huma huma triggers

A lot depends on the temperment of the individual. My picasso kills snails and limpets for fun, but ignores a few hitch hiker corals, defines ghost shrimp as fast food, but has no interest in the urchins. I dump nassarius snails in from my reef (they breed), and he'll have fun hunting them down. Triggers hunt by shooting jets of water at the invert to tip it over and make it vulnerable--they are good at it. In short--it can work, with a few fish. In the long run, though, instinct will usually overcome them and they'll go after the inverts.

Mine thinks of shrimp as food. No questions asked.

My picasso likes....everything he's tried! Shrimp, rocks, damsels, gobies...if it isn't fish shaped (or is but its annoying like a damsel) and it's smaller than him, its fair game! I had a little anemone come in on a piece of live rock, and he made quick work of that too. I've even seen him go after my eels over a piece of shrimp, but a quick snap from them and he is subdued. He's about 4 inches long....he doesn't mind tangs though, he'll school with them. Definentely the funniest fish I've ever owned!

Yes, triggers will go after hermits, snails, and limpets. I tore down my 10 and put some of the rock in the FO--there were 3-4 limpets, all over an inch in diameter. The trigger had them torn off the rock (not an easy task--I can't do it without using a lever) and consumed within about 5 minutes.

I have a frog fish in with my trigger. He's about 5 inches long currently, and is fed chunks of raw shrimp and gut-loaded ghost shrimp. He can't compete for the food, so has to be target fed. I wouldn't trust him with anything mobile (ie, any kind of crab or shrimp) or fish that mass less than he does (ie, a 6 inch goby will be eaten and coiled up in the tummy). You also have to avoid animals that will pick on the angler (I don't recommend them with triggers--it's worked for the last 8 months, but I have a tank to put the angler in if there's a problem down the line), or pose a threat to them if the angler does try to consume them. Ideally, most keep them as the sole specimen in a tank, which gives them the chance to hunt for mobile prey, and is small enough that you can find them to target feed as needed. Mine is trained--we tap on the hood and he makes his way to one of three ledges where he gets fed. The point of the lure is to bring prey items in, so other animals in the tank are not safe, even if they won't actively nip at the angler. Snails and stars are likely safe--the angler was quarantined with several and never looked at them at all.

Make sure you identify the angler before buying him--many will get large enough to eat the angel, and some will be small enough that the lion might eat it--likely killing it, since the angler will inflate and potentially choke the lion.. I would go with the angler first, give it a few weeks to learn to eat, then the angel and then the lion--and plan on spending some time getting the lion onto prepared foods. I would not add a tang--they really need big tanks to thrive, and may introduce diseases that will be tough to treat in the angler and lion. The angel will also benefit from the live rock--they tend to pick all day, feeding on algaes and micro crustaceans.