McPuff
Valuable Member
I've got a strange situation with my assasi triggerfish and hoping someone might have a good suggestion. I've had him for 4 years and he's always been an aggressive feeder. Although he was thin when I first got him, he fattened up pretty quickly and has stayed that way. Just a couple weeks ago I noticed that he was not really eating much and seemed kind of "wobbly" in the water (kind of lethargic). This was a pretty rapid change, just a matter of days. He is still acting the same way but hasn't really lost much weight at all. He probably eats less now even when I throw in mysis. Raw shrimp usually gets most fish to eat and he does go after it. But he doesn't have that ferocity that the other trigger does. Just seems to weakly bite at the shrimp. Super strange for a trigger to show such disinterest in food of any type.
Is he blind? It kind of seems like his vision is lacking or he just doesn't react much to food or external stimuli. He still comes out when I'm in the room so I know he can see. The fact that he isn't just hiding all the time suggests that he's not sick or at least not seriously. His eyes do seem a little bulgy but I'm only comparing to the humu who is in the same tank. So I may be imagining this and triggers have bulgy eyes anyway. Regardless, it doesn't appear to be pop-eye and it hasn't changed in weeks. So probably nothing there.
Is it disease? The last time I added a new fish was over a year ago and that fish was fully QT'd (by me) so I don't think that disease or parasites are the cause of the odd behavior. I did do a freshwater dip two days ago just to rule out flukes. Oddly enough I was able to reach into the tank and pick up the trigger. It's not crazy to be able to touch or push the triggers normally because they are very curious. But it's another to be able to just pick one up and not have it go nuts. He was very calm. Anyway, there was NOTHING in the water after the dip. My LFS is equally stumped by the situation and now suggests doing a metronidazole QT for 2-3 weeks. It's easy enough to set up it up and this may be my next step.
Is he just old? As I stated earlier, I got the assasi 4 years ago and he was probably 3.5" at the time. That would suggest a relatively young fish but triggers don't grow super fast so who knows? For comparison, the humu was about 1" when I got him 5 years ago and is now ~4". Quick search shows a captive lifespan of 10-20 years so it's possible he's getting close to 10. Getting old doesn't really explain the relatively quick switch to intermittent fasting. This is usually more of a gradual process in my experience with other elderly reef fish and takes place over several months or a year.
Anyway, I'm stumped. He's a very cool fish and if you have triggers then you know they are just a blast to have in the reef. Hoping someone will have a good suggestion! Thanks!
FYI, I haven't included any pics because he looks totally normal. But I'll try to get one anyway just to share. :0)
Is he blind? It kind of seems like his vision is lacking or he just doesn't react much to food or external stimuli. He still comes out when I'm in the room so I know he can see. The fact that he isn't just hiding all the time suggests that he's not sick or at least not seriously. His eyes do seem a little bulgy but I'm only comparing to the humu who is in the same tank. So I may be imagining this and triggers have bulgy eyes anyway. Regardless, it doesn't appear to be pop-eye and it hasn't changed in weeks. So probably nothing there.
Is it disease? The last time I added a new fish was over a year ago and that fish was fully QT'd (by me) so I don't think that disease or parasites are the cause of the odd behavior. I did do a freshwater dip two days ago just to rule out flukes. Oddly enough I was able to reach into the tank and pick up the trigger. It's not crazy to be able to touch or push the triggers normally because they are very curious. But it's another to be able to just pick one up and not have it go nuts. He was very calm. Anyway, there was NOTHING in the water after the dip. My LFS is equally stumped by the situation and now suggests doing a metronidazole QT for 2-3 weeks. It's easy enough to set up it up and this may be my next step.
Is he just old? As I stated earlier, I got the assasi 4 years ago and he was probably 3.5" at the time. That would suggest a relatively young fish but triggers don't grow super fast so who knows? For comparison, the humu was about 1" when I got him 5 years ago and is now ~4". Quick search shows a captive lifespan of 10-20 years so it's possible he's getting close to 10. Getting old doesn't really explain the relatively quick switch to intermittent fasting. This is usually more of a gradual process in my experience with other elderly reef fish and takes place over several months or a year.
Anyway, I'm stumped. He's a very cool fish and if you have triggers then you know they are just a blast to have in the reef. Hoping someone will have a good suggestion! Thanks!
FYI, I haven't included any pics because he looks totally normal. But I'll try to get one anyway just to share. :0)
