Fish Titan (Triggerfish)
Fish Titan (balistoides viridescens) or also it is called like triggerfish. It is quite big fish, which can be very dangerous at the moment of protection of their calf masonry.
The table of contents
- Description of the Titan Fish
- Triggerfish’s photos
- Growth of the Titan Fish
- Titan fish’s nutrition
- Mining of the Titan fish
- Triggerfish video
Description of the Titan Fish
Widespread worldwide, in warm tropical waters (Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean). It is present in waters near the continents of Africa and Australia. Adult fish can be up to 80 centimeters, has heavy scaly armor. There is a deep ligature marks near the eyes. Its color is black-yellow, with black stripe at the tip of its fins and tail. This fish has dorsal fin, a trigger formed by three spikes. At the moment of the excitement of the fish it gets upright. The Titan lives in lagoons and reefs. It can be met at the depths of up to 50 meters. Rarely occurs in pairs when the fish are not mating.
It is one of the most aggressive fishes in the Maldives. But this fish is aggressive at the moment caviar protection. Fish make a large nest, which can reach two meters in diameter. Female spawns caviar and then protects it. The male can also help in guarding. And the fish protect not only the nest itself, but and the cone of the water column, coming from the nest upwards. So divers and snorkelers can only swim to the side of the nest. If you try to swim above it, you will be driven away or attacked. Bites of this fish are not poisonous, they can only cause mechanical damages. Fish spawn in spring, this process has a complicated connection with the lunar cycles and tide timing.
This fish can be surrounded by a retinue of other fish species. This is due to the fact that Titan leaves food remains at the time of hunting, which is why it enjoys eating smaller fish. When searching for prey, the fish breaks corals, turns over rocks or simply lifts sand from the bottom. This leads to the disguise of various small organisms, which are not interesting to titanium fish because of their size, but very interesting to their entourage.
Triggerfish’s photos
Growth of the Titan Fish
Fish isn’t growing very fast. It will become mature in 4-5 years. And it can live for more than ten or fifteen years. At the time of spawning the female lays eggs on the sand in the nest. Small eggs, half a millimeter in size, are attached to the sand. Parents start to protect their nest. At this point they are extremely aggressive. In addition to protection, the female periodically blows out water to the caviar, providing an increased flow of oxygen (ventilation).
Titan fish’s nutrition
Balistoides viridescens is getting bigger, and there’s an explanation for that. He is not whimsical in his food and his diet is huge: shrimps, crabs, crustaceans, lobsters, shellfish, mussels, sea urchins. The strongest jaws allow to open any chitin protection. These same jaws allow you to break and nibble corals! Imagine what this fish can do with soft human flesh. It is good that the aggression of fish is manifested only in the breeding season. The Titan can also break off corals in order to get to crustaceans hiding in minks.
Mining of the Titan fish
Although the meat of this fish is suitable for eating, it is better to avoid eating it. Some part of the fish contains poison, which leads to the disease of ciguatera. This poison toxin is not produced by the fish itself, it accumulates in it at moments of eating from the ocean. It is harmless to it, but for those who decide to eat the Titan, it can become a big problem for digestion. It causes vomiting, diarrhea, itching and numbness of the limbs. If you can, abstain from such a treat. It should be specified here that local fishermen sometimes do not squeal and eat this fish if it gets into their nets.
Triggerfish video
Camera: Samsung Galaxy S8
Camera: GoPro7 Black