Trigger Fish Behaviour

[archman]

One useful thing to remember is that a triggerfish sees it's territory starting in a small area around its nest and rising to the surface of the water in an inverted pyramid shape, so the territory covers a much larger area nearer the surface. Many people make the mistake of swimming upwards to escape the wrath of the crazy fish that's trying to chew their fins off, but to the triggerfish it appears that you are getting further from leaving, and it will re-double it's efforts to persuade you. Stay low and swim horizontally. You should then be left alone quite quickly.

Haven't heard this before. I'll keep it in mind with Caribbean species I come across this summer. Thanks for the tips!

 

[ninjamuzo]

Here in Thailand it is only the Titans that attack divers and only in the nesting season. A nest looks like a small bomb crater in the sand. They seem to like yellow fins the most for some reason.

A note about their territory, it extends in a cone shape upwards from the nest so swimming upwards will have them follow you. The best way is to go down and away and they soon lose interest.

I once dropped down into a nesting group of about 12 Titan triggerfish and ended up aborting the dive. Yuo can tell when they are disturbed or ready to attack because theri trigger (the tiny fin on the top) rises vertical/ If this is down they will either ignore you or swim away.

 

[H2Andy]

now if only wives had a similar device that could be used to foretell their immediate behaviour...

 

[armyscuba]

now if only wives had a similar device that could be used to foretell their immediate behaviour...

Andy, Don't go there...

 

[BeckiLeigh]

I had a run-in with a large trigger in the Phillipines in April. I was trying to get a good pic of him so I followed him a little ways (he was the largest trigger I'd seen in the area and he was quite beautiful...looked like a Titan). He was about 10' from me when he turned around and faced me. I had him in my lens and was just waiting for him to turn sideways. As I watched him through the lens, he started getting bigger and I realized he was heading straight for me!! Just as I lowered the camera, he butted straight into my mask! Then he started going for my bright green fins. Needless to say, I didn't get the pic I was trying for.

I'm not sure that it was nesting season at the time that caused the aggression (as this was the first aggressive trigger I'd seen in the area).

My theory was the red light on the front of my camera that possibly agitated him. It seemed like he was not only going for my fins, but for my dangling camera also (with the red light still on).

Anybody have an opinion on this theory?

~~~Becki

 

[Ian T]

Well the blue and the red-toothed triggers are congregating here now, maybe their breeding season is a bit earlier in these waters (western Indian Ocean). Last weekend, I think we had about 4-600 on each dive. Beautiful but hard on the neck trying to look in all direction for that rogue one with a taste for diver.

 

[Mortlock]

Thanks for the info David! Things like "the cone" are exactly the kinds of things I want to know about this creature.

 

[milkathecow]

I was learning to use a rebreather and a trigger just went straight past me and attacked the instructor teaching me who was using open circuit, maybe they're less bothered by divers using rebreathers??

Maybe it had something personal against the instructor

triggerfish are quite aggressive during the nesting period... in Koh Tao i found myself getting into TriggerFish land (yup the Titan one) ... went in nothing happened, passed a little further, still nothing but then wow hell came to me, i felt pressure on my fins thought .. hmm this openWater kid is annoying me to stick so close to me, but then noo turned around and the Trigger was attacking my fins... before getting to my ankle.

I started to get back horizontally but wow came back into the field of the second one, and of the 3rd one... the 2 first decided not to read the book and continued... I just hated them that time, 3 at a time trying to get at me, i must have used 100Bar in 3 minutes...

finally got out of the whole field and they left... my newly certified buddy and I had a real scare there, they are quite surprising and when you consider that 65% of the weight of a Titan TriggerFish is the Jaw and it's mechanism you don't want to go and brush it's teeth during nesting period

 

[armyscuba]

One thing they don't like is a speargun..it does curb there behavior quite quickly..but they still try to bite You even when being put on a fish ring.

 

[Mortlock]

One thing they don't like is a speargun...

LOL! I'm sure they don't!!

Then again, I'm more keen photograph rather than eat them!