Recommendations for my last fish.

[Anonymous]

about the coolest fish ive seen here in alabama is a dragon wrasse... not sure about being reef safe though.

b

They will tear up any shrimp, snails and hermit crabs you have.

 

[Anonymous]

Are you being sarcastic or are you serious? 200g-300g for a blue jaw?

Same question here. Would my 150 not be a good home. If they are really snail and shrimp friendly I would get one. Would also have to be good with clams and BTA's.

 

[Len]

I nominate any Zebrasoma tang. Hardy and doesn't get too big like some Acanthurus tangs. Polleini grouper would be sweet if you don't mind losing a few small fish

 

[Anonymous]

What size aquarium do you need to keep one?

110 will do?

I would go much bigger than that. 200-300 gallons minimum.

8O k, nevermind.

 

[Anonymous]

I wasn't being sarcastic. They get a foot long in the wild, and being zooplanktivores they are very active swimmers. I've seen nearly foot long Niger triggers in multi-thousand gallon tanks; their behavior is not one I would try to contain in something smaller than 200 gallons.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah Matt, which fish are you referring too for that needs 200-300 gallons? Surely not the bluejaw.

TMC says 55G minimum for a bluejaw, so I'd say 100G's would be a pretty safe number. I think they might even be fine in a tank as small as 55-75G.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah Matt, which fish are you referring too for that needs 200-300 gallons? Surely not the bluejaw.

TMC says 55G minimum for a bluejaw, so I'd say 100G's would be a pretty safe number. I think they might even be fine in a tank as small as 55-75G.

Louey

I don't ever trust what any online retailer offers as "info". Case in point: A full grown Blue Jaw gets 12" long. A 55 g tank is 12" wide. Clearly there's an issue there.

I suppose this is just like any tang thread. It's all up to what you decide is approriate space for the fish.

 

[Anonymous]

Matt wrote:

A full grown Blue Jaw gets 12" long

I had no idea they got that large. In that case, I totally agree that a 200-300G tank would be needed to keep them long term.

TMC doesn't state how large they get. They only say that their "sizes" are "around 4" - 6" ". I think I skimmed past that and thought they were saying that was how large they get. Doh!

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Xanthichthys auromarginatus is commonly called the Blue-chin Triggerfish because of the male's coloration, which includes a vibrant blue patch extending from its mouth back to nearly its gills. Females lack this patch and have been given the common name - Gilded Triggerfish. This species can be found in shallow water, occasionally less than 40 feet deep, but they are more common at depths in the 80 - 120 feet range. An adult Bluechin will not reach 10" long, making it one of the smaller triggerfishes and perhaps more suitable than some of its larger cousins for the home aquarium.

From http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/hcs3/index.php


I would put one in a 6' tank with 80-100 lbs of rock. Watching it in my old 90, he didn't swim fast, even @ 4". He kind of just cruised around. HE didn't "act" cramped even at 6".

 

[Anonymous]

Xanthichthys auromarginatus is commonly called the Blue-chin Triggerfish because of the male's coloration, which includes a vibrant blue patch extending from its mouth back to nearly its gills. Females lack this patch and have been given the common name - Gilded Triggerfish. This species can be found in shallow water, occasionally less than 40 feet deep, but they are more common at depths in the 80 - 120 feet range. An adult Bluechin will not reach 10" long, making it one of the smaller triggerfishes and perhaps more suitable than some of its larger cousins for the home aquarium.

From http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/hcs3/index.php


I would put one in a 6' tank with 80-100 lbs of rock. Watching it in my old 90, he didn't swim fast, even @ 4". He kind of just cruised around. HE didn't "act" cramped even at 6".

From the same article:

Aquarium size is always an important consideration when dealing with fish that can reach 8 or 10" in length. Toss in the triggerfish's long-range swimming capabilities and this concern is magnified. Ideally speaking, I would prefer to see each of these fish added to an 8 or 10' long aquarium. However, the stark reality is that the vast majority of reefkeepers do not own aquariums of this magnitude, yet this will not deter them from keeping fish that are not ideally suited to their aquarium's size. With this in mind I will recommend a 4' long aquarium as the absolute minimum size. Additionally, in such a confined aquarium the triggerfish should be the largest fish and other open water swimming fish, such as surgeonfish, should be avoided. Regardless of what size aquarium you choose, be sure the tank is aquascaped in a manner which will maximize the available swimming area. Although it's not always the most attractive aquascaping option, a reef wall will mimic their natural habitat and afford the fish ample room along the front to swim.

An adult Bluechin will not reach 10" long

I don't how he can say this so confidently. I've seen it's adult size listed as 30 cm (12") multiple places. But it's splitting hairs really.