Triggerfish Attack Head Count

[Tassie_Rohan]

The ones I see on almost every dive in Sourthern Thailand are the Titan triggerfishes. They are the largest triggerfish, and can grow up to 30 inches. I've known divers who were munched on them, and thus developed a healthy fear of them (stitches required).

http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/bvirides4.htm

That’s the one – when you see one of those fanning its nest it pays to take a wide berth... I know of one guy who’s lost the top of a finger to a Titan.

One of my favourite pocket guides to reef fish, (it think it’s Debelius’s Asia Pacific Reef Guide) has two photos of every species described: one for the adult and one for the juvenile. Except for one fish: the Titan Trigger Fish, in which the photo of the juvenile species have been replace with a photo of an adult being barbequed.

Do you think this may have something to do with peoples experience with this species? Its certainly a photo many divers would enjoy seeing.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[drbill]

Triggerfish normally "attack" when they are defending a nest. They defend a conical nest territory or volume of water beginning at the nest site on the bottom and increasing outward towards the surface (like an ice cream cone). If someone is getting "attacked" repeatedly by the same individual triggerfish, it sounds like they are repeatedly invading the nest territory. You can get closer to the nest while on the bottom, but the defended "territory" near the surface is much larger.

Fortunately ours here on Catalina (finescale triggers) probably don't breed due to the cooler temperatures, and therefore don't defend nests.

Dr. Bill

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Agree with the funnel-shaped territory: there’s nothing quite like the sense of doom when being swept along on a drift dive and realising your about be swept right over a triggerfish nest - with nothing to do but wait and brace yourself for the inevitable ‘incoming’. You can however get quite close to them if you stay close to the reef.

Triggerfish are the main reason I will never wear a pair of speedos on a warm water dive….. The possible outcome of such an attack does not bear thinking about…

Anyone got any good triggerfish recipes?

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[TxWingnut]

Anyone got any good triggerfish recipes?

Cheers,
Rohan.[/QUOTE]


Base the fish in what ever you want, place on cedar plank, bake in oven at 350 degrees, when done take out throw fish away and eat cedar plank.

 

[shep]

biggest, nastiest, most evil fish out there..................


I was chased about 30 meters by one in 2003.....I had to keep hitting it with my strobe and camera to ward off the attempts at biting my legs! Luckily, I swam faster than my wife and the trigger started chasing her!

she's so brave!


shep

 

[deadend]

When putting one on a stringer it is IMPERATIVE to string through the mouth and out the gill plate. If strung in normal fashion through the eye sockets they WILL tear dime size chunks of flesh and neoprene from you.

 

[Hank49]

Count me in. Those Titans give you that sideways look..I hate that...and they come out of nowwhere in your face. I watched one bite my wife's fin.

 

[slipslop]

yes, but i was just snorkeling at Hastings reef near Cairns and i was attacked and mauled by a triton triggerfish, The next day i was attacked by a rainbow wrass at
agincourt reef, i was on a dive platform with my triggerfish wounded leg in the water i felt a sharp pain and looked down saw the wrass "eating" the wound left by the triggerfish (owch)

 

[darylm74]

I can't believe everyone has so many problems out of the Triggers, though oddly I have never heard of the Titan Trigger. There are several different types of Trigger Fish, Pineapple, Niger, etc. I have a trigger in my aquarium at home and he doesn't do anything to me when I stick my hand in. In fact the Purple Tang I have is much more aggressive and so are some of the angelfish. Someone made mention about the clownfish attacking them. I have seen my maroon clown wallop the crap out of the trigger.

 

[Heffey]

Vicious little buggers
As a youngster, while snorkeling on a reef in Am. Samoa I was approached from behind and was bit on the thigh by a 10 or 12 inch trigger fish.
To this day I still check the rear view from time to time while snorkeling.