Interesting Facts about Triggerfish

• This marine fish have strong teeth and jaws and aim for their prey’s underbellies which have fewer spines. While devouring the meal, there are often pieces of flesh left for smaller fish to eat. They have a set of spines to ward off predators or fix themselves into holes and other hiding places.

• The Eastern Pacific from Mexico to Chile hosts the stone triggerfish, the largest of triggerfish, which can reach up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) in length.  They inhabit the bottom of the sea and dig their prey from the sand, by flapping their fins and sandblasting by squirting water from their mouths.

• They can loosen themselves by lowering a smaller ‘trigger’ spine. This marine fish are usually loners but congregate at traditional mating areas according to fixed times determined by moons and tides.

• The males prepare the spawning grounds, establish boundaries and prepare the seafloor nests which will hold thousands of eggs. Females care for the eggs until they hatch and some species keep a harem of female partners.

• Triggerfish have a notorious reputation for an unpleasant attitude and bite or charge intruders or divers.

The fish are aesthetically pleasing and some are much sought after, to their detriment. Some fishermen even gather endangered species for the aquarium trade. According to some triggerfish facts, there is research being done to raise triggerfish in artificial environments.