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Alternate start: For HI UW Guide Book & Pet Fish Zines Balistids in the Land of Aloha: The Triggerfishes
of Hawai'i Bob Fenner WetWebMedia.com
Of
the three regions on our planet that vie for highest degrees of
endemism (species only found there), the Red Sea, Sea of Cortez and
Hawai'i are about equal with some one quarter of their nearshore
fish-life only occurring on their shores. For the U.S. 50th
State the division by family is not such a consistent demarcation
however. Of the ten species of Triggerfishes that occur here, all can
be found elsewhere as well, and a few are very widespread, a couple are
indeed circumtropical.
For
aquarists there are a couple of ?standard? offerings as livestock
collected here, but for the most part collectors avoid Balistids. From
first hand experience (ouch!) I can assure you that these swimming
dental destroyers are particularly uninvited guests in barrier/mist
nets, and if they can't be avoided, are the first to be caught and
often released over the fence netting before biting holes into it in
their frenzied
escape. How much do you know about the fishes of the Aloha State? How many species of Triggerfishes would you hazard a guess, can be found from here? Can you name many of them? Most folks have heard (and surprisingly many of them can be heard to secretly sing in the shower, "Tiny Bubbles" and a bit of "The Humu humu Nuku Nuku apua'a, Don Ho version, re the Picasso Trigger, Rhinecanthus aculeatus found in Hawai'i...) but there are no less than nine total Balistid species that can be found in this area. For you folks who are looking for a rough and tumble "centerpiece" species out of this region, a special something to complete a large biotopic presentation of shallow water marines from the 50th State, are headed there for a holiday to do some diving/snorkeling and wondering what you might see underwater, or simply an interest in intelligent fish life, here's a review of this almost "two dirty handfuls" of triggers. Balistid Systematics: The profile of any given triggerfish is unmistakable. With their laterally compressed, rough, plate-like skin, square-tailed, with three dorsal spines that along with their distensible underside help them "lock" themselves in places where you and I can't pull them out. All have canine like teeth for crushing prey. The family Balistidae comprises eleven genera of approximately forty species, about half of which make it into marine aquarists tanks. Of Hawaii's nine species four are regularly seen in the trade, two others on occasion, but only two are actually regularly collected from here. The reasons? They chew up nets and other species/specimens in collection "buckets", and don't bring enough revenue compared with other regions they're found in. The Triggerfishes range in size as much as temperament. Most species stay under a foot in length, a few can grow to three feet or so! None of the gigantic species of Balistids hail from Hawai'i. Geographically they are found throughout the warm parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Some are circumtropical. That's right, the same species found around the world. Hawaiian Species of Triggerfishes:
Selection: Of these Trigger species out of Hawai'i (Note: it may be obvious, but these same species do "come in" from elsewhere... check with your supplier re this if it's important to you) only the Pinktail, Humu, Rectangle and Blue Throat are collected/available regularly. At times you may find the Black and Lei Triggers from here as well. No species of Balistid in the area is super-abundant, and many collectors wish they didn't exist here at all. The vast majority of Hawaiian marines are collected with a barrier/fence net that scuba divers set, drive the intended catch into, and hand-net off... Enter the trigger/s... in a happy scenario, just one, two, not too big (sort of reminds me of Monty Python's "shrubbery" routine in "The Holy Grail)... and with rapid, skilled movement, removed from the fence net... before it/they chew/s a hole and swims through... with the rest of the catch behind it! Fishes: 1, You: 0 and minus a net to continue fishing with. More on this topic, technology in an article self-cited below. Most Triggerfish species offered in the trade rank the highest score (a 1) in my book in terms of aquarium survivability. This is of course given a few, actually two provisos: One, that you secure initially healthy specimens (usually no problem), and two, that they are procured at a reasonably small (but not too tiny) size. For most species the latter practical range is a few to a handful of inches in total length. All triggers are wild collected, and most of only an inch or so to start will do all right, but the two to five inchers are more sure-fire for adapting to captive conditions. Look for an outgoing personality and a dearth of bruises, bloody markings on new specimens particularly. Prospective buys should be out and about, not skulking in corners. These fishes will almost always take food... do not buy ones that refuse to eat. Some broken fin elements are to be expected, considering the tremendous trauma triggers suffer in capture, being held and moved about. Rest-assured, torn fins will heal quickly (within weeks) as long as the specimen is feeding. Environment Habitat: Two words: Big and Rocky. Triggerfishes associated with reefs may seem like tough types. But they'd rather "fly than bite" (unless on a nest); frequently ducking into rock work/caves if they can't just swim away. These fishes need space. Even "tiny" ones should be kept in at least a forty gallon system, and none of them are happy in less than a hundred gallons as aquarium adults. Filtration/Aeration/Circulation: Needs to be over-sized and vigorous. Triggerfishes are large, messy feeders and defecators. Keep their water in motion. Under-sized skimmers need not apply. Keep the water in motion in your trigger's tank... you will find they are quite playful, "facing off" in water jets, bubbles as well as digging up what they can... Water Conditions: "Standard Fish-Only" water conditions of no ammonia, nitrite, less than 10 ppm of nitrate, pH in the low eights are fine for Triggerfishes.... unless you're risking placing them with other more sensitive livestock. Yes, I have seen all these species kept in full-blown reef tanks... of size, with some chances being taken as to whether the Balistids would "sample" their tankmates to death. Behavior Introduction/Acclimation/Territoriality: We'll cover all three of these categories in one go, as with the triggers they're inter-related. Balistids are easily put into new systems (and ship remarkably well... if packaged carefully so they don't bit through and/or puncture their shipping bags...) by way of either a drip or ladling of water approach. After mixing water, carefully lift the specimen out either in a jar or with your bare hand (watch your fingers, they can/will bite at times) and place them unceremoniously in their new home (best going by way of at least a pH adjusted freshwater dip if not a week or two in quarantine). Why not use a net? If I were in the "net business" it would be disingenuous of me to suggest this... These fishes not only bite through nets of any type, but have many prickly body parts that get easily stuck there... necessitating that you cut your net up for them. Foods/Feeding/Nutrition Here's an easy area of the triggers husbandry. They eat everything. All sorts of foods; freeze-dried, fresh, live, frozen/defrosted or not... in most any size, quantity. Want to see yours in their best color, keep them in optimum health? Vary the diet, occasionally supplement with a soaking of the foodstuffs in a liquid vitamin preparation. Disease Prevention/Cure It's rare, but Triggerfishes can contract the typical parasitic reef parasitic diseases. They will be the last or close to it to show symptoms. The usual environmental manipulation and copper treatments work fine with them. Even more rare are occasional "feeding strikes" with these fishes. If yours seems to not be eating, do quickly check on your water quality and gear to make sure they are not amiss. If your other livestock are fine, don't panic. Triggers can/do go for a week or more at times w/o feeding. Do keep trying something meaty on a daily basis. They rarely stop eating for good. Close: Next time you're out to Hawai'i, either diving or snorkeling, look about for triggers. Don't see any? Try clapping and rubbing two stones together underwater. If there are Balistids about, they'll find you. The fiftieth State has a goodly number of individuals and species of Triggerfishes, some aquarium useful, others not quite so. Enjoy them if your systems have the space, mechanicals, temperament... if not, go visit them in the wild. Aloha. Bibliography/Further Reading: Berry, F.H. & L.E. Vogele. 1966. Triggerfishes (Balistidae) of the E. Pacific. Calif. Acad. Sci. Ser. 4, 34:429-474. Burgess, Warren E., Axelrod, Herbert R. & Raymond E. Hunziker. 1990. Atlas of Aquarium Fishes Reference Book, v.1 Marine Fishes. T.F.H. Publications, NJ. Campbell, Douglas G. 1979. Fishes for the beginner; A guide for the new marine hobbyist - part five; Triggerfish. FAMA 3/79. Dareste, C. 1872B. On the natural affinitions of the Balistidae. Ann. Mag. Nat Hist. Ser. 4, 10:68-70. Edmonds, Les 1994. Trigger happy fish. TFH 8/94. Fenner, Bob. 2001. Collecting your own marine organisms with an emphasis on diving. FAMA 4/01. Flood, Andrew Colin. 1997. The trouble with Triggers. TFH 2/97. Fong, Jack. 1992. The ten most aggressive triggers. TFH 12/92. Fowler, Henry W. 1967 (authorized reprint). The Fishes of Oceania. Memoirs of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum Volume X. Honolulu, HI (orig. 1928). Johnson Reprint Fraser-Brunner, A. 1935A. Notes on the plectognath fishes I. A synopsis of the genera of the family Balistidae. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 10, 15:658-663. Herre, Albert W.C.T. 1924. Poisonous and worthless fishes. An account of the Philippine plectognaths. Phil. J.Sci. 25, no.2. Michael, Scott W. 1995. Trigger talk. SeaScope, v. 12, Summer 95. Michael, Scott W. 1997. Triggerfishes. A great reason for having a saltwater tank. AFM 2/97. Michael, Scott W. 1998. Reef Fishes, v. 1. Microcosm, VT. 624pp. Miklosz, John C. 1972. Trigger Fishes. Marine Aquarist Magazine. 3(2), 1972. Nelson, J.S. 1994. Fishes of the World, 3d ed. Wiley-Interscience. NY. 600pp. Randall, J.E. & J.T. Millington. 1990. Triggerfish bite - a little known marine hazard. J. Wilderness Med. 1(2) 1990: 79-85. Randall, John E. 1996. Shore Fishes of Hawai'i. Natural World Press, OR. 216pp. Tinker, Spencer Wilkie. 1978. Fishes of Hawaii; A Handbook of the Marine Fishes of Hawaii and the Central Pacific Ocean. Hawaiian Service, Inc. HI. 532pp. Titcomb, Margaret. 1972. Native Use of Fish in Hawaii. University of
Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 175pp |
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