lynden, what's going on?

[dreamon7]

I'm considering adding a trigger to my 55g tank, which already has a pretty established cleanup crew - about 30 hermits, a cleaner shrimp, a porcelain crab, 20 nassarius, and 10 astreas. I'm aware that triggers can be unpredictable, but I'm hoping to find one that might work. I'd plan on feeding it a varied diet of mysis and silversides every other day, which might help distract it from the inverts.

I know the tank is on the smaller side, but I'd be keeping the trigger from juvenile until it outgrew the tank. I've got my eye on a few species - the niger, aculeatus, and verrucosus are all pretty interesting to me.

[zenoxa]

I think you'd be safe with the planktonvivorous triggers, like Odonus, Melichthys, or Xanthichthys - they'd likely leave your inverts alone. Rhinecanthus triggers, including the aculeatus and verrucosus you mentioned, might work out as juveniles, but as they grow, they'll probably start seeing your smaller inverts as snacks. They tend to ignore most corals, but might nibble on some SPS.

[flynix]

I'm no expert, but I'd imagine Lyden would vouch for the Xanthichthys triggers - bluethroats, pinktails, crosshatch, and sargassum are generally considered reef-safe. I'd trust one in a reef tank, personally. They're planktivores, similar to Odonus niger, so they're likely to leave your inverts alone.

As for Aculeatus, it's tough to say - any Rhinecanthus can be a bit of a gamble. That being said, my own Aculeatus doesn't bother the snails or the one hermit in my tank. If you can get them when they're small and young, you might be able to avoid some aggression issues down the line - a juvenile is likely to be less feisty than a wild-caught adult.

Edit: looks like zenoxa beat me to it.

[dreamon7]

Just found a pair of blue throats for 35 bucks, they're 4 inches long, would that be too big for a 55g tank?

[zenoxa]

Honestly, I've found pairs of Xanthichthys for around a hundred bucks to be the cheapest. Thing is, these fish are built for speed and need some serious space to swim. A 90-120 gallon tank would be ideal for a pair once they're fully grown, but for now, your tank could work temporarily - maybe until they hit the 5'' mark. They don't grow super fast, but I'd advise holding off on buying them until you've got a solid plan in place, like a larger tank lined up or a pet store that'll take them back.

[dreamon7]

I just found a 3" male for $50, shipping included.

[axonify]

No way, that's an insane deal. I've been looking everywhere and the cheapest I found was for a hundred bucks, plus shipping.

[dreamon7]

found it on a christmas clearance sale, won't say where though. the pair was actually 99 cents, shipping was 34.99.

[ravenoak]

could you tell me

[dreamon7]

I'm curious, are you based in the United States?