Clown Triggerfish
Common Names: Clown Triggerfish, Yellow-blotched Triggerfish, Big-spotted Triggerfish
Scientific Name: Balistoides conspicillum
Family: Balistidae
Maximum Size: 1′ 8″ inches
Life expectancy: 20 years
Minimum Tank Size: 125 gallons
Temperature Range: 72-78 °F
pH Range: 8.1 - 8.4
SG: 1.020 - 1.025
Water hardness: 8 - 12
Temperament: Aggressive
Origin: Christmas Island, Coral Sea, Indo-Pacific
Aquarium Setup:
Due to their large adult size, Clown Triggerfish need really big tanks. They’re active fish that like to swim and will often search for food on the tank bottom rearranging things such as plants and rocks.
They sleep in caves and hide in them when frightened. So, make sure that you provide lots of large size caves and hiding spots for them. You can use rocks to create caves, but they will need to be secured or they may get knocked over.
Diet:
Triggerfish are carnivorous and need lots of meaty foods. They will eat almost anything, live, frozen or flaked! Beef hearts, shrimp and chopped up fish are good to add to their diets for meat.
In their natural habitat, Clown Triggerfish use their powerful jaws to eat sea urchins, mollusks, crabs and other sea life. It’s best if you feed these fish in several smaller meals daily, instead of one large meal.
Tank Mates/Community:
In the wild the Triggerfish is a loner and it’s best to keep it that way in the aquarium. If you do add other fish to the tank, make sure that they’re of equal size and are just as aggressive to defend themselves.
While this is an aggressive fish, some have gotten along fine with other tank mates. But, whether you keep it in a single tank or a community tank, there should only be one Clown Triggerfish.
They are compatible with Tangs, Squirrelfish, Puffers, Hogfish and Parrotfish. Live rocks and corals can also be added to the tank safely, but you will need to keep a check on any living thing you add with the Triggerfish.
Behavior:
The Triggerfish is very aggressive and should not be kept with small fish. However, they can be tamed and will even allow you to hand feed them. Just make sure that you watch out for their large teeth as they’ve been known to even attack their owners!
Color:
This is a very popular aquarium fish because of it’s unique markings and color combinations. It’s ventral area has white spots that stand out on a dark body. The body is dark brown or black and makes an amazing contrast for the large white spots!
It’s mouth if a bright yellow, usually trimmed in a narrow white line. There’s a vertical yellowish colored strip on it’s caudal fin. The top has a light, yellowish area that has small, dark markings.
On various Clown Triggerfish the markings will vary slightly. Some may have yellow tails with black stripping, while others may have more black or yellow colored tails.
The fishes coloration actually gives it a camouflage effect. From the top of the surface the colors blend in with the reef and from below, the spots imitate the surface of the water. After feedings and while they sleep, their colors are usually a little paler than normal!
Breeding:
While there has been reported cases of breeding Triggerfish in captivity, it is difficult to achieve. And, in many cases even when spawning has occurred the fry rarely survive.
Triggerfish breed in groups of one male to anywhere from two to five females. The males will protect their females and young by guarding the area or chosen territory.
The females will lay their eggs in a nest or pit dug out in the substrate and the male will then fertilize them. Although, the female builds the nest for the eggs, the male cares for them and guards them until they hatch.
The male viciously guards the nest, in the wild they’ve even been known to attack divers that have gotten to close! The female takes over caring for the fry after they’ve hatched.
Interesting Notes:
This beautiful saltwater fish has lots and lots of teeth that never stop growing! There are eight teeth that can be seen sticking out of the front of it’s mouth. Then there are six more teeth behind those and teeth similar to molars lining it’s throat!
The Clown Triggerfish need hard shelled foods to keep their teeth wore down. When searching for food, the Triggerfish will blow water out of it’s mouth to stir up the sand.
Another interesting feature is it’s eyes! They each move independently, this allows the fish to monitor the whole reef for food and predators at the same time!
Triggerfish have a very interesting safety mechanism! When in danger they will hide in a hole or crevice inside the reef and wedge themselves in!
They have a dorsal spine on the tops of their heads that they erect to lock themselves into a hole! The spine is locked into place by another smaller spine located behind the dorsal spine.
Then they will erect the spine that’s on their bellies to hold them more securely. As an added measure they will even grasp the sides of the hole with their strong jaws!
Fishermen gave it the name Triggerfish when they discovered that by pressing the smaller spine on the dorsal fin, the fish would unlock! They will often use this same technique when resting for the night inside the reef.
The Triggerfishes large tails provide them with an extra thrust to quick dart into holes for safety. Listen closely if you try to catch your fish, they will make grunting sounds when being pursued!
If you plan on breeding Triggerfish, don’t look for white or clear eggs. A fish with such vibrant, almost painted looking designs couldn’t just lay ordinary eggs, their eggs are green!
