Pinktail triggerfish

Care at a glance

Overview

The pinktail triggerfish sits at the calmer, more reef-tolerant end of the triggerfish family. It is a step up from the easiest marine fish and needs a large tank with plenty of swimming room.

Caring for the pinktail triggerfish

Give a pinktail triggerfish a long tank of at least 180 gal (680 L) with a wide, open swimming lane. Add solid live rock for it to claim as a territory. It digs and redecorates, and it blows jets of water into the sand to uncover food. Anchor the rockwork well and expect the sand bed to move around.

Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed a varied diet of squid, krill, clams and other meaty foods, along with some algae. Include hard-shelled items to help wear down its teeth.

The pinktail is mostly peaceful and can settle into a mixed fish-only tank with live rock (FOWLR) if you introduce it with care. Choose its tank mates with caution. It is an opportunistic feeder and will hunt down small fish, crabs and ornamental shrimp given the chance. Treat it as reef safe with caution, not as a guarantee. It is not venomous.

Good to know

The pinktail triggerfish, Melichthys vidua, is a triggerfish in the family Balistidae, also called the pinktail durgon or paddlefin triggerfish. Its body runs from deep green to almost black, with translucent white rear dorsal and anal fins. The bright pink tail gives it its name. It is more of a generalist than the strictly planktivorous triggers, such as the Niger or bluethroat.

In the wild

Pinktail triggerfish range across the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to Hawaii and the Tuamotu Islands and north to southern Japan. They live from the surface to about 60 meters, often deeper on outer reef slopes. They forage over rock and rubble for algae and detritus as well as crustaceans, small fish, octopus and sponges.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Black durgon

  Melichthys niger

  15.7 in (40 cm) · 124 gal (470 L)

  15.7 in (40 cm)124 gal (470 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Crosshatch triggerfish

  Xanthichthys mento

  11.8 in (30 cm) · 106 gal (400 L)

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

• 

  Niger triggerfish

  Odonus niger

  11.8 in (30 cm) · 180 gal (680 L)

  11.8 in (30 cm)180 gal (680 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Bluethroat triggerfish

  Xanthichthys auromarginatus

  9.1 in (23 cm) · 125 gal (473 L)

  9.1 in (23 cm)125 gal (473 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Clown triggerfish

  Balistoides conspicillum

  19.7 in (50 cm) · 300 gal (1,135 L)

  19.7 in (50 cm)300 gal (1,135 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Queen triggerfish

  Balistes vetula

  19.7 in (50 cm) · 238 gal (900 L)

  19.7 in (50 cm)238 gal (900 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)