How dangerous are triggerfish?

[DevilTron]

I looked on the babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com) translator and tried to translate triggerfish from English to French and it gave me nothing but "triggerfish" (Dead End).

Do you have more info or web site on this kind of fish?
I want to know what you are talking about, because I want to be prepared and ready to apply safety tips.

 

[uwsince79]

There are Queen Trigger Fish "Balistes Vetula" can be found from Mass to Fla, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, south to Brazil, and East Atlantic. fish is relative shy, on occasion they appear curious and swim around divers.

There is the Grey Trigger Fish "Balistes Capriscus" found in, Florida Coasts North to Nova Scotia, Gulf to Argentina. Not shy and usually allow divers to approach before retreating

Ocean Triggerfish "Canthidermis sufflamen" found in, Florida Gulf, Bermuda, North up to Mass. Generally shy and keep there distance. WHEN GUARDING NEST CAN OCCASIONALLY be closely approached. They do not attack (that I know of)

Rough Triggerfish "Canthidermis Maculata" found in Bahamas, Caribbean, North Carolina, Bermuda, Relatively unafraid, allows divers to easily approach.

Sargassum Triggerfish "Xanthichthys ringens" Can be found in, Caribbean up to North Carolina Bermuda south to Brazil. Another unafraid and easily approachable fish

Others in the family are Black Durgon and Filefish

Hope this helps someone..

 

[DevilTron]

Do you have any pictures of them? On a web site or scanned?

 

[Mick]

If they are indeed the same as leatherjackets, then I believe they could be a little nippy !
Here in Australia, i have heard of instances where they have taken a taste of a divers ear and in one instance (which I saw for myself) the complete tops of a couple of ears !! The worse incident happened to a diver who was fixing a boat mooring for a friend of mine. At the time, there was a large plague of leatherjackets around the coast of South Australia, and they were hungry. We were trying to fish but couldnt, because as soon as we dropped our line the leathers would eat our bait. I mean, we are talking thousands of the little buggers. This guy was not too happy and needless to say, it was an expensive mooring repair.

Otherwise I have only heard of the occasional diver getting a quick nip on the ear, but even these are rare cases.

Mick

 

[jeffweiss]

Get real folks! Triggerfish of any variety are harmless to divers. So relax and enjoy the view.

 

[tomcat]

i would seriously disagree with that jeffweiss. until you've been knocked by a car, you would think that all drivers are safe too!

after having seen triggerfish chase people doggedly and having had a closeup look of their teeth in photos, i have no doubt that these critters are the biggest hazards around for my dive area.

tomcat

 

[Walter]

Trigger fish are certainly not harmless. I know a few people who have been bitten, myself included. OTOH, I wouldn't consider them a major hazzard. They are usually not agressive, they have very small mouths; so a nip, while painful, is just that and nothing more. You might bleed, but major tissue loss is not an issue. When they are agressive, it is usually easy for us to understand and move away. If you have speared one, you are likely to get a nip. If you are spearfishing you must expect defensive behavior. I've never seen a fish successfully bite anyone if on the stringer properly. My preferred method is in the eye and out the mouth. This is especially effective with triggers due to their small mouths. A trigger is the only fish I've ever speared that was still trying to bite with one fillet removed.

WWW™

 

[Don Murray]

I think the Titan Triggerfish should be watched carefully. I've been nipped at and charged but never bitten. Once a friend saw one bitting at my fins and I've been charged twice. I think if you get too close to their nest, and they catch you off guard you may get a bite. They do have good sized teeth out front, so it could be more than a nip.

 

[jeffweiss]

Look folks, a cat is dangerous if it scratches you, and a parakeet is dangergous if it nips you with it's beak. So by that standard Triggerfish, sargent major fish, yellow tail, etc. are all dangerous. I've been diving for over 20 years and have chased by schools of yellow tail and a humphead wrasse looking for handouts, followed by an ocean sunfish, and been in schools of triggerfish, black drugeon, midnite parrot fish, hammerhead sharks, etc. if you are scared of triggerfish get the hell out of the watrer and stay in doors, but don't get the rest of the diving community in a dizzy about your phobia. A sargent major fish will chase you all over if it's guarding it's eggs, so will any creature. But the bottom line is these fish just ain't a threat to divers.

 

[Pam and Stella]

The only so called "aggressive" fish I have encountered the "Barracuda" , has never bothered me as of yet. What is the opinion of this board concerning these fish?