FAQs about Odonus niger Triggerfish
Health
Related FAQs: Odonus 1,
Odonus 2, & FAQs on: Odonus Identification, Odonus Behavior, Odonus Compatibility, Odonus Selection, Odonus Systems, Odonus Feeding, Odonus Reproduction, & Triggerfishes
in General, Triggerfish: Identification,
Selection, Selection 2,
Compatibility,
Behavior, Systems,
Feeding,
Diseases,
Triggerfish Health
2, Reproduction,
Related Articles: Odonus
niger, Triggerfish,
Balistoides
Species, Red Sea
Triggerfishes,
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Triggerfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available
here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
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by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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Niger Trigger mouth 6/19/15
Hello! I have a Niger Trigger. Beautiful fish!! He eats and swims normal,
however I've gradually notice an issue with its mouth. The lower part of his
mouth has a little pink mass in it. At first I thought it was food, but it's
been there for nearly a week. It's not his teeth. It looks similar to having a
pinch of Big League Chew in your mouth, and you don't close your
mouth. Again, it eats normal (plankton, krill, etc) and I even put clam on a
half shell in the tank so it can keep the teeth short. But this pink mass has me
worried.
<Likely resultant from a physical trauma... Nothing to do directly... will
likely heal on its own in time... Balistids are very tough. Optimized and stable
circumstances are what is called for. Bob Fenner>
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sick fish; SW...
11/10/14
I have a 75 gallon fish only aquarium with 5 fish.
<Other fish species?>
The niger trigger has been in my tank about 10 years
and has been in excellent health and beautiful condition until recently.
It disappeared for about a month and I thought it was dead, but it just
reappeared. The fish is now laying on the bottom of the tank breathing
rapidly.
<... what did you feed this fish over this decade?>
It can swim but seems to have a problem with its swim bladder because
its swimming is very erratic<ally> and it mostly just lays on the bottom
or locks itself against a rock. This has been going on for about a week
and the fish doesn’t appear able to swim normally or eat. It otherwise
looks perfect. There are no lesions on its skin or fins and other fish
are not bothering it.
I would like to treat the fish (tank) if it might be productive.
<... not likely>
I considered removing the fish so it won’t die in the tank and cause a
problem. Also I’m concerned that if it has an infection it might get
worse and spread.
Do you recommend treating it? If so, with what medicine?
Please advise.
Thank you,
Stephen Berman
<Foods, feeding information please. Bob Fenner>
Re: sick fish 11/10/14
Thanks for your reply. I have been feeding the fish marine flakes of two
varieties -- green and reef; also krill
<Mmm; not too much of this, exclusively I hope>
or mysis shrimp; also leaf algae on clip alternating brown red green.
The Niger trigger eats everything. I soak with Zoe or Zoecon or both
about once a week.
<Dang! All this is fine>
Other fish: Marion clown; marine Betta; yellow tang; cream Angel.
All fish very healthy. No fighting.
Water change 15%-20% every week or two weeks.
Stephen Berman
<Well; it may well be that this one fish ate "something" in the tank
that resulted in its hiding... But, being older myself, I am hesitant to
state it too plainly, but ten years is about a trigger's life
span. Cheers, Bob Fenner>
Re: sick fish 11/10/14
Thank you for your advice. I will keep a close eye on the fish and
remove it if it looks like it is hopeless. I see that there are a lot of
antibiotic treatments for aquaria. I am going to avoid medicating the
tank unless I get a clear recommendation.
<Good>
If it passes away we will get another trigger, probably a small one,
and/or a flame Hawkfish (another previous occupant of the tank and
family favorite).
<Sounds mighty fine. Cheers, Bob Fenner>
Re: Added Blue throat Triggerfish, lost Niger
5/27/12
Bob,
<Michael>
Hope all is well and you are having a good holiday weekend.
<Thank you>
I wanted to touch base with you. I was busy this morning and had
not looked at the tank yet. Came home and started my weekly water
change and after I had the water out of the tank, I noticed my Niger
Trigger floating upside down. All other fish appeared fine.
<?!>
The Niger has been the dominant one in the tank and last night was no
different. I do feed frozen foods and alternate with NLS pellets.
Last night I fed NLS pellets. I assume the Niger died over night
or early this morning and I did not notice. I am not sure
why. Do you think it could be a blockage from NLS pellets?
<Doubtful... have never heard of an account...>
I am just wondering what it could be.
<Do you still have the fish? Might be worthwhile to "open it up", take a
look>
My tank is 150 gallon FOWLR. Been up for over two years now.
The fish now in the 150 are:
24" snowflake eel - 26 Months
7" Porc puffer - 24 Months
7" red breasted wrasse - 13 months
6" banana wrasse - 6 months
4" Blue Hippo Tang. 2.5 months (had this for 2 years before in a smaller
tank)
The 4" Niger Trigger was in there for 6 months too.
<Very strange>
I did have a Blue throat that I had in the tank for 2 weeks and had to
take out due to the Niger. I took him out around 3 weeks ago and
put him in my 55 gallon QT. I am going to move him back to the
display now since the Niger is gone.
thanks,
Mike
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Re: Added Blue throat Triggerfish 5/27/12
I put the fish in a bag and then in the freezer. what should I
look for?
<The gut, contents... if you had a copy of Ed Noga...>
Any ideas of what it could be?
<Unfortunately, no>
The fish seemed perfectly fine last night while we were watching the
tank.
<An "anomalous loss"... not satisfying description. BobF>
Injured Niger trigger... no rdg.
1/23/11
Hey crew!
I recently noticed my Niger trigger had a few "wounds"
I'm guessing from a run in with a snowflake eel.
<Mmm, unusual if so. More likely an altercation with itself,
swimming into rock, the side of the tank>
I was able to catch him and put him in a hospital tank. I'm
wondering what I should treat the tank with to help keep out
infections/aid in healing.
Melafix?
<... worthless. Search WWM re. Bob Fenner>
Thanks.
Niger Trigger, hlth./appearance
concerns 1/23/12
Attached are some pictures of my Niger Trigger. He is
around 5" long. On his left side, he has brown marks
that look like he scraped against rocks.
<I see them and likely so>
Those are not a concern to me. However, over his left
eye, he has a white dot that looks like a grain of sand that his
been there for two days. On the top of his head there is
some white that looks like powder.
<I see this/these as well>
I am not sure if these are items to be concerned with such
as Ich or anything else.
<Can't really tell w/o microscopic examination...
let's see what else...>
My display is a 150FOWLR.
I also have:
24" snowflake eel
7" porc puffer
7" red breasted wrasse
6" banana wrasse
The Niger trigger and banana wrasse were both added around 6
weeks ago. I had them in a 55 gallon QT for around 8
weeks. I did treat with Quinine Sulfate and Prazi Pro in
the QT just in case. I never saw signs of parasite.
<Good data>
All the fish eat well. The Niger does chase the banana
wrasse sometimes, but the banana wrasse seems to taunt the
Niger.
<Typical>
thanks,
Mike
<I'd do nothing to treat these symptoms... Likely as you
state this Odonus has just scratched/damaged himself. This
condition should heal itself w/ in days to a few weeks. Bob
Fenner>
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Re: Niger Trigger 1/23/12
Bob,
Thank you.
I will continue to observe and write back if anything changes for
the worse.
thanks again,
Mike
<Thank you Mike. A further note: Though the marks on the body
may indicate the presence of Protozoal parasites, the obvious
good health of your other livestock, leads me to the decision
that I wouldn't risk further trouble by administering
medicines here. Cheers, BobF>
Re: Niger Trigger 1/23/11
thanks again.
I am not the best photographer, but while trying to take
pics of the Niger, I got a few of
the others too.
Mike
<Ah, thank you for sharing. B>
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Niger Trigger Cloudy eye 10/25/11
Hey Crew,
I just noticed today that my small trigger has a slight cloudy eye, I
don't know if I just caught this problem early or if he just mildly
injured it.
My trigger and dwarf angel seem to nip at each other a few times a day.
I'm wondering if maybe his eye got nipped or when he bolts back
into the live rock when someone runs into the room, could he have
bumped into a rock?
<Much more likely this latter than the former>
But my main question is, if his eye condition worsens what can I
do?
<Not much... just maintain good conditions, nutrition... Should heal
on its own>
I'd basically have to take down my entire tank to catch him, so are
there any medications I can use in the main tank?
<Neither is necessary or advised>
Also water conditions checked out fine.
Thanks Crew!
<Welcome. BobF>
quarantine of niger trigger -- 4/12/10
Hi guys,
<CT>
I've got a 2" Niger Trigger in a 10 gallon quarantine.
It's been there for 2 days, with the water at 77 F, salinity at
1.022,
<... too low>
and ammonia levels at around 0.25ppm (Do these seem alright?
<Mmm, no>
The filter's a bit new since this is my first quarantine,
<Needs to be pre-conditioned... cycled... See here: http://wetwebmedia.com/quarsysfiltrfaqs.htm>
and I'm planning to do a 10% change a day. He spent literally the
entire day today hiding in a ceramic mug I put in. Is it normal for
Niger Triggers to be this shy?
<Yes>
One last question. Should I have a cover over the tank?
<I would, yes>
I don't have lights for the tank, just have the tank under a lamp
in the living room.
<No need for light>
Thanks so much!
Charley Teng
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Niger trigger help! Crypt, other induced
prob.s 4/6/10
Hi WWM crew!
<Hi Charley>
I've got a dilemma and it's really scaring me. I've got a
55 gallon (150 set up in the house we're moving to in a month...or
so the bank says.
Anyways within 4 months) with a 3 1/2 inch Trigger, 3 inch Coral
Beauty, and a Yellow Tang.
<Ok>
It used to be just the Coral Beauty, Yellow Tang, and 2 aquarium bred
Clowns (that wouldn't move toward the two anemones...idiots).
<55 gallons is way too small for these fishes>
But I was dumb and didn't have a filtration system, assuming the
protein skimmer would be enough.
<Should be, as long as you also have adequate biological filtration
as well, in the form of live rock>
Sure enough, the Coral Beauty got some severe white spots all over the
front of its head, though the Yellow Tang didn't have anything and
I'm not really sure about the Clownfish.
<This sounds like a protozoan infestation, probably crypt. Have you
read/ looked around here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm>
Anyways, I installed a sump, added two Cleaner Shrimp and the Niger
Trigger.
<Without quarantine? And 55 gallons is far too small for your
present fish, yet alone this one which will grow longer than your
aquarium is wide><<... and the Trigger will eat the shrimp...
RMF>>
The Cleaner Shrimp went nuts over the tank <?> and the Coral
Beauty is as good as new.
<Please capitalise the names of these animals in future Charley, I
am spending some time going through these.. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/wwmadminsubwebindex/question_page.htm>
In fact it's colour is even more beautiful! Unfortunately, the
protein skimmer stopped working. The bottom chamber generates...bubbles
or foam, but the top chamber is not getting any bubbles to come out.
And so the outlet of the protein skimmer is just shooting out bubbles
and protein.
<? You need to get this sorted out pronto. Will cause poor water
quality, especially since your tank is overstocked>
So the main problem of all this (sorry it took so long to get here) is
that although the Coral Beauty and Tang are great, the Niger Trigger is
coated head to tail in white dots.
<Typical in tanks overstocked with fishes, w/ poor water quality and
parasite infestations>
He's not shy, in fact he mostly sits at the top left of the tank
(and dominates the entire left side of the tank too...no
one goes near him even though he's not bullying anyone either...I
think they're just scared).
<Stress is adding to your problems here'¦
overcrowding>
I'm wondering if this is just flecks of protein that's being
ejected from the skimmer (that he chills next to most of the
time)
<Not likely>
or if it's Ick or some sort of parasite <this> that the
Cleaner Shrimp could get off the Coral Beauty but not him.
<Cleaner Shrimps cannot remove most parasites from fishes. All they
can do is provide a bit of relief. All of your fishes are infested
whether they show signs or not.>
The Niger Trigger is my favourite fish, and I'd really like to see
him get better.
<Then move him and the Tang to the 150, after treatment for
parasites. And READ re: these infestations here on WWM.. you have much
to take in>
Thanks for everything and this great site!
<No problem!>
Sincerely,
Charley
<Simon>
Re: Niger trigger help! Parasites again
4/7/10
Hi Simon,
<Hi Charley>
Thanks for the help.
<No problem>
I'm desperately trying to set up a hospital tank, but I'm
having trouble adjusting the pH (yeah I'm pretty new). I'm
using calcium carbonate. Do you have any tips for how much to add per
gallon?
<If you have the salinity at 1.025-1.026 then the pH should be fine
for fish. Just make sure you acclimate them to it. If you like you can
adjust the pH using baking soda http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php>
I've got a scale that measures to the gram (a few decimals
behind).
From what I've gathered, I can: freshwater+methylene dip
<You can>
bring salinity in the main tank to 1.017 (for the snails and shrimp
etc.)
<No. Read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/martrthyposalfaqs.htm . This
won't work>
use garlic foods as a food motivator/ immuno supplement
<Won't work either, but you could add some to the food if you
like.. probably does nothing that a decent diet won't do 10 times
over.>
and set up a hospital tank, and treat them with copper/quinine
compounds.
<Yes. Quinine is my current fave, and you have a Coral Beauty. These
cannot 'take' exposure to copper>
So I was wondering should I do all these at once?
<Most definitely not. Have you read where you were referred &
the related FAQ's? All is posted many times>
And a really novice question, if I bring down the salinity should I
adjust the pH of the water I add in or will the change be
negligible.
<I would not mess with the salinity in either tank. All fish need to
be removed and treated externally, in a large bare bottomed tank, with
the main system left fallow for 8 weeks>
Lastly, just curious what are the chances that the Niger Trigger can
fend against Ick on its own (don't worry I'm planning to do
everything since now I'm going to run quarantine on all future
fish; I just don't want to mess up
so I'm erring on the side of caution)?
<Usually this fish holds up well and does not show any external
signs at all. The others are far more prone to have problems with these
infestations. But the Trigger will not be able to fend the parasite
off. It will exist, and irritate, in the gills>
Thanks again!
<No worries>
Charley Teng
<Simon>
White Fuzzy Spots, Balistid dis. f' --
12/04/09
Hi Guys! First I would like to thank you for all of your advice thus
far.
My problem is this, I have a Niger Trigger that is about 3 1/2"
long and she has these white fuzzy spots on her tail. I have tried just
about everything and I cannot get them to go away and was hoping that
you would have a suggestion.
<Mmm, yes. Just to ignore them. These may be some sort of embedded
organism, but could be "repair" marks from bend/breaks in the
fin rays, other "normal" markings. At any length, not likely
as deleterious as "treating", nor communicable to other
livestock>
I have tried malachite green/ formalin, Maracyn plus, hyposalinity with
high temperature, freshwater dips, and copper. Nothing works. She is
eating well and has beautiful coloration other than these fuzzy
spots.
<Again...>
She eats mysis shrimp, formula one frozen, formula two pellets, squid,
fish, octopus, and shrimp (stuffed with seaweed).
<Deelish!>
They aren't ich and I thought maybe it was a fungus but nothing
works. She is currently in my 36 gallon hospital tank with a salinity
of 1.018 and 0 nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia. The pH is at 8.2.
Temperature is 78. My display tank looks awfully empty without her in
it! It is a 125 gallon with a snowflake eel and two blue yellowtail
damsels. Any suggestions?
<Return this fish to the main/display. Bob Fenner>
Re: White Fuzzy Spots
Thanks for the fast reply, I am so glad to hear that she is ok and
doesn't have some weird untreatable fungus. Will these spots
eventually go away or will she always have them?
<Will very likely "go" with time. Do try searching WWM
(see the link on the left shared border on every page), with the terms:
"trigger markings", and read the cached views. Cheers,
BobF>
Niger Trigger, hlth, env., no reading
10/2/2009
I have had a Niger Trigger for about 10 months and he has sopped eating
and was hiding in his favorite spot till last night. he has wedged
himself between rock and glass in the corner. the salinity is
1.021,
<Too low>
ammonia is .2
<Toxic>
(lowest reading) nitrite is 0, nitrate .40
<Too high>
. i did a 15% water change last night.i have been treated the tank with
Melafix. no new fish added . i have a blue damsel, dogface puffer, and
a snowflake eel. everyone else is eating fine and showing no signs
of
stress. what can i do? show i get him out and treat him? help Sean
<... For one, run your writing through a spell checker before
sending it to us. For real, read on WWM re your toxic water situation
and fix it. Maybe start here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/maintindex.htm
Scroll down to the tray headed by the yellow bar. Bob Fenner>
Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot on
eye. 11/4/08 Hey guys, please help me! I have a Blue Niger
Trigger that was purchased and introduced to my home tank about 2 weeks
ago with a Dragon Wrasse as well-both came from the same tank in the
pet store. All tank conditions checked out, but the dragon wrasse died
of a bladder infection 4 days after being introduced and was removed
right away, I'm positive the wrasse had the issue before it's
introduction. <Were these in quarantine at all?> The Trigger
seemed fine and active, after the loss of the dragon wrasse I
introduced a lunar wrasse, angler fish, and humu trigger 2 days after
the dragon died. <Whoa, too much, too fast unless you have a massive
tank.> The Niger Trigger, and all others have gotten along fine,
except for the Niger Trigger and Lunar Wrasse mixing it up a little
during feedings. A week ago I noticed a white spot form on the top part
of the Niger Trigger's eye, and a similar one on his tail. He
continues to feed well and stay active, but I catch him rubbing and
glancing live rock every once in awhile-not continuous by any means,
but daily for sure around his spotted eye area. The Niger Trigger has
no other spots or sores of any kind, and the spots haven't
multiplied or showed up on the rest of his body. I was thinking about
trying the garlic remedy, due to none of the other fish showing any
illness I'm reluctant to treat the water harshly or the overall
tank. <Any treatment should be in a quarantine tank anyhow.> Any
advice would be greatly appreciated!! Last but not least, due you think
the sick Dragon Wrasse had anything to due with the Niger Trigger's
issue? <Possibly, did they show any of the same signs?> Please
let me know you got this with a response to my e-mail and I will update
you on the situation. <Hard to say without a picture, do read
through the disease FAQs on WWM. Between so many large fish so
fast, the fish showing no other signs and the trigger/wrasse mixing it
up, this is very likely environmental.> Thanks, Ole. <Welcome,
Scott V.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white
spot on eye. 11/4/08 Thanks for the quick response! <Very
welcome!> Since I e-mailed in, The Blue Trigger has stopped rubbing
and lost both of the white spots. <Great!> Things have calmed
down between the Blue Trigger and Lunar Wrasse as well. I'm
keeping a close eye on everyone and so far so good. I didn't have
the luxury of a quarantine tank, and didn't realize the stress
factors created by to many fish at once. <Do consider investment it
a QT, even 20-30 gallons can serve well as fish are introduced.> I
will take both factors in consideration for future dealings with my
tank and it's occupants. <Ahhh, good.> Thanks for the info,
Ole. <Welcome, have fun, Scott V.
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white
spot on eye. 3/26/09
Hi Scott, it's been awhile since I checked in, that's been a
good thing though.
<Ha, yes, if it's not broke....>
My saltwater tank has been doing well and staying problem free until
recently. Sadly enough I'm dealing with my Blue Niger Trigger
again.
Recently he's started glancing himself again the last couple of
days, but there is no sign of Ich that I can tell of and I trust my eye
on that one. What else do you think my cause him to glance?
<I was just discussing this with Bob, his question is if anything is
being added to the water that may be irritating this fish? Even
something as innocent as a dechlorinator can cause irritation.>
All the tank mates have gotten along for months now, and I've kept
up with monthly water changes and level checks. All seems good and no
other fish are acting up or show any signs of infections or
illness.
<Good.>
Back to my Blue Trigger, when I caught glancing last time and I reached
out to you his problems cleared up and he was back to normal. I guess I
don't want to over react to the situation if cases of glancing are
a fish's natural way of cleaning off pests, but of course I
don't want to let it go when I could have helped a situation early
on. His eyes and tails are completely clear and clean, besides a little
roughing here and there on his skin from the glancing, he seems very
healthy appetite is strong.
<Good.>
Any advice would be appreciated as always, I call my Trigger "old
blue" and by far he is my favorite fish, I would hate to lose
him!
<Without any other symptoms it is just wait and see...unless you can
pin down some source of external irritation.>
A side question for you, I heard of this being done but highly
unrecomended, housing an Undulated Trigger with tankmates (other
Triggers,
Puffers, and Wrasses)?
<Well I think you answered your own question there! These are bad
dudes....even in a large tank.>
Thanks as always, Ole.
<Welcome Ole.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white
spot on eye. 3/27/2009
Nothing is being added to the water, that wouldn't have been in the
system since he's been in the tank. At this point, he's still
glancing away but I still see no signs of skin
parasites/abrasions/ich.
<Good.>
He's still very active and eating well at all times, I'll keep
you posted!
<Sounds good.>
Thanks as always, Ole.
<Welcome, have a good one. Scott V.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger Pop-Eye 11/10/08 Hey Scott,
don't want to become a question pest but you have been a real help
with my fish issues, and I have to take it back to my Blue Niger
Trigger! <Okay.> His eye had cleared up and all spots had cleared
on the rest of his body. Well he now has the same eye clouded over
lightly and the eye is slightly raised-the rest of his body is
perfectly healthy. I'm supposing this is a form of Bubble Eye?
<Pop-Eye, yes.> Maybe caused from the previous scrapping he was
doing? <Very most likely this, general water quality, or the wrasse
again.> Most reports said he would clear up by himself as long as
water conditions were maintained well-do you agree? <It typically
will.> All other fish-Angler, Lunar Wrasse, and Humu Trigger are
active and healthy-they all get along in general except the Lunar and
Blue Trigger still get into it sometimes during feeding, is this an
issue I should concern myself about further? <It very well could be
the source of the trauma. Do they get along fine when not feeding?>
As always, Thanks for any advice given! Ole. <Welcome, sounds like
you have read on the condition here. Scott V.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger Pop-Eye 11/10/08 Well, I
feel like the boy who cries wolf! <Heee, we all have those times, up
and down.> My water quality checked out excellent today, and the
Blue Trigger's eye has almost cleared up completely and the raising
went down-he does have some fraying on his back tail fin and a new
scratch by it as well-I'm sure due to him and the Wrasse having it
out at feeding time. <No doubt.> The two only seem to tangle at
feeding, when no food is present they don't seem to even pay
attention to each other at all. <At least when you are looking!>
I plan on keeping my eye on them, and if one has to go, it will be the
Lunar Wrasse! Although The Lunar is incredibly active and fun,
got more love towards my Blue Trigger in this case. Thanks again for
all the help Scott, Ole. <Welcome my friend. Scott V.>
Odonus First Aid <Hi, Mike D here> Good morning
everyone, I could use some help. I have a six month old Odonus trigger,
and it looks like he got a little to rambunctious in redecorating
and has a little piece of coral or shell stuck in his
chin,<Yep, this happens occasionally> it doesn't seem to
bother him, but I am concerned about it.<Sometimes that's bad,
as it's surprisingly easy to make a small problem into a large one
because of human compulsions> Do you have any suggestions about how
to go about removing this-??<MY suggestion is to wait until it does
bother him, at which time he'll rub against a rock, a piece of
coral or the bottom and remove it himself. If you feel that you HAVE to
remove it, you can catch him in a net and simply pick the offending
particle off with a pair of tweezers. While trying to catch him,
he'll likely show you the wonderful way triggers dive into LR and
LOCK themselves into place with that TRIGGER FIN evolved for just that
purpose. Use care of course, so that the fish doesn't become
severely injured fleeing from you, bringing me back to the point about
making a small problem into a large one.> Thank you, John
Niger Trigger Hello, <Hi. You Got Justin> I'm not
sure who to contact or who to ask, I've been reviewing some of the
information your site has about Niger triggers, Anyways I have a 3/4
inch long Niger trigger...and it seems to be hiding a lot during the
day and laying around (from what I've read so far this is normal)
<Yes and no.... Nigers normally swim very actively during the day
and only hide when they are stressed or are being picked on or are sick
with something. I am leaning toward the third.> But, my
concern is this; his eyes are REALLY glazed over. Everything else seems
to be fine, but I'm worried. All the chemical levels are
correct, and all of my other fish are completely fine. I have an angel,
two clowns and a couple damsels. <Well it really only helps us
to know the exact levels in the tank. Otherwise we cant simply take
your word for it.> If you have any ideas...or know anything that
might help him I would be very thankful ~Chris <Sure Well first I
would catch the Niger and put it in its own Q/T tank for observation.
The cloudy eyes are usually a symptom of poor water quality. By Q/T ing
it you can help it by constantly having very high water quality and in
case it is ill with something else it prevents any more transfer into
your main tank. To help the fish for now go get some Epsom salt. Its
sold at your grocery store. Put in 1 TSP (teaspoon) per every 5 gallons
to help relieve any excess water pressure behind the eyes. Simply watch
this fish and remove from q/t once the eyes heal. If they wont after
giving good water quality and the Epsom salts, you might try a cloudy
eye medication, but I really recommend this as a last resort. >
<Justin (Jager)>
Trigger Won't Eat - 09/08/06 We also have a Niger trigger
that has stopped eating 2 and a half weeks ago and has gone to ground
in the rocks. <<Not a good sign>> We have seen him several
times during this period, he has no external signs of damage,
parasites, etc. Colour and markings look very good,
breathing is normal, eyes are bright and actively looking at his
surroundings. <<Hmm...is this fish a recent
acquisition? Perhaps this behavior is a reaction to its
environment>> Tank has been established 10 years, 300 gallons,
fish only all other fish ok, water ok, all we have done so far is extra
water changes (not sure why) increase vitamins and essential elements
we don't know what else to try, so I have been looking on the fish
net for help and/or advice. Chris <<Well Chris...I have observed
similar behavior before in other species (internal parasites I
suspect)...unfortunately there's little you can do once the fish
stops eating. Do ensure your water quality is optimum, and
keep trying to induce/offer food to try to get the fish to feed...and
do a Google search of our site re "internal
parasites". Regards, EricR>>
Marks on Niger trigger face
12/22/08
My tank is a 210g Aqueon glass tank. I have a 55g sump and about
180 lbs of live rock in the system, probably only about 40 lbs in
the sump, the rest in the main tank. I run the salinity at 1.025,
temperature 78 and with no measureable nitrites or ammonia.
Nitrates range around between 20-60,
<Mmm, too high... I'd be looking into (reading on WWM,
elsewhere) re keeping this under 20 ppm
Here: http://wetwebmedia.com/nitratesmar.htm
and the linked files above>
depending on how recently I did a water change, which btw I do on
a weekly basis, every Sunday I do a 30 gallon water change. I
figure between the sump being about 2/3 full and the live rock
displacing water, I've probably got about 220 gallons of
total water volume, so that is around a 15% water change
weekly.
Can you tell me what these marks are on the Niger in the
pictures?
<Mechanical injuries... Nice pix>
I bought this Niger about 4 months ago now, he has always been
really healthy and seems to be doing well. I quarantined him in a
29g tank for 2 weeks, usually I do 4 weeks but it was so small
for him I felt bad and after 2 weeks of seeming good health, I
transferred him to the display.
<Good. I would have as well>
Anyway, he has these small white marks on his face about halfway
between the gill plates and the mouth. About a week after I put
him into the display he started showing them. I thought he
basically scratched himself or something like that
<This is so>
and wasn't too worried about it. Then about a month later I
see he has 4 marks close to his mouth and also some along his
chin down by his trigger.
Any idea what these could be and how I would treat for them?
<Really only good care, feeding... Should heal with time,
improvement in your water quality>
Thanks!
Grant
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>
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See why
it's called "Red Tooth?" |
Re: Marks on Niger trigger
face 12/23/08
Good deal, thanks for alleviating my concern. I was pretty
sure it was physical trauma but it's so hard to tell, I
don't have a lot of experience of fish self abuse I
guess.
<I have seen such "pitting" times before...
does generally heal over in time>
Thanks for the compliment on the pictures, I recently
bought a new camera and have been having a blast. I'm
going to Hawaii January 31st, I'm really contemplating
buying the underwater covering for it so I can get some
fish pictures :)
<Ahh! I encourage you to purchase the housing, try your
hand here>
I attached a couple of my favorite pictures I've taken
over the last week I've had the camera. Feel free to
use any of them you want, if you had a use for them,
it's the least I can do for the help you provide.
<Thank you for sharing... I esp. like the pic of the
young Sohal>
I didn't want to bog down the email with lots of
pictures, but here's a couple links to the other
noteworthy images, if you enjoyed the ones I attached
you'll like the ones I've linked to.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/humu016.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/goldheart023.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/sohal012.jpg
My clown's chipped tooth!
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/clown016.jpg
I particularly like this feeding shot. I put a small Sohal
tang into the mix a couple months ago and started feeding
Nori, I didn't realize how much the triggers would dig
into it. I cant even use the standard "Nemo"
looking algae clip, the clown trigger is such a brute he
just rips it right out, so I have to use my magnetic
cleaning pad to hold the algae on. Anyway, I love
this shot :)
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/feeding002.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/Sohal009.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/humu012.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/goldheart020.jpg
Well anyway, you get the idea, I'm a proud fish papa
;)
Grant
<Thank you for sharing Grant. Bob Fenner>
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Re: Marks on Niger trigger
face 1/1/09
Any other thoughts on what this might be on the face of my
Niger. We had talked a week ago and both agreed it was just
physical damage, but I'm really starting to wonder. In
this current picture, you can see the pits are full of a
white something and they definitely bump out from the skin
for a little bit. I'm having a hard time believing this
is physical damage, why would the center of the damage turn
white and start protruding?
<Sign of healing... did you have an urchin in this
system?>
Any other guesses would be great, OR just being told that
you still think it is physical damage is great also :)
<I do still believe this is the latter>
For what it's worth, the Niger is still the picture of
health otherwise.
His coloration is amazing, he swims actively and
doesn't pace the tank or seem bored. He eats well and
just seems like a really healthy "happy" fish, so
I don't think the spots are harming him yet if they are
parasitical in nature.
I'm concerned though that if they are parasitical, they
could eventually take too much of a toll on him.
<I don't think these pits, damage are due to a
parasite... Have "skinned" quite a few triggers,
for science and consumption... their integuments are
TOUGH!>
I'm not sure if I said this before in this set of
emails, but I'm treating the tank right now with
hyposalinity as I've been having ich problems. So if it
is a parasite, I'm thinking it isn't one a FW dip
will kill off, as right now the tank has been at 1.009 for
2 weeks straight. Although a FW dip is obviously stronger
of a treatment than 1.009, but I would think over time the
low salinity would kill most stuff that is killed by
FW.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
<I'm not a fan of continuous hyposalinity as
you'll see by perusing WWM... this might be a cause of
trouble here. Bob Fenner>
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Re: Marks on Niger trigger face ~
01/01/09
No urchins in the system, never have and probably never will,
I've been told most of the triggers or puffers will
eventually bite all their spines off and kill them, or just flip
them over and kill them. I'm not real thrilled about the idea
of my fish being injured by the urchin either, so I've never
kept one.
<I see... and am glad to realize your knowledge here>
Well I'm going to keep going at this as the trigger just
damaged itself and is healing. It just seems weird to me because
the white is protruding from the area of damage and just
doesn't look normal, but it also doesn't look parasitic
to me so I was just kind of at a loss for what it could be. It
simply doesn't look "normal" to me ;) Not normal
healing, not normal parasite, not normal anything, but we will
see.
<Yes>
I'm not a real big fan of prolonged hyposalinity either and I
read extensively through your site before deciding on it as a
method of treatment. I basically don't have the time or
resources to maintain all the quarantine/hospital tanks I would
need for removing all 7 fish from the display and letting the
main tank go fallow for 2-3 months. I'm in an apartment, not
my own home, so I don't have a garage or anything like that,
I'd just have to have tanks spread out all over or a big tub
somewhere, it wouldn't work out.
<I understand>
So I'm trying hypo. I'll probably only do it another week
or two, giving it a total of 1 month of hypo, then raise the
salinity and see what happens. The nice thing is my golden
puffer, who was really showing lots of ich, way more than the
triggers, cleaned up and stopped showing ich within a week of
dropping the salinity. I'm hoping when I return back to 1.025
I'll have kicked the ich, but I guess we wont know for
another couple weeks.
<Yes>
I'm actually tempted to continue the hypo treatment for
another month and a half.
<May prove too hard on your livestock... damages the kidneys
mostly>
I'm going to Hawaii at the end of January and wont be back
until the middle of February, so the guy I have who is going to
be feeding my fish and stuff would probably have a lot easier
time of it if my fish weren't dying of ich. If I leave the
tank at 1.009 (I have auto top off so the guy in charge while
I'm gone wont have to try to maintain low salinity) while
I'm gone, then he doesn't have the be checking the fish
for ich, or trying to remove them to a hospital tank if they do
have it. He definitely isn't a fish person, but he is
reliable so I'm trusting him to be my feeder buddy.
<Good>
As long as I've got your ear... from what I remember reading
on WWM, you didn't like long term hypo as you felt it
disturbed their sexual reproduction organs and caused them to not
ever develop, or something along those lines.
<Mmm, must be someone else>
What exactly is long term? Are we talking more than a month?
More than a week? A day? Or anything more than just a FW dip?
<Months>
I've really got to get this ich kicked once and for all,
it's frustrating and the hypo has really been easy to
maintain and it seems to be doing good.
<As you state, "we shall see". Cheers, BobF>
Re: Marks on Niger trigger face ~
01/01/09
All right, well in 2 weeks I'll have ran the tank in hypo
conditions for a month total, I'll start raising the salinity
then. My plan is to take a week to go from 1.009 to 1.025. That
isn't too quick is it?
<Is about right... i.e., can be done>
I read a lot about people saying not to raise salinity by more
than .001 a day, but the problem I have with that is I get fish
from the LFS in tanks at 1.019 and my tank is usually 1.025, I
drip acclimate them for an hour and then put them into quarantine
and they seem just fine, so that is .006 raise in salinity over
an hour and they seem fine. It seems to me going by that logic
that I could raise from 1.009 to 1.025 in a week, right?
<Yes>
Thanks for all you do, by the way. I've learned a lot in my
pursuit of the hobby and most of it has been through your
website. Most of my own hands on knowledge I have wouldn't be
possible without having had followed the things you recommend on
WWM, I really do appreciate what you guys do. It's crazy, I
don't know many, if ANY, other services I could email on New
Years and actually get an answer from, especially an intelligent
answer :) You and your crew's dedication helps keep me
dedicated and loving the hobby, so for
that, thanks Bob.
Grant
<Welcome my friend. BobF>
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Triggerfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available
here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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