Blue Jaw trigger killed fish in QT, scared to add him to DT

tmnigat · 09/29/2017, 08:26 AM

Hello everybody, so last night I feed the fish in my QT (2 clowns, 1 coral beauty, 1 blue jaw trigger male) and everything seems normal. The fish have been in the QT about 1 week and no issues. I go to turn the lights off to the room and put everybody to bed when i see the coral beauty dead on the bottom of the tank. After looking at him I see that his face is mostly bitten away and he is missing 1 eye. I'm 99% positive the trigger did it as the clowns aren't big enough to cause that kind of damage.

Now I'm not sure if I have a murderous trigger, maybe territorial (QT is only a 20g long), or maybe he was hungry? The coral beauty was the second largest fish, i would of thought the trigger would of made a snack out of one of the smaller clowns if he did it out of hunger.

So now I'm not sure how to proceed, I obtained the fish from Divers Den so I can't return him. I'm wary leaving him in the QT with the 2 clowns now. My DT is 150g and mediumly stocked so he should have more space, I would hate for him to murder my existing stock though.

Any advice on how to proceed?

jacksonpt · 09/29/2017, 08:32 AM

Any chance the CB was sick/dying/dead before the trigger started picking at it? i.e. could it have been scavenging vs hunting/killing?

tmnigat · 09/29/2017, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacksonpt

Any chance the CB was sick/dying/dead before the trigger started picking at it? i.e. could it have been scavenging vs hunting/killing?

It's possible. I never saw him attack the coral beauty. I saw everybody feeding, came back a few hours later and fish = dead with no lower jaw and 1 eye missing. Are triggers known to scavenge dead fish?

moondoggy4 · 09/29/2017, 07:16 PM

I had two BJT and they have never been aggressive to other fish.

jda · 09/29/2017, 08:28 PM

If anything, it probably got a few bites after it died. I have never seen an X trigger attack other fish either.

hartin461 · 09/30/2017, 06:02 AM

Just recently had an older cardinal fish that was on his way out. Kind of just sticking his head in a corner and not moving much. I noticed my female Blue Jaw sticking her nose at him a few times as tho to see what was up. The cardinal would move to another spot but the trigger kept at him.
I think if I wouldn`t of removed the cardinal, she would of had lunch. So yes, I believe if the coral beauty was on his way out the trigger would seize the opportunity. My trigger has never bothered any other fish..

kalare · 10/01/2017, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jda

If anything, it probably got a few bites after it died. I have never seen an X trigger attack other fish either.

They definitely will. I have a crosshatch male that ate two chromis, one disappeared, and then it was confirmed when I saw him chasing one around and biting it in half.

09/29/2017, 08:26 AM	#1
tmnigat Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 93	Blue Jaw trigger killed fish in QT, scared to add him to DT Hello everybody, so last night I feed the fish in my QT (2 clowns, 1 coral beauty, 1 blue jaw trigger male) and everything seems normal. The fish have been in the QT about 1 week and no issues. I go to turn the lights off to the room and put everybody to bed when i see the coral beauty dead on the bottom of the tank. After looking at him I see that his face is mostly bitten away and he is missing 1 eye. I'm 99% positive the trigger did it as the clowns aren't big enough to cause that kind of damage. Now I'm not sure if I have a murderous trigger, maybe territorial (QT is only a 20g long), or maybe he was hungry? The coral beauty was the second largest fish, i would of thought the trigger would of made a snack out of one of the smaller clowns if he did it out of hunger. So now I'm not sure how to proceed, I obtained the fish from Divers Den so I can't return him. I'm wary leaving him in the QT with the 2 clowns now. My DT is 150g and mediumly stocked so he should have more space, I would hate for him to murder my existing stock though. Any advice on how to proceed? __________________ SCA 150 build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2613994

09/29/2017, 08:32 AM	#2
jacksonpt Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Vestal, NY Posts: 3,679	Any chance the CB was sick/dying/dead before the trigger started picking at it? i.e. could it have been scavenging vs hunting/killing? __________________ Jackson - All advice I give is based on my first hand experience. YMMV. Current Tank Info: 38g (mostly LPS) with a 20g sump/fuge and all the other standard goodies

09/29/2017, 07:16 PM	#4
moondoggy4 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: menifee So cal Posts: 11,042	I had two BJT and they have never been aggressive to other fish.

09/29/2017, 08:28 PM	#5
jda Dogmatic Dinosaur Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 6,256	If anything, it probably got a few bites after it died. I have never seen an X trigger attack other fish either.

09/30/2017, 06:02 AM	#6
hartin461 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: northeast Posts: 145	Just recently had an older cardinal fish that was on his way out. Kind of just sticking his head in a corner and not moving much. I noticed my female Blue Jaw sticking her nose at him a few times as tho to see what was up. The cardinal would move to another spot but the trigger kept at him. I think if I wouldn`t of removed the cardinal, she would of had lunch. So yes, I believe if the coral beauty was on his way out the trigger would seize the opportunity. My trigger has never bothered any other fish..