How dangerous are triggerfish?

[DocVikingo]

Hi robert,

Wow, that was an attack with potentialy life-threatening consequences. Way to keep you cool.

Not really fair to single out Phuket, however, as these jaspers are found over a wide distribution in the Indo-Pacific. They can be encountered from the Red Sea south to nearly South Africa, as far north as southern Japan, as far south as New Caledonia, and throughout Micronesia.

Be careful out there.

DocVikingo

 

[keralucu]

DD... har har....

But seriously, I'm going to Phuket and Similan next year... this whole triggerfish thing is a bit freaky. One of my mates has a big scar on his leg from getting attacked at Koh Tao (Gulf of Siam) - and I thought it was just sharks I had to worry about! (Just kidding)

I used to see lots of triggerfish (assorted) when snorkelling off the East Coast of Bali but never knew that they could get nasty... OW!

 

[greg somers]

Bite back I say !!!! Give em a taste of your pearly whites and pass the tartare sauce.That should scare them off.
Were any of the wounded feeding the fish while they got attacked by the finned fiends? One should not feed a lion and stay behind to brush its teeth aswell.Snatch those digits back real quick or you deserve to lose them.
Cheers all ears...

 

[Mark Davies]

I've just posted a picture of the Titan Trigger fish on the gallery. At the time I didn't realise they were dangerous and took several close ups (Red Sea Ras Mohammed). In the evening my daughter was reading her newly purchased fish guide. "dad can I have your camera?" she asked with a knowing grin. She then previewed my photos and laughed, read this she said. "The Titan Trigger fish is one of the most agressive fishes in the Red Sea area and regularly attacks divers, especially when defending their nest. Many divers have suffered puncture injurys from their bites, some have been scared for life, avoid at all costs"

I was lucky, I decided to talk to some experienced Egypian divers, one told me his buddy was bit badly right in the middle of his forehead, he bled so badly his mask began to fill with blood, he had to suface without his mask on.

Think about it though, and if your a parent you'll know, we all do anything to protect our own.

 

[drbill]

I have dived with triggerfish of a number of species in many places throughout the world. We even have a small population of finescale triggerfish here off Catalina although they are not a problem... nor have they been in other areas I've dived with much larger individuals. Here's my newspaper column on our species:

Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Dive Dry Column

One does have to be careful with certain species, primarily during the period of mating and nest defense. Many species defend a portion of the water column above the nest that looks like an inverted funnel... it widens the farther up in the water column you go. I was told in Tahiti that the Polynesians were more concerned about the triggerfish than they were about the sharks.

Research the local species in a region you plan to dive (almost all are tropical to subtropical). Find out when their nesting season is. Keep an eye out if you are in these regions at those times.

I've never been bitten by one, but have had to kick backwards at one that attempted to bite me in Tahiti. Fortunately I saw it coming.

Agree with Mark Davies' comment about them defending their young.

 

[smellzlikefish]

I was diving an aquarium doing some maintenance when our titan trigger swam up and bit me on the end of the finger. I yelled in surprise and shock through my regulator so loud that the other fish jumped. It felt like I had whacked myself really hard with a mallet or something. I thought for sure it was one of the sharks in the tank and I would be looking at a stump finger for the rest of my life. When I surfaced, my middle finger had two huge bruises, one on each side.

 

[tridacna]

I have a large clown trigger in my big fish aquarium. (I have a separate coral reef). I had it in another and he cost me several hundred dollars before I realized that he was capable of eating anything smaller than himself. I mean anything. Believe me when you see how he destroys other fish, clams, rocks and anything else he wants, you'll give them a wide berth when diving. Different species display different levels of aggression. I have never seen a Black Dungeon attack anything but the Clown, Huma Huma and Queen can be pretty mean especially when they are nesting. My daughter calls the Clown, the Pacman fish because when they eat they gobble things up in tiny bites at high speed.

Having said all that, when diving, I've never seen a trigger display any aggression provided that you stay far away. They are not attack fish.

 

[kwest]

I was attacked on one of my first open water dives while getting certified in Ko Toh, Thailand. My instuctor said that the Titan Triggerfish is simply protecting it's territory which is cone-shaped. The small or pointy end of this cone is down at the bottom and the large end is near the surface, all you have to do is stay calm and swim laterally out of the cone. I only got bit once and it didn't really hurt - this was a pretty big sucker too. I'll be honest it was exhilirating and kind of humorous. In the end I just felt more confident about my skills. The biggest danger in my opinion is not from the triggerfish, but from failing to stay calm. The other student with me panicked and swam straight to the surface. Luckily we were only at a depth of about 15-20 feet.

-Kevin

 

[djtimmy77]

They grey triggerfish will follow you around the reefs here. I have heard of them biting too but haven't seen that myself yet.

 

[Rickg]

Here are several more links on the subject. While the only trigger fish I've been attacked by was a Titan Triggerfish, while in the Maldives we came across an area that was covered with nest of Yellow-margin Triggerfish and the DM steered us well clear of that area. After the dive he said the Yellow-margins are also known to attack divers when they are nesting and the too get quite large.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/marine-life-ecosystems/57143-trigger-fish-behaviour.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/marine-life-ecosystems/1202-how-dangerous-triggerfish.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/marine-life-ecosystems/135878-titan-triggerfish-2.html

I'm just thankful the Titan's don't get any bigger than they do