger is a pretty friendly fish, palling around with the hippo and clarkies. Eats like a fish twice his size though.

Justler · 01-27-2002, 12:12 AM

Nigers I would expect to be fine in your reefs except for your shrimp, snales and crabs... I had two scooter blennies... but the picasso killed em both, I did catch the nigers grabbin a few bites after death though

. I also had a blue jaw, and would not expect this guy to attack anything in the reef. It is funny to watch the niger trigger... he's the only one that i've seen that will customize his sleeping area... IE spit sand everywhere until he reaches the bottom of the tank! HEHE, gotta love those critters

01-23-2002, 12:17 AM	#1
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	added a lion and trigger to my reef -update well ,the "experiment " is mostly going well so far and none of my corals/small fish have been touched ,just as i suspected the only downside is ive lost the ability to keep shrimp it seems i had four peppermint shrimp and a cleaner when i introduced the fish .the peppermints were gone -like in a few days quick,and now today i dont see the cleaner anymore it sux,i had that shrimp for a year and a half,and i feel guilty about putting these beasts in with him. the main suspect is the lion ,i witnessed him chasing th peppermints,but i had also witmnessed him being cleaned by the cleaner guess he got hungry,i dont know. just want to keep everyone up to date on this situation in case anyone else decides to try it.its a trade off i guess,and i kinda expected this ,but after the cleaner lasted a few weeks i thought i might be in the clear-i thought wrong.

01-23-2002, 12:25 AM	#2
Aragorn Governor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pine Grove, CA USA Posts: 2,064	Sorry to hear that my friend. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it, I wouldn't feel comfortable w/ a Lionfish in the tank w/ small fish. Been there, done that. One of my perc's suffered an untimely death at the hands of our Lion. One would be surprised at what these fellas can "stuff" in their mouth. __________________ "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

01-24-2002, 12:31 AM	#8
Aragorn Governor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pine Grove, CA USA Posts: 2,064	We've got a Niger Trigger in our 135g as well. Very good personality and well behaved. For some reason, he's found a spot in the tank where he likes to scoop up sand in his mouth and spit it out. Too funny! __________________ "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

01-25-2002, 07:46 AM	#9
saltjunkie Governor Join Date: May 2000 Location: Lakeland, Fl. Posts: 1,781	I normally agree about nigers, but .... The lfs I work at, we put a niger, kole tang, and an undulated trigger in the same tank. The Niger which is half the size of the others is king of the tank. He has completly punked out the undulated, It is too funny to see that guy cowering up in the corner looking scared.... Rick __________________ I am not a failure! I have just found 10,000 ways to do it wrong! rlowride@hotmail.com http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg

01-25-2002, 10:57 PM	#11
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	the plot thickens another update ,found my pistol shrimp in peices in my refugium............this is definitely not the work of the lion .......the investigation has done a 180 and switched its attention to the trigger......... well thats all my shrimps. zero shrimps left.im shrimpless. i like shrimps damnit but then again i love my trigger and my lion do you guys think some kind of reef lobster might be able to hang with these guys?

01-23-2002, 12:39 AM	#3
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	aragorn,i should clarify that this is a dwarf fuzzy lion ,and a blue cheek/jaw trigger. the small fish i have are : a maroon clown,a mandarin and a cleaner wrasse-all of which are well over half the lions size-but i would have to agree that they can suck down quite a bit and it does worry me a little-mostly for the clown who is the smallest of the bunch.i could catch the lion pretty easily and take him out ,but i think im gonna give him one last chance-any fish disappear and hes gone.

01-23-2002, 03:20 AM	#4
tendar Governor Join Date: May 2000 Location: tempe,AZ Posts: 1,114	Well I added my small Niger Triger to my 125 reef 10 days ago and now that he is finally coming out I will have to keep an eye him but they are supposly reef safe other than shrimps and the such but I dont have any so will see how it goes over time. I am more worried about my Koran angle than the triger for coral picking.

01-23-2002, 06:05 AM	#5
dattack Council Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: anaheim, CA Posts: 347	So is a Niger Trigger reefsafe? Hmm, that could be a nice addition to the tank but does it harm hermit crabs and snails too? If it does, then I will have to forget about that.

01-23-2002, 09:45 AM	#6
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	dattack,the planktonic picking triggers (the ones with the upturned mouths) tend not to pick at anything not floating around,and are peaceful with smaller fishes. there arent any "guarantees" that they wont pick off crabs /snails/shrimp,but i havent witnessed it.like i said, im pretty sure my lion ate my shrimp,but im not positive......as far as corals both the lion and the trigger are definitely safe ,they have been with corals for a year or so-no problems.

01-23-2002, 11:31 PM	#7
tendar Governor Join Date: May 2000 Location: tempe,AZ Posts: 1,114	My niger trigger was in my 50 FOWLR for 4 mounths with hermits and snails and never touched them but my long nose butterfly did get my snails.

01-25-2002, 10:30 PM	#10
tendar Governor Join Date: May 2000 Location: tempe,AZ Posts: 1,114	That will change as the undulated gets bigger. His will have a tank to him self sooner or latter.

01-26-2002, 09:58 PM	#12
Firefish Mayor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Douglas, Ma Posts: 775	I just introduced a Pink Tail Trigger last week, ate my cleaner in less than 2 days. kinda confused because the trigger let the cleaner mount him only hours after being in the tank. other then that the trigger is a pretty friendly fish, palling around with the hippo and clarkies. Eats like a fish twice his size though. __________________ In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. -- Thomas Jefferson

01-27-2002, 12:12 AM	#13
Justler Citizen Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Frederick, MD Posts: 162	Nigers I would expect to be fine in your reefs except for your shrimp, snales and crabs... I had two scooter blennies... but the picasso killed em both, I did catch the nigers grabbin a few bites after death though . I also had a blue jaw, and would not expect this guy to attack anything in the reef. It is funny to watch the niger trigger... he's the only one that i've seen that will customize his sleeping area... IE spit sand everywhere until he reaches the bottom of the tank! HEHE, gotta love those critters __________________ Say somethin you know they might attack you for.

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