what can you tell me about picasso triggers

L

latazyo

Grisled
Sep 17, 2002
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hi, I understand that picassos are considered not reef safe, is this because they eat corals, or is this because they eat inverts, etc

1) for example woudl a picasso eat peppermint shrimp, cleaner shrimp, starfish, etc?

2) also, how fast do they grow? if I buy one at about 1.5 inches from the pet store, how fast before he gets to be about 6-8 inches in length

3) are there any special requirements for picassos?

4) what sort of tank mates would be good with a picasso?

thanks in advance if you can help!
 
Picasso's aren't safe around small fish and inverts. The one we have is pretty passive, and even then he eyeballs smaller fish closely. Between him and the eel, any hitch-hiking crabs are quickly rooted out and devoured. Star fish will be flipped and eaten, hermits will be harrassed and eaten. Those big teeth aren't just decorative.

Growth is always a matter of environmental factors. A well fed picasso should about double for the first couple years until they hit about 6 inches, then slow down as they fill out and bulk up, IMO.

Lots of hiding places, lots of swimming room. These guys are very active--always poking into things, checking things out. They aren't the most aggressive trigger out there, but they are very nosy. Smaller tankmates should occupy a different zone in the tank (ie, something that stays on the sand or rocks should be okay) as long as it's not snack sized. Eels, buttefly, rabbit fish, angels are good tankmates. Anything with flowing fins (like lions) will risk losing the occassional fin--probably during feeding accidents rather than aggression. Anything that's a shy feeder will have problems--I'd avoid porcupine puffers, unless they're added first and eating well.
 
what about other puffers, such as dogface or hawaiian spotted?

what about yellow tang as a tank mate

and as far as the trigger eating inverts, would he devour snails also, so what do I do for a cleanup crew, or is that me, myself, and I?
 
You'll be hard pressed to keep a cleanup crew in with a trigger. Anything it can eat, it eventually will. I kept a huma in a 55g at one point (no comments please) until it was about 6 inches. They're very cool fish, but you loose out on a lot of the diversity you could have if you went in another direction. Personally, I wouldn't keep one again unless I was in the position of having more tanks than I knew what to do with. I like my glass boxes booming with life, not one (albeit very cool) fish.
 
Satchmo- It is perfectly fine to keep a trigger in a 55 till they grow a bit. I have a 2 inch Clown Trigger in a 55 and he has been in there since a little 1 incher.

As far as trigger tankmates go it totally depends on tank size and the individual trigger. Remember fish don't read books so they don't know how they are "suppossed" to act. There have been people that have kept Clowns, Queens, and Undulateds with other fish their entire lives while others destroyed their tankmates at 4 inches. Luckily Humas are one of the more peaceful triggers and can generally be kept with other fish. I have a 209G with a Pair of Niger Trigger, Rectangular Huma, Arthron manilensis puffer, 3 Lunare Wrasses, and a Zebra Moray. I also hope to add a Clown Tang in a couple months. So to answer your question, yes you can keep a puffer and a tang with a Huma but will need at least a 125 gallon.
 
I've got a picasso trigger in my 125gal tank, he's been here for about a year.

here is what i can tell you based on my experiences.

1.) My trigger ate every crab and snail I've tried to put in the tank.

2.) He doesn't bother corals, although all i've put in with him are some mushroom's, button polyps, and a condulactus anemone.

3.) when I first setup my tank i put in the trigger and a yellow tang. the yellow tang was to aggressive towards the trigger and I got rid of it. the tang would smack the trigger around with his boney razor on his tail whenever the trigger got near him.

4.) when i got the trigger he was probably 3 inches long. now he is maybe 4 to 5 inches and it has been a year almost. but he is a very active swimmer, and having the 6 foot 125gallon tank has been a benifit to him.

5.) his tank mates include a small 6 line wrasse, a flame angel, and a marroon clown. the trigger has never bothered any of them. the flame angel did chase down the 6 line wrasse alot when I first got the wrasse, the trigger was a model citizen.

That being said, like was previously mentioned, all fish act a little different. who's to say you wouldn't get a trigger that didn't bother inverts, however unlikely.

Guy
 
Amazingly out of all my triggers (1 Clown, 2 Nigers, 1 Rectangular Huma, 1 Undulated) have never touched any of the crabs I have in their tanks. I only have hermits both the Scarlets and the Zebras. I have never tried snails and have fed my lions feeder ghost shrimp so know that every one of them will go after shrimp. Suprise Suprise! I forgot to mention I have kept my Clown with a Gorgonian Coral, Pearl Coral, Carpet Anemone, and Button Polyps. Have kept all the other triggers with a Bubble Coral, 2 Bubble Anemones, and the Carpet Anemone. I can hardly wait for in two weeks I will hopefully get my dream trigger; a Queen. I know most people dream of the Clown but I think Queens are third prettiest triggers 1 being Clown and two Nigers.
 
Generally, picasso triggers are considered "not reef safe", and they're not compatible with small fish and invertebrates. However, since each trigger has a different personality, there might be some variation in terms of aggressiveness....etc. The one I have at home right now is the exception. He's the most sweetest trigger I've ever seen. Even though he's big (~4"), he never harasses his tankmates, including coral banded shrimp. He also loves to eat flakes. I think I was lucky enough to get such a docile trigger. At any rate, picassos are less aggressive than other triggers, such as clown and undulate. you might be able to put it in a community tank (but, at your own risk!).
 
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