Titan Triggerfish

[Sea Elephant]

Calling all divers with experience of this tropical denizen.....

I'm an inexperienced diver heading for Phi Phi (Thailand) in early April. I gather that the Titan Triggerfish can be a bit of a pest, particularly when guarding its nest or lair or whatever.

How do I avoid being savaged by these monsters? Any tips would be gratefully received!

Kindest regards


Sea Elephant

 

[www.scubamazing.com]

I'd never heard of attacks before, but after looking it up on google, sounds like more than a few people get scared for trigger fish.

http://tacampbell.smugmug.com/keyword/titan
http://www.czajkowski.co.uk/Maldives1999/maldives_c.htm
http://www.dive-the-world.com/newsletter-200308-titan-triggerfish.htm

(knocked out cold? really?)

 

[LG Diver]

When I was diving in Phuket, the DM on the boat warned us about them. They even have a special hand signal for them to warn divers. I saw a few of them from a distance (they're some BIG fish!) but none of them bothered us. His advice was that if they come too close and look threatening you can generally scare them off by taking the octo and blasting a stream of bubbles at them. Thankfully, I didn't have occasion to try this so I can't report first-hand if it works or not.

 

[scubamanny]

The problem is not as bad as it sounds. Titans are territorial and wll readily be agressive when they are protecting a nest. Thankfully, they tend to use the same nest for several years if not for life. Local knowledge is the key in preparing for a titan encounter. Dive opperators and local divers will be able to tell you if you are going to be near a nest. From there is is up to you to be watchful. Titans also have a nasty habit of attacking from behind. I was chased by one last year off of Koh Tao and had bite marks in a suba pro jet fin that remain to this day. I didn't even know it was there until someone motioned to me. If you are attacked, the best thing to do it roll over into an upright potition facing the fish with your legs straight out in front of you. The key it to get your fins between you and the fish while you swim away. Titans wil bite at the part of you that is closest to them. Make this your fins. This worked for me. The typical attack will end as soon as you leave the titan's nest area.

One word of cation, don't get hypnotised by this fishes beauty, it can turn on you at a moments notice and give you a good scare.

Have a great trip and don't spas out about the titans to much, just ask before you dive a new site.

 

[MoonWrasse]

I've known several divers who've been bitten by titans, one required stitches.

I wouldn't worry about them. Some are more agressive than others - such as in Bungalow Bay.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

The Titan Triggerfish (Balistoides Viridescens) is ready to attack anyone close to its nest on the sea’s sand bed. Its mouth is very strong, as it is designed for breaking the hardest corals. The Titan Triggerfish can grow up to 75 centimeters in length and lives in depths between 5 and 35 meters.

 

[Sea Elephant]

Thanks everyone, this is great advice! I'll be guided by the local DMs and keep a respectful distance.

Cheers

Sea Elephant

 

[El Orans]

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[partridge]

I have heard and it seems to work...........

that the Titan triggerfish sees its territory as a reverse cone. This means the tip of the cone is its nest and it extends upward. This means that it is useless to swim up. You can also be very far off the bottom and still be in its territory. The best way is to swim down and away.

Lots of these fish here in the Philippines although in my regular divesite they are seldom aggressive. Got chased last week for the first time this year. Maybe something to do with the wall we dive. Hard to get a reverse cone on a wall. haha

 

[Jason Ooi]

welcome to SB