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I dive in an area that is practically infested with triggerfish. Typically, I will come across no less than 2 or 3 of these critters on every single dive!
Recently, I was perched in front of a small cavern hiding from the current when a Titan Triggerfish swam 6 ft in front of me and went into the cavern (which dropped for abt another 10 ft). Knowing that triggerfish have nasty bites and can be quite aggressive, I decided to move a little further back in case it decided to come out the way the same way and bump straight into me.
My divemaster, who was also my buddy, decided to go head first into the cavern to have a look and the titan trigger swam right out from the other side. I was pretty shocked at this and in my head, I was trying to figure out which of the following was true:
a. my divemaster is fearless
b. my divemaster is a knucklehead
c. triggerfish are not all the dangerous unless they are guarding their nests
d. a and b
hmmm...that's the thing. i'm not sure how dangerous they are because of various accounts. i have seen triggerfish chasing after people and biting their fins and heard about this incident where a french guy had a clump of hair bitten off his scalp by a triggerfish.
I've been diving with Trigger fish on several occasions and have never felt threatened by them. As far as I am aware they are only aggressive if you get too near their nests. I suppose you can always meet a nasty one on any occasion - just like people!
From what I know of trigger fish is.... the male is completely un-agressive, and the female is also similar - except (much like women at a time of the month) trigger fish have it at a time of the year where if you swim over there nesting area they will attack.
This is what i learnt anyhow. The area over the top of the trigger fish is protected. The higher you go makes no difference to whether they attack as she would still see you as a threat - its best to go round them.
I am not sure what time of year it is that they get narky but i will try and find out and post another reply! x
Under the sea, under the sea, Darlin' it's better down where it's wetter, Take it from me.
Up on the shore they work all day, Out in the sun they slave away. While we devoting full time to floating, Under the sea!
Ok, thanks for the input guys and gals. Next question is, how do you tell if they are nesting?
What I have heard is that if you see them swimming round and round a certain spot, chances are the critter is nesting and you shouldn't go near.
Thing is, I have sort of seen them doing it and the spot can be quite large. This is especially difficult to tell if visibility is not at its best. Is there a better way of telling if the triggerfish is nesting (other than finding out if it is the correct time of the year).
I hate having to change my entire course of direction when I see a triggerfish swim towards me because I don't know if it had been doing the circle around its nest thingy and is now pissed that I have intruded, or if it was just hanging around and going about its business. :Þ
Triggerfish are rather easily recognized by their flat, deep bodies, their small eyes placed high upon the head, and by their rough, rhomboid-shaped scales, often with small spines, which form a rough, tough covering on the body. Near the area in front of the tail they have some prickly, spike like, rows of spines. These spines can scratch and cause a person or other fish injury. They can also cause the fish to get snagged in a net, making it hard to remove them from it. Caution should be used whenever handling these fish.
As you can see in the above photo, Triggerfish have a top dorsal spike that can be put into an up or down position by the fish. At the bottom of the body, where it widens out, there is another smaller, permanently extended type trigger that can be flexed too. When the fish wants to hide it will go into a hole, stick up its top trigger, flex its bottom trigger, locking them both into place. The force of the top trigger in conjunction with the smaller trigger on the bottom wedges the fish into the hole. Once a Triggerfish has "trigged in", it is next to impossible to remove them from their hiding place. This is a trait Triggers have for protection.
The pectoral fins are small and the pelvic fins have been reduced to a small, somewhat movable spine which is placed at the end of a long pelvic bone. The head is angular in outline and bears a long snout which ends in a small mouth containing short, strong jaws. The teeth are reduced to an outer series of eight in each jaw; in addition, the upper jaw contains a second inner series of six plate-like teeth.
When spawning, they will dig pits in the sand, to lay their eggs in. Some Species of Triggers, will guard their eggs, from predators.
Under the sea, under the sea, Darlin' it's better down where it's wetter, Take it from me.
Up on the shore they work all day, Out in the sun they slave away. While we devoting full time to floating, Under the sea!
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So how do you tell if they are nesting?
