Huma Huma Trigger Compatibility

[Huma Huma65651]

Well I got a huma huma trigger. Don't worry my ammonia went down to 0 in the morning. Its eating like a pig. I just wanted to know what else could go with it in a 55 gallon FOWLR.

[Huma Huma65651]

Anyone?

[Ninong]

That's a tough question for a 55-gal tank. The Humu Humu trigger, actually it's Humuhumu nukunuku apua'a (Rhinecanthus aculeatus) is an aggressive triggerfish. It also gets too large for a 55-gal tank.

Obviously you can't put anything in with it that it will eat, so that eliminates a lot of fish right there. It's pretty hard to set up a 55-gal as an aggressive FOWLR tank.

[leebca]

Ninong is absolutely correct. I'd go the step further and say your 55 gallon is overstocked at this time.

If you are interested in keeping such fishes, you'll need to invest in significantly larger aquariums (and I do mean aquariums). Multiple tanks of the 90+ gallon size to house 'inhospitalbles' is what's called for if you want a collection of such fishes.

[aquabreeder]

I have one Huma Huma trigger about 3-4'', one rectangle trigger 3'', one white spot puffer 1 1/2'' and one Hawaii Dogface puffer 3-4 '' in the same tank for months and they get alone very well. The important thing is to make sure that both triggers have place to hide since they both like to dig and hide specially during the night.

[Ninong]

I have one Huma Huma trigger about 3-4'', one rectangle trigger 3'', one white spot puffer 1 1/2'' and one Hawaii Dogface puffer 3-4 '' in the same tank for months and they get alone very well. The important thing is to make sure that both triggers have place to hide since they both like to dig and hide specially during the night.

How large is the tank? Is it larger than 55 gallons?

P.S. -- How's the Ilyanassa obsoleta snails business coming along?

[Huma Huma65651]

Thanks for your help, but from a different forum and in all the books i have they say a 55 gallon is fine for a huma huma trigger. If you want ill name the books?

[Poseidon]

Are you saying that a fish that gets to 12" in length will be happy in a tank only 12" wide?

I try and keep species that can reach their full adult size, and still have plenty of room in my tank.

BTW, just because a book says it is okay, does not mean it is.... I am sure we can all agree there are several books on a multitude of topics that are better suited for the trash can, then they are to be taken seriously.

[Ninong]

Thanks for your help, but from a different forum and in all the books i have they say a 55 gallon is fine for a huma huma trigger. If you want ill name the books?

Different people have different opinions of the minimum tank size requirements for various species of fish. I have found that virtually all of the vendors, who sell fish for a living, tend to recommend minimum tank sizes that are smaller than what other people who are not trying to sell you something will recommend.

For example, The Marine Center in Dallas says that the minimum tank size for a Humu Humu triggerfish is only 20 gallons. Personally, I find that much too small for this fish!

Drs. Foster & Smith says the minimum tank size is 70 gallons. In my opinion, that's still too small.

I think a better minimum tank size would be ~120 gallons. Terry B. kept one of these in a 135-gal tank for 14 years. He recommends a minimum tank size of 100 gallons for this particular species.

It's up to you to do your own research and decide for yourself what makes sense. Don't forget to take into consideration the adult size of the fish, it's behavior, it's compatibility with other fish, and the total number of fish (the bioload) that you would like to end up with in your tank. Obviously someone who would like to end up with six or seven fish of a given size would need a larger tank than someone who wants only three or four fish of that size.

In the case of The Marine Center, I have no idea what they were thinking other than the obvious fact that they would like everyone to buy one of their lovely Humu Humu triggerfish no matter what size tank they own. And that's not a typo. They recommend 30 gallons as an acceptable size for several different tangs!



P.S. -- Huma Huma is a misspelling and mispronounciation of Humu Humu. Every place that calls it a Huma Huma is wrong.

[leebca]

As an additional testimonial. . .I know some sellers of Anemonefish claim that a nanoreef of 10 gallons is okay for a mated pair. In the wild a 'typical' mated pair will claim up to 9 cubic feet of ocean as their personal nesting area.

[Huma Huma65651]

Agreed with the marine center. Never would buy fish from there. They also say a queen need a 55 gallon but I know they need at least a 250 gallon bythemselves. They allo say tessy eel needs a 55 gallon when they need at least a 180 gallon.

[Ninong]

The Marine Center's tank size recommendations are way off but I have found them to be an excellent source for hard-to-get fish. In my experience with them, the fish were superb and the packing and shipping methods were excellent. Their prices tend to be a little on the high side.

[Huma Huma65651]

Do you know any places where you can get cheap fish online? Like wholesale price?

[Ninong]

No.

[philolsen]

The Humu Humu is not as agressive as people think, I have had mine for over a year, it started in a 55 as well with a Yellow Tang and 2 damsels, I upgraded to a 90 and added a Kole tang, there were no compatability issues, it does not even nip at the feather dusters, mushrooms or polyps in the tank. It does snack on a crab from time to time but does ot look for them, I put 10 in several months ago and ther are 8 left, I found 2 shells that you could tell he bit, Also it will not get much bigger than 7"-8" in captivity.