Blue-finned Triggerfish

About

The blue-finned triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens) is the biggest triggerfish in the world, and its personality matches its size. Found across the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa out to the Line and Tuamotu Islands, this species inhabits lagoons, seaward reef slopes, and sheltered inner reefs. Juveniles tend to hide among branching coral or rubble in shallow, protected shallows, while adults roam deeper lagoon and seaward reef slopes, usually alone or in pairs. In the wild it has a well-earned reputation for aggression. Nesting females in particular have been documented charging and biting divers without much provocation, which tells you a lot about what you're signing up for in the aquarium. Coloration is bold and distinctive: a dark body covered in pale spots, a yellowish face, and the black-edged lips that earn it one of its alternate names. The diet in the wild spans sea urchins, coral, crustaceans, mollusks, and tube worms, so in captivity it needs meaty, varied food and will make short work of any invertebrates sharing its space. Keeping one requires a very large, species-appropriate setup with tankmates chosen carefully. Or ideally, none at all. This is a fish for keepers who understand what serious aggression actually looks like.