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-- T r i g g e r f i s h e s --
click on the question number for the answer |
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| Q 1. | ||
| Why is the triggerfish so named? |
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| Q 2. | ||
| Is the filefish edible? |
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| Q 3. | ||
| What fish has the longest name? |
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| Q 4. | ||
| Are all filefish poisonous to eat? |
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| Q 5. | ||
| What is the elongate flattened fish that swims head downward at the surface among floating seaweed? |
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| Q 6. | ||
| What is the fringed filefish? |
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| Q 7. | ||
| What fish has the longest name? |
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| Q 8. | ||
| Could you send me a full color illustration of the trigger fish? |
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| Q 9. | ||
| I was fishing in Delaware Bay off Fortescue, New Jersey, and to my surprise, discovered an orange filefish. How and why did a tropical fish, which is supposed to inhabit the Gulf of Mexico and Florida waters, travel all the way up the Atlantic coast to Delaware Bay? |
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| Q 10. | ||
| If I put a cowfish or a filefish in my aquarium, what should I feed them? |
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| Q 11. | ||
| A pink-tailed triggerfish in my home aquarium has been exhibiting an unusual behavior: Every so often, it grasps an empty shell with its mouth, swims a short distance, and drops the shell. What is the meaning of this behavior? |
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| Q 12. | ||
| During World War II, I was stationed for a while on Owi Island, which is close to Biak, Indonesia. Owi has a reef with shallow water that ripples. Each time I waded on the reef, I saw what appeared to be floating leaves that were dead and soaked until they were soft. I attempted to pick up one of the "leaves," but could not get closer than about 10 feet (3 meters) from it. It seems that each time it reached the top of a small wave, it would propel itself away from me. If memory serves me correctly after 40-plus years, these things were about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) long. Can you tell me what I was seeing? |
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| Q 13. | ||
| A year ago, I saw a Picasso triggerfish at the aquarium in Monaco. Can you provide information about the life history of this beautiful fish? |
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| Q&A 1. | Why is the triggerfish so named? |
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| Because of the singular way in which this fish can lock the first dorsal spine into an erect position. This spine, which is located on the fish’s forehead, may be raised by the fish and set firmly in position. This may be done by hand after the fish is dead; and once in place, the spine may actually be broken before it can be made to lie flat again. However, if the third spine from the front is pressed, a bony “release” mechanism is operated, and the first spine will again be movable. The purpose of this unique arrangement is not known, although it may assist the fish in anchoring itself in holes under rocks, etc. |
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| Q&A 2. | Is the filefish edible? |
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| No. In tact, the filefish (also called foolfish, leatherjacket, or shingle fish) is frequently dangerously poisonous, though the extent of this may vary somewhat among the various species. Not only is the flesh poisonous, but also the liver, gall bladder, roe, and reproductive organs are capable of producing sudden illness if eaten. The filefish may be recognized by its extreme flatness, sandpaper-like skin and sluggish movements when in the water. Fortunately it is also so bizarre and unpalatable in appearance that it is seldom, if ever, used for food. The filefish gets its name from the single flexib1e file-like spine on the top of its head, as well as from the rough skin. |
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| Q&A 3. | What fish has the longest name? |
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| In all probability this is the humu-humu-nuku-nuku-a-pua'a of the Hawaiian Islands. Many fishes have long scientific names, but this native Hawaiian one which means "The fish that sews and grunts like a pig", establishes a record of sorts for a common name. Actually the odd name is applied to two different species of triggerfish, Rhinecanthus aculeatus and R. rectangulatus, which are considered by the natives to be the same fish. This name is immortalized in a popular Hawaiian song, the lyric of which runs - "... where the humuhumunukunukuapua’a goes swimming by." |
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| Q&A 4. | Are all filefish poisonous to eat? |
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| Filefishes (Family Monocanthidae) are a flattened, slow-swimming, peculiarly shaped fishes with a long, movable spine on the head and skin with a sandpapery texture. Some of them are extremely poisonous to eat, especially Alutera scripta the scrawled filefish of the lower Florida coast and the tropics. One species, the yellow leather-jacket of Australia (Nelusetta cittiata) is important food fish with white, well-flavored flesh, and it is reported that the common filefish (Monocanthus ciliatus) is eaten locally without ill effects. The liver and roe of these fish should always be avoided, since they may be highly toxic at times. |
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| Q&A 5. | What is the elongate flattened fish that swims head downward at the surface among floating seaweed? Palm Beach, Florida |
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| This is the scrawled filefish, Alutera scripta, This peculiar fish feeds on both plant and and animal material and is brownish-yellow or grayish in color with broken longitudinal stripes of blue. This fish is important economically because of the fact that its flesh and viscera may be highly poisonous at time. Tetraodontoxin, a powerful poison whose exact chemical composition is not known, has been extracted from this fish, despite reports that it has been eaten locally without ill effects. |
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| Q&A 6. | What is the fringed filefish? |
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| This fish, Monocanthus ciliatus, is a remarkable small fish living on grassy bottoms. Like the other filefishes, this fish is remarkably flattened from side to side and has a sandpapery-textured skin, as well as a single erectile, jagged spine on the top of its head. In the fringed filefish the pelvic bone, which extends from beneath the skull to a point about midway down along the under surface of the fish, is hinged. By swinging the pelvic bone forward, the loose but tough skin of the belly opens up like a Japanese fan. This strange habit is believed to make the fish too large to be swallowed by a would-be predator. |
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| Q&A 7. | What fish has the longest name? (reprinted for general interest from an earlier issue of Sea Secrets). |
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| This is probably the HumuhumunukUnukuapuaa (Balistipus rectangulatus) of the Hawaiian Islands. The common native name of this member of the triggerfish family moans "The fish that sews and grunts like a pig". Most triggerfishes and their relatives are known for making a harsh grating sound with their teeth when taken from the water. The first part of the name alludes to the large dorsal fin spine which resembles a stout needle. |
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| Q&A 8. | Could you send me a full color illustration of the trigger fish? Brooklyn, New York |
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| We suggest that you write the Public Relations Department of the Seaquarium, Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Fla., for this picture. Also, a colored painting of the queen trigger fish appeared as Plate 39 in the book The Fishes of Porto Rico, published as part of the Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission for 1900 and probably available at your library. Other colored illustrations appear in the National Geographic Society's Book of Fishes, The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa, 5 species in color, Plate 91. |
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| Q&A 9. | I was fishing in Delaware Bay off Fortescue, New Jersey, and to my surprise, discovered an orange filefish. How and why did a tropical fish, which is supposed to inhabit the Gulf of Mexico and Florida waters, travel all the way up the Atlantic coast to Delaware Bay? Bridgeton, New Jersey |
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| The orange filefish like many of its relatives, is a common member of the drift community that follows the Gulf Stream. In the summer months, many of these fishes follow eddies of Gulf Stream water and eventually come into the beaches and bays of the coastal states as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The orange filefish has also been found in numerous north-eastern localities, including Portland, Maine, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. |
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| Q&A 10. | If I put a cowfish or a filefish in my aquarium, what should I feed them? Pensacola, Florida |
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| Filefishes are nonaggressive, and you should have little difficulty in feeding them; however, they are choosy about their diet. They will always feed on newly hatched brine shrimp, and you may gradually switch to frozen brine shrimp, prawn eggs, and finely chopped squid flesh. The fish will eventually learn to take dried flake food. Cowfishes are also good aquarium fishes and will eat almost anything. You must be careful not to introduce the spiny boxfish into an established aquarium because, if frightened or sick, it will exude a toxic froth at the mouth, killing all your other fishes. |
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| Q&A 11. | A pink-tailed triggerfish in my home aquarium has been exhibiting an unusual behavior: Every so often, it grasps an empty shell with its mouth, swims a short distance, and drops the shell. What is the meaning of this behavior? Chicago, Illinois |
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| This type of behavior is not unusual in triggerfishes (members of the leather jacket family, Balistidae). It has been noted both in queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) and the lagoon, or Picasso, triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus). In fact, one interpretation of the lagoon triggerfish's Hawaiian name, humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua'a, is: fish that has a nose like a pig" and "puts things together.” The latter may refer to the nest-building habit of triggerfishes. They typically use mall caves or crevices in the coral reef as a sanctuary and may go to great pains to excavate and arrange the surrounding area. They have been seen carrying or prodding rocks, sand, and shells, and they will actively defend their choice of decor by exhibiting aggressive behavior toward intruders - fishes or humans - who choose to rearrange things. Triggerfishes also commonly eat animals that live in shells, and the behavior you observed may simply be a search for food. |
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| Q&A 12. | During World War II, I was stationed for a while on Owi Island, which is close to Biak, Indonesia. Owi has a reef with shallow water that ripples. Each time I waded on the reef, I saw what appeared to be floating leaves that were dead and soaked until they were soft. I attempted to pick up one of the "leaves," but could not get closer than about 10 feet (3 meters) from it. It seems that each time it reached the top of a small wave, it would propel itself away from me. If memory serves me correctly after 40-plus years, these things were about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) long. Can you tell me what I was seeing? Live Oak, Florida |
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| You observed the early juvenile stage of a fish whose young can mimic floating leaves and algae in shallow water. The fish you saw was probably either a filefish (Aluterus spp. or Monacanthus spp.) in the family Balistidae or a tripletail (Lobotes spp.) in the family Lobotidae. Some of these fishes have evolved specializations for occasional hiding in mats of floating algae, seagrasses, and leaves. As juveniles, they have extremely thin bodies, with dark, irregular color patterns that serve as camouflage. These young fishes can swim on their sides by lateral undulations of the dorsal and anal fins, or by sculling with their pectoral fins. Atlantic Ocean species of these genera often show the same patterns of early morphology and behavior. In the Atlantic, sightings of the tripletail (Lohotes surinamensis), both adult and juvenile, are common. The mottled-brown adults have large, rounded dorsal and anal fins that give the fish the appearance of having three tails. The tripletail associates with pelagic drifting objects and is often seen floating on one side, resembling a piece of seaweed. |
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| Q&A 13. | A year ago, I saw a Picasso triggerfish at the aquarium in Monaco. Can you provide information about the life history of this beautiful fish? Gloucester Point, Virginia |
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| The Picasso triggerfish (Rhinecanthus assasi), which grows to about three feet in length, inhabits the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman. An aggressive fish, it uses the spines lying along its tail to fight with other triggerfish. Like most triggerfish, the Picasso is carnivorous. It eats crustaceans, corals, and other fishes. It also eats sea urchins but bites off the spines before doing so. It's not surprising, therefore, that triggerfish are said to be some of the most clever fish in the sea. Two other triggerfish-the lagoon triggerfish (R. aculeatus) and the reef triggerfish (R. rectangulus )-sometimes are called Picasso triggerfish as well. These Hawaiian species are favorites of marine aquarists. |
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Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Library
University of Miami, FL USA 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149 Phone: 305 421 4060 Fax: 305 421 9306 E-mail: libcirc@rsmas.miami.edu |
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