Niger Triggerfish

Care at a glance

Overview

This is widely considered the most laid-back and reef-tolerant of the commonly kept triggerfish, since it feeds on plankton in the wild rather than crunching through shellfish and coral rubble, and it is genuinely one of the hardiest fish in the marine hobby. That said, reef safe only goes so far: it can still peck at ornamental shrimp, snails, and small crabs, especially as it grows and especially if underfed, so treat it as a caution rather than a guarantee around invertebrates. Feed a varied meaty diet of krill, mysis, clams, and other seafood, including something with a shell to help wear down its teeth. It is not venomous, but like any trigger it can bite, and it produces an audible grunting sound when startled or excited.

In the wild

Found on current-swept outer reef slopes and drop-offs across the Indo-Pacific, typically from about 5 to 110 meters deep. Unlike most triggerfish it forms large schools in open water above the reef, hanging in the current to pick zooplankton out of the water column. In the tank it wants strong water flow, open swimming space, and rockwork with caves to retreat into at night.

Good to know

Odonus niger is a triggerfish in the family Balistidae that can reach up to 50 cm in the wild, though most aquarium specimens stay well short of that. Adults develop small, bright red teeth and a body that shifts between purple, blue, and green depending on light and mood. It is one of the only schooling triggerfish, gathering by the hundreds over reef edges to feed on drifting plankton, a very different lifestyle from the solitary, substrate-hunting habits of most of its relatives.

Did you know

It is one of the few triggerfish that schools in open water instead of patrolling alone over the reef, so a single Niger in a home aquarium is really a schooling fish living a solitary life, since home tanks rarely have room for anything close to the wild shoal.

Related species

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  Crosshatch triggerfish

  Xanthichthys mento

  11.8 in (30 cm)106 gal (400 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)

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  Bluethroat Triggerfish

  Xanthichthys auromarginatus

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• 

  Black durgon

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• 

  Pinktail Triggerfish

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• 

  Picasso Triggerfish

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• 

  Undulated triggerfish

  Balistapus undulatus

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