FAQs about Triggerfish Trauma FAQs on Triggerfish Disease: Trigger Disease 1, Triggerfish Health 2, Triggerfish Health 3, FAQs on Triggerfish Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Pathogenic (infectious, parasitic), Social, Genetic, Treatments Related Articles: Triggerfish, Red Sea Triggerfishes,  Related FAQs: Triggerfishes, Triggerfish: Identification, Selection, Compatibility, Behavior, Systems, Feeding,  Reproduction,

Triggerfishes for  Marine  Aquariums Diversity, Selection & Care New eBook on Amazon: Available here New Print Book on Create Space: Available here by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Hope you can help. My blue throat trigger suddenly developed some discoloration on his face.   12/21/17 WetWebMedia, Hope you can help. My blue throat trigger suddenly developed some discoloration on his face. Can you tell what it is? <A "burn" of some sort. What other life is present here? Hydroids? Bristleworms?> Thanks, Derek C. <Nothing to do treatment wise... Just time going by should see this fish improve. Bob Fenner>

Re: Hope you can help. My blue throat trigger suddenly developed some discoloration on his face.     12/22/17 A lot of Bristleworms and he is new to the display tank and he is hiding behind the rock a lot. At least he is not sick. He seems to swim and eat fine. That is comforting and this morning the "burn" seems to fade away. Thanks, Bob I will put your comment on ree2reef. <Real good Derek. I do fully suspect this fish was feasting on the Errantiate Polychaetes here... and got a bit more than it bargained for. As prev. stated, this will heal on its own. Cheers and happy holidays, BobF> Re: Hope you can help. My blue throat trigger suddenly developed some discoloration on his face.     12/22/17 Thanks again. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/what-is-on-this-bluethroat-trigger-face.345087/  <Welcome. B>

Niger Trigger mouth       6/19/15 Hello! I have a Niger Trigger. Beautiful fish!! He eats and swims normal, however I've gradually notice an issue with its mouth. The lower part of his mouth has a little pink mass in it. At first I thought it was food, but it's been there for nearly a week. It's not his teeth. It looks similar to having a pinch of Big League Chew in your mouth, and you don't close your mouth. Again, it eats normal (plankton, krill, etc) and I even put clam on a half shell in the tank so it can keep the teeth short. But this pink mass has me worried. <Likely resultant from a physical trauma... Nothing to do directly... will likely heal on its own in time... Balistids are very tough. Optimized and stable circumstances are what is called for. Bob Fenner>

Trigger eye       1/6/15 Good evening bob, <BH, a proper noun, capitalized> About a week ago I notice this on my durgeon trigger. <See in your pic.... a trauma... banged into something... SEE/READ on WWM re Eye Injuries> No other fish have it, and it is only one eye. He still eats, but hides more so now than before. He is housed with a niger trig, <Not... a happy place> asfur angel, guinea fowl puffer and a big volitans. <Might have gotten poked... and this Lion will be killed in time here... incompatible w/ Balistids, large Pomacanthids> As well as achilles and sailfin tang. It's been this size (eye) for about four days now. Being one eye, and the fact I just prazied my tank with 3 consecutive treatments , I doubt it could be flukes. <Nope> Attached is a pic from tonight. Seems like one Nasty injury, in your experience will this Heal, eye fall off, lead to infection and death? <Some of one or more of the above> Is a freshwater dip worth it at this point? <For what? READ> Thank you Oh and param.s: 79 degrees f, 1.023 sg, 0 a and nitrites. 40 nitrates. Ph 7.9, 150 gallon tank <Need about twice this> with 125 lbs of live rock, sand, skimmer and bio pellet reactor. <Again, what for?> Only use r/o with max 10 tdsr reading. Thanks <Keep reading! Bob Fenner>

Re: Trigger eye       1/6/15 Just got this pic. Decided to lay down facing glass. Hope this helps ! <Not me; you? The reading. B>

Bumps like pimples on Queen Trigger     10/27/13 Hi Bob and Company, I added a Queen Trigger to an aggressive tank about four months ago.  Two months ago it started to develop a bump above his mouth (see photo). <I see this; and have seen such quite a few times with Balistids>  In researching your site I didn't find pictures with a comparable looking feature, yet I gravitated to the Lymphocystis page. <Don't think this is viral>   Now there are more bumps and I count as of today that there are four white pimples.  The trigger seems a little sluggish compared to his behavior when I initially added him, spending much time in his cave.  He doesn't investigate around the tank or pick up rock rubble - behavior I would expect from a trigger that felt well. <Yes>   I would be grateful for your insight as to the condition, and as to what I should do if anything. Thank you, Dave <Am pretty sure that these whitish areas, and the bump/hump itself are indicative of a growth inside this area... likely resultant from a run-in or several that this fish made early on; with rock, worms, corals... nothing to do really... one could try excising the area, "draining it" as it were; but I'd just wait and hope it heals of its own accord. Bob Fenner>

Re: Bumps like pimples on Queen Trigger      10/27/13 Thank you Bob.  I will wait and baby him with love and squid pieces, and hope for the best.  We added a cleaner wrasse Friday and it has perked up his attitude.  He has spent all morning in the cleaning station, so he's being responsive to the environment. Big thanks, Dave <Thank you for this update Dave. Cheers, BobF>

Unknown sickness (pink tail trigger)... env. 12/9/08 Wet Web Crew, <Brian> I setup a traditional 90 gallon tank with about 100 lbs of live rock and another 100 lbs of live sand about two months ago. Two weeks ago I bought a pink tail trigger that has since come down with some sort of sickness that I cant seem to identify. <Mmmm> I have attached a picture, but it looks like there are patches where he is losing his scales and irritations around its right eye. <I see this> Whatever is wrong does not seem to be bothering him. There is no scratching, he eats as much as i feed him (raw shrimp since I've bought him), <Good> and doesn't seem unhappy in any way. I have been thinking of treating this with hyposalinity, <I would not do this> but I'm not 100% on what this sickness is... I was thinking it was ich, <Mmm, no> but there are not any white spots that resemble sugar or salt like on other pictures I have found on the net. The spots that you see in the picture are spots where a random scale is missing outside of the main areas. For extra filtration the tank has a sump with a EuroReef RS 80 and a 16w UV. The water parameters are zeroed for everything except nitrates which are around 40ppm. <Much too high... need to be fixed... kept under 20 ppm. Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/nitratesmar.htm  and the linked files above> Thanks in advance for any help, Brian <This specimen is "beat", and much too thin... the white blemish on the upper left flank is from its capture, handling (a thumb print if you will)... your other photo shows how poorly fleshed this animal is... and the white pus-like markings are simply mucus being produced in excess from neuromasts et al... As you state this organism is eating and acting fine, it will very likely improve with your good care... Fix the nitrates, keep feeding it well... perhaps supplement with soaking foods in a HUFA, vitamin mix (e.g. Selcon), and all should be fine. Bob Fenner>

Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot on eye. 11/4/08 Hey guys, please help me! I have a Blue Niger Trigger that was purchased and introduced to my home tank about 2 weeks ago with a Dragon Wrasse as well-both came from the same tank in the pet store. All tank conditions checked out, but the dragon wrasse died of a bladder infection 4 days after being introduced and was removed right away, I'm positive the wrasse had the issue before it's introduction. <Were these in quarantine at all?> The Trigger seemed fine and active, after the loss of the dragon wrasse I introduced a lunar wrasse, angler fish, and humu trigger 2 days after the dragon died. <Whoa, too much, too fast unless you have a massive tank.> The Niger Trigger, and all others have gotten along fine, except for the Niger Trigger and Lunar Wrasse mixing it up a little during feedings. A week ago I noticed a white spot form on the top part of the Niger Trigger's eye, and a similar one on his tail. He continues to feed well and stay active, but I catch him rubbing and glancing live rock every once in awhile-not continuous by any means, but daily for sure around his spotted eye area. The Niger Trigger has no other spots or sores of any kind, and the spots haven't multiplied or showed up on the rest of his body. I was thinking about trying the garlic remedy, due to none of the other fish showing any illness I'm reluctant to treat the water harshly or the overall tank. <Any treatment should be in a quarantine tank anyhow.> Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Last but not least, due you think the sick Dragon Wrasse had anything to due with the Niger Trigger's issue? <Possibly, did they show any of the same signs?> Please let me know you got this with a response to my e-mail and I will update you on the situation. <Hard to say without a picture, do read through the disease FAQs on WWM. Between so many large fish so fast, the fish showing no other signs and the trigger/wrasse mixing it up, this is very likely environmental.> Thanks, Ole. <Welcome, Scott V.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot on eye. 11/4/08 Thanks for the quick response! <Very welcome!> Since I e-mailed in, The Blue Trigger has stopped rubbing and lost both of the white spots. <Great!> Things have calmed down between the Blue Trigger and Lunar Wrasse as well. I'm keeping a close eye on everyone and so far so good. I didn't have the luxury of a quarantine tank, and didn't realize the stress factors created by to many fish at once. <Do consider investment it a QT, even 20-30 gallons can serve well as fish are introduced.> I will take both factors in consideration for future dealings with my tank and it's occupants. <Ahhh, good.> Thanks for the info, Ole. <Welcome, have fun, Scott V.
Re: Blue Niger Trigger Pop-Eye 11/10/08 Hey Scott, don't want to become a question pest but you have been a real help with my fish issues, and I have to take it back to my Blue Niger Trigger! <Okay.> His eye had cleared up and all spots had cleared on the rest of his body. Well he now has the same eye clouded over lightly and the eye is slightly raised-the rest of his body is perfectly healthy. I'm supposing this is a form of Bubble Eye? <Pop-Eye, yes.> Maybe caused from the previous scrapping he was doing? <Very most likely this, general water quality, or the wrasse again.> Most reports said he would clear up by himself as long as water conditions were maintained well-do you agree? <It typically will.> All other fish-Angler, Lunar Wrasse, and Humu Trigger are active and healthy-they all get along in general except the Lunar and Blue Trigger still get into it sometimes during feeding, is this an issue I should concern myself about further? <It very well could be the source of the trauma. Do they get along fine when not feeding?> As always, Thanks for any advice given! Ole. <Welcome, sounds like you have read on the condition here. Scott V.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger Pop-Eye 11/10/08 Well, I feel like the boy who cries wolf! <Heee, we all have those times, up and down.> My water quality checked out excellent today, and the Blue Trigger's eye has almost cleared up completely and the raising went down-he does have some fraying on his back tail fin and a new scratch by it as well-I'm sure due to him and the Wrasse having it out at feeding time. <No doubt.> The two only seem to tangle at feeding, when no food is present they don't seem to even pay attention to each other at all. <At least when you are looking!> I plan on keeping my eye on them, and if one has to go, it will be the Lunar Wrasse! Although The Lunar is incredibly active and fun, got more love towards my Blue Trigger in this case. Thanks again for all the help Scott, Ole. <Welcome my friend. Scott V.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot on eye. 3/26/09
Hi Scott, it's been awhile since I checked in, that's been a good thing though.
<Ha, yes, if it's not broke....>
My saltwater tank has been doing well and staying problem free until recently. Sadly enough I'm dealing with my Blue Niger Trigger again.
Recently he's started glancing himself again the last couple of days, but there is no sign of Ich that I can tell of and I trust my eye on that one. What else do you think my cause him to glance?
<I was just discussing this with Bob, his question is if anything is being added to the water that may be irritating this fish? Even something as innocent as a dechlorinator can cause irritation.>
All the tank mates have gotten along for months now, and I've kept up with monthly water changes and level checks. All seems good and no other fish are acting up or show any signs of infections or illness.
<Good.>
Back to my Blue Trigger, when I caught glancing last time and I reached out to you his problems cleared up and he was back to normal. I guess I don't want to over react to the situation if cases of glancing are a fish's natural way of cleaning off pests, but of course I don't want to let it go when I could have helped a situation early on. His eyes and tails are completely clear and clean, besides a little roughing here and there on his skin from the glancing, he seems very healthy appetite is strong.
<Good.>
Any advice would be appreciated as always, I call my Trigger "old blue" and by far he is my favorite fish, I would hate to lose him!
<Without any other symptoms it is just wait and see...unless you can pin down some source of external irritation.>
A side question for you, I heard of this being done but highly un-recommended, housing an Undulated Trigger with tankmates (other Triggers, Puffers, and Wrasses)?
<Well I think you answered your own question there! These are bad dudes....even in a large tank.>
Thanks as always, Ole.
<Welcome Ole.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot on eye - update! 4/14/09
Hi Scott V.,
<Hello Ole.>
Update on my tank is all good. My Blue N. Trigger is healthy and glances every once in awhile, but I think it's just natural and not because he's trying to ward off anything. Frogfish still has no bobber but is
eating just fine. Dragon Wrasse blotches in skin are healing up nicely and natural pigment has returned to the skin in those areas-I think it was a case of getting roughed up when he went hiding during the water change/tank clean.
<Sounds good!>
Until next time my friend, Ole.
<For sure, have a good one.>

Trigger with an eye problem! 11/1/08 I forgot to mention that he occasionally (I've seen it 5 or 6 times over the last 3 days) appears to be trying to rub his eye against the rocks - which of course, scares me to death. <The damage to the outside of the eye (the cornea) appears textured and to me seems to reflect physical damage rather than an infection inside the eyeball. So that said, I'd assume this is the early stage of an infection working its way from the outside in, and would be best treated with a suitable antibiotic, Maracyn and/or Maracyn 2, with the fish isolated in a quarantine tank. The "rubbing" behaviour you are seeing is probably more about irritation than anything else. Because only one eye is infected, I don't think water quality is the thing, and so a systematic bacterial infection inside the fish isn't the issue. This is often the case where both eyes become swollen. Hence I'd recommend providing the fish with good water quality and waiting for the fish to heal itself. Triggers are pretty tough, and all else being equal he should pull through. The infection doesn't look too severe, so I think you stand an excellent chance of seeing a full recovery. In the meantime, do see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Popeyetrauma.htm  Cheers, Neale.> Re: Trigger with an eye problem! 11/1/08 Thank you so much! <Most welcome.> Do you think that the moving white spot might be some type of infected tissue/fluid, <Any white stuff on the cornea is likely necrotic (i.e., dead or dying) tissue that stops being transparent. Loose, dead tissue may flap about, but otherwise you shouldn't see patches of white stuff actually moving about inside the eye. This being the case, provided you treat the fish appropriately and maintain good conditions, you *should* see things begin to get better, though full repair may take several weeks, if not months.> and do you think that I should attempt a freshwater dip (if I can get some Methylene blue) prior to placing him in the hospital tank? <I don't think a freshwater dip would help much here. We're talking about a bacterial rather than parasitic infection, and bacteria tend to be just as resistant to hyposalinity as fish. So you're unlikely to get much benefit. Optimal water quality, a nice balanced diet, perhaps use of vitamins to speed up healing, all these things will be more useful. Bob Fenner often advocates leaving fish with this type of injury in the main tank rather than a hospital tank, presumably to minimize stress and avoid further damage while catching the little chap. Antibiotics should cause problems in fish-only systems where one normally keeps a triggerfish, so this may be a viable approach in your case as well. Cheers, Neale.>

RE: Trigger with an eye problem! 11/2/08 Neale - I'm sorry to be so stupid about this but I'm still a bit confused. Do you feel as though I should leave him in the display tank and not treat with antibiotics and let him heal on his own, or should I move him and treat with Maracyn 2? <Ah, what I was saying was that I'd remove and treat him, but looking over Bob's replies to similar issues, he seems to advocate leaving the fish in a well-maintained tank to heal naturally. Bob's by far the more experienced marine aquarist than me, so you might decide to leave the fish in its home for now, and observe for the next week or two, to see how things progress. But if you want to pull the fish out, and can do so safely, and then maintain him for some weeks in a hospital tank, that won't do any harm at all.> I have 75lbs of live rock in the tank with lots of life on it so I don't think that I can treat him in the display. <Agreed.> He's eating well and acting fine, but the eye seems to be more cloudy this evening. Again, apologies for being dim. <If this was my fish, I'd be treating him with a suitable antibiotic; if that isn't viable in your tank because of the live rock, then I'd move him to a hospital tank. Certainly won't do any harm to move him and treat him. Cheers, Neale.> RE: Trigger with an eye problem! 11/02/08 Neale - I'm sorry to be so stupid about this but I'm still a bit confused. Do you feel as though I should leave him in the display tank and not treat with antibiotics and let him heal on his own, or should I move him and treat with Maracyn 2? <Ah, what I was saying was that I'd remove and treat him, but looking over Bob's replies to similar issues, he seems to advocate leaving the fish in a well-maintained tank to heal naturally. Bob's by far the more experienced marine aquarist than me, so you might decide to leave the fish in its home for now, and observe for the next week or two, to see how things progress. But if you want to pull the fish out, and can do so safely, and then maintain him for some weeks in a hospital tank, that won't do any harm at all.> I have 75lbs of live rock in the tank with lots of life on it so I don't think that I can treat him in the display. <Agreed.> He's eating well and acting fine, but the eye seems to be more cloudy this evening. Again, apologies for being dim. <If this was my fish, I'd be treating him with a suitable antibiotic; if that isn't viable in your tank because of the live rock, then I'd move him to a hospital tank. Certainly won't do any harm to move him and treat him. Cheers, Neale.> <<I do agree with Neale. Eye trouble is very often physical trauma, but combined with the facts the fish is scratching and the eye is getting worse, I would definitely remove and treat. As Neale said, it won't hurt. Scott V.>> RE: Trigger with an eye problem! (Scott, Sara: any thoughts?) 11/10/08 Hi All - I just wanted to drop a quick line and thank you all for your help. My trigger's eye has healed beautifully and his fin (from the run-in with the crab) is healing very well. I'm amazed at how quickly it seems to be repairing itself. He's eating like a pig and just doing great. Thank you again for all your help. Karen <Hello Karen, I'm so pleased your trigger is on the mend! These are remarkably tough animals, and I have every confidence in your care and attention. I'm sure he'll be 100% better in no time at all. Good luck to you both! Neale.> Re: Trigger with an eye problem! (Scott, Sara: any thoughts?) 11/11/08 Thanks for your vote of confidence Neale! I'm changing the trigger's name from Crusoe to Flipper! This morning as I fed him, he did the dolphin trick of coming about halfway out of the water and swimming backwards - then he spit at me! He's a cheeky little monkey - but by far my favorite. Thanks again for all your help. Karen <Hello Karen. Does sound like your Trigger is well on the way to full health. These fish are amongst my favorites, and despite being a bit on the temperamental side, they are very smart and entertaining animals. The spitting, incidentally, is a natural trait. In the wild they use this to blow sand away from buried prey, and sometimes blow spiny animals (like sea urchins) over so that they can attack them from underneath. In other words, what you're seeing is "behavioral plasticity", something biologists associate with intelligence in animals. Most animals have a variety of behaviors, but plastic behaviors can be adapted from what they evolved to do into some new situation. Dogs use their pack behaviors to bond and hunt with humans. Your triggerfish is using his blowing water behaviour to interact with you, presumably because you're the source of food. Enjoy your pet, Neale.>

Triggerfish/Health 8/8/06 Hello, <Hello Brent> I am writing to you because I am in a situation where I feel asking for help may be the best thing to do at this point. I purchased a 3 1/2 inch Undulated Trigger 3 days ago. After the usual acclimation period I added him to his 75 gallon new home. Quarantine was skipped because this tank is due to be stripped and redone in the near future and my 30 gallon QT tank is occupied. All seemed to be the norm and after a few hours I tended to my regular maintenance. I have a Aqua-C Remora pro w/ Mag 3 for a skimmer. I removed the sponge from the pump to clean it and never thought twice about it being a problem. I left it off while I did other things and eventually took a nap. After waking up and checking on my new pet I found him stuck to the intake of the Mag/3. Like an idiot I reached in to help him without first turning off the pump. More than half of his one side is now a big hickey. He seems to be active. His color (minus the sore) is normal. I would think that this fish would be well on the road to recovery except he hasn't eaten. I have offered cut shrimp, krill, formula one, trigger formula, squid and Mysis shrimp. Here are my water readings. Temp 78 SPG 1.023 ph 8.3 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 or lower The tank is fully cycled and the only other fish is a 3 stripe damsel. I have added 10 teaspoons of Epsom salt. What else if anything can I do? <Give it a little more time. Once the trauma period is over the appetite should return if no internal injuries to the fish occurred. James (Salty Dog)> Brent

Injured Niger Trigger... Help! I have a Niger Trigger, which has been in the tank for about 1 year. He's been very healthy, with no apparent problems. I noticed recently, however, white tissue surrounding his trigger. When I check on him today, the trigger is actually dangling from his body. I don't know if it was bitten off by another fish, or if he injured himself. Is this something that will correct itself (i.e. grow back), or is Nigel, my favorite fish, in trouble? Thanks for any help you can provide. Maria <Wow! It takes some doing to damage the trigger mechanism of Balistid fishes... I have a few (collected from beaches) of these anatomical beauties... they're strong! I suspect your Nigel must've really banged himself on rock, or maybe the top... Won't regrow but he will very likely live in your good care just the same. Bob Fenner>

Odonus First Aid <Hi, Mike D here> Good morning everyone, I could use some help. I have a six month old Odonus trigger, and it looks like he got a little to rambunctious in    redecorating and has a little  piece of coral or shell stuck in his chin,<Yep, this happens occasionally> it doesn't seem to bother him, but I am concerned about it.<Sometimes that's bad, as it's surprisingly easy to make a small problem into a large one because of human compulsions> Do you have any suggestions about how to go about removing this-??<MY suggestion is to wait until it does bother him, at which time he'll rub against a rock, a piece of coral or the bottom and remove it himself. If you feel that you HAVE to remove it, you can catch him in a net and simply pick the offending particle off with a pair of tweezers. While trying to catch him, he'll likely show you the wonderful way triggers dive into LR and LOCK themselves into place with that TRIGGER FIN evolved for just that purpose. Use care of course, so that the fish doesn't become severely injured fleeing from you, bringing me back to the point about making a small problem into a large one.> Thank you, John
Odonus First Aid Thanks Mike D.  I thank you for quick reply, I will wait it out and see what happens, this guy is quite the character):-) Thanks again<You're so very welcome. Sometimes it's very hard not sounding offensive, but many marine creatures are actually quite tough and built for a truly rough and tumble world. If left alone, many respond much better than with our good intentioned meddling and knowing when NOT to treat is often the first step towards success, contrary to what American pharmaceutical companies would like you to believe sometimes.>  John.

Pop-eye the Triggerfish... Hi Mr. Fenner,  <PF here today.> I'm writing in concern of my pet Picasso triggerfish who now has pop-eye due to getting attached to one of my powerheads. <Oh ouch!>  Here's what happened: While I was doing a routine water change in my FOWLR, I had taken the strainer to one of my powerheads off and (as curious as triggers are)... he got a little attached to it! He wasn't stuck there for very long but long enough to get his eyeball partially sucked out of its socket! I panicked, grabbed him and applied slight pressure to his eye to "pop" it back in. <Quick thinking.> When I let him go, the poor little guy hid for the remainder of the evening. <So would I.> He is behaving normal now, swimming about, and eating. My concern is that his eyeball is slightly swollen and although not cloudy, it is full of blood. I read through some articles on wetwebmedia.com pertaining to the use of Epsom salts. The thing is my QT is currently occupied with an Anthias <I’d be worried about the trigger taking out the Anthias, as they get older triggers can get very aggressive>. The Anthias may be ready to go into the main tank but I wanted to hold off a little longer. <You can put the Epsom right into the tank: 1 tbsp. per 10/gallons of aquarium water.> Still I want to treat my trigger straight away before a possible infection sets in. I also don't want to further stress him by transferring him, but if need be I will put the Anthias in my main tank and treat the trigger in the QT. If I do decide on putting him in the QT, what are your thoughts on "MelaFix" could this be beneficial in preventing infection? <I’d try the Epsom first, then move on to more treatments if that doesn’t work first.> I definitely don't want to add this to my main tank. Or would he be better off if I just added the Epsom salts alone to my main tank? <See above.> Does Epsom salts have any adverse effects on water quality, will it mess anything up as far as pH etc.? <Nope, not that I found.> I read somewhere that Epsom salts can be beneficial in the aquarium but it didn't go into detail. <Here’s the FAQ on Popeye, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/popeyefaqs.htm you might want to read that, lots of good info.> Okay, since I'm on here... here is a quick question that has to do with absolutely nothing in this e-mail; Is "Lace Rock" okay to use as a base for live rock? <Yes, but be sure and wash it really well.> I had some left over from my African cichlid tank and it looks quite nice in my FOWLR. I looked all over the internet but have found nothing so far. I would also like to say that I loved your book (Conscientious Marine Aquarist) I bought it about a week ago, and have read something out of it every day since. <Glad you like Bob’s book, I reread mine all the time.> I work at the LFS and I now recommend it to all my customers. <Bless your heart, there’d be a lot more repeat business at LFSs if they all made sure their customers were informed. > And thanks for the article you wrote several back in T.F.H. on Triggers... it truly inspired me to keep them! I know you are a busy guy so sorry for such a long e-mail! <No problem, we’re here to help.> Thanks, Adam <Good luck with the little guy, PF.>

Bob: Thanks for responding to my question. I have another question for you. My clown trigger that I have had for about two weeks........seems to have gotten sick. three days ago, he quit eating, hiding all the time, and has a grey haze over one of his eyes. The eye also seems to stick out just a little. I have been treating him with Melafix.........that new herbal additive from AQ PH. I can't tell if it is working or not. My friend who does fresh water gave me some "dip-a-way" and said to dip the fish in the solution about once a day. Should I be doing this? I haven't used it yet.......... Do you think the Melafix will work? Thanks again Bob. Sincerely, Matthew Smith >> Hello there. Good observing on your Clown Trigger. When this family stops eating you know there's something amiss. And definitely the cloudy, slightly bulging eye is not a good sign. More likely than not, what happened to your fish is more of a mechanical injury (rough netting, bump in the dark) than an actual infection or parasitic disease. Just the same, It might be a good idea to dip it once and see if there is an improvement in a week (if not I'd dip it again). But I wouldn't dip it every day. I don't know anything, first or second hand about Melafix, but do know of Melaleuca trees abundance, use for human and companion animals, and have faith in the company that is fronting the product. Just the same, I'd hold off using it or anything else in this case... as I state, the great likelihood is that this problem is non-transmittable, and adding any "medicine" will serve to diminish water quality... Your trigger should be better soon. Bob Fenner

Triggerfishes for  Marine  Aquariums Diversity, Selection & Care New eBook on Amazon: Available here New Print Book on Create Space: Available here by Robert (Bob) Fenner