FOTM October 2009 - Blue Jaw Triggerfish

Common Names: Blue Jaw Triggerfish, Blue Chin Triggerfish, Guilded Triggerfish

Latin Name: Xanthicthys auromarginatus

Natural Range: Widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from The Great Barrier Reef to the reefs of Hawaii.

Difficulty: Beginner/Easy. These triggers are very tolerant of water conditions, are disease resistant, and readily accept just about all foods.

Size: Up to 14" in the wild, but generally 7-9" in captivity.

Reef Compatibility: *With Caution* The Xanthicthys group of triggers are naturally planktivores in the wild, meaning they eat suspended food in the water coloumn. They do not naturally prey on inverts, fish, or corals. Though it is said there is a risk involved with inverts. I have never personally witnessed any type of predation on any of my ornamental shrimp, clean up crew, or small fish.

Care Requirements: General parameters for fish only or reef (1.020-1.030 SG, PH of 8.0-8.4, temp of 75-82) is fine. The trigger is a omnivorous fish that will eat just about any meaty or veggie type food you add to the tank. They do get large and are very active swimmers, I would recommend a minimum of a 60" tank if kept permanently.

Behavior, Captivity, and General Experience Notes: The blue jaw trigger can make an excellent addition to your large marine aquarium. Intelligent and personable fish, they are sure to be a highlight amongst your livestock. They can do well in groups, but only one male should be kept per tank. Sexing the fish is easy, as only the males feature the prominent blue chin. Breeding has not been observed in captivity, but in the wild, they build nests to lay and guard eggs in as with other triggerfish species.
Definitely not a shy fish, the blue jaw will spend much of its time cruising the tank in the open. They are very easy to get hand feeding, and mine was eating from my hands within 24 hours of adding. They are very tolerant to water conditions, and very disease resistant, making them a good choice for the beginning aquarist.
Triggerfish commonly vocalize, and mine can be heard "grunting" on occasion. The name "trigger" comes from their pectoral fin, which can be locked into a upright position. This is generally done while resting at night in the rocks, and makes it very hard for potential predators to remove the fish or swallow it.

 

great article once again Pack leader

good looking fish that

Steve

 

What timing pack, mine is hopefully coming in tomorrow!! What are your feeding routines like for yours? is there anything you have noticed they like more so than others? Will they eat nori off a clip like tangs?

~Will.

 

Congrats Will, I am sure you will love yours!
I feed my tank meaty items one day, veggie the next. Mine does take the nori and veggie sheets right off the clip, but it took him a day or two to figure it out.
It really doesn't seem to prefer anything over the other. I feed my home made mix (made of scallops, oysters, shrimp, muscle, and garlic), mysis, brine, bloodworms, and tubifex worms and he is happy over any of it. A true pig these fish are.

 

Thanks pack! Sounds like I'll be fine food - wise, my only concern now is getting my tangs to play nice with the new guy. Nice write up BTW, I was thinking about getting started on one of these for the blue throat as well, but I wanted to get a little first hand experience before anything.

~Will.

 

Let me know how it goes! I imagine that aggression from the tangs will not be too much of an issue. A trigger is more than capable of handling itself in a good bar fight

 

Have you gotten yours yet Will?

 

nope!! My lfs has 3 wholesalers looking for one that is a male of at least 5". Hopefully by next tuesday someone will get one in.

~Will.

 

FINALLY got one of these guys in my tank!!! He was shipped as a 5"er, but would be lucky to hit the 3" mark. So far 0 aggression issues from my tangs (knock on wood). Very cool little fish, he glides around like a torpedo.

~Will.