![]() ![]() One female on a nest guarding and providing oxygen to the eggs constitutes and active nest location. A single male may defend up to three active nest sites on the same reef. ![]() Female gray triggerfish may deposit an average of 772,415 eggs.Īfter fertilization females aerate the eggs by fanning and blowing on them until they hatch. The two swim tight circles around one another in the nest, quickly changing color, as the female deposits her eggs in the nest immediately after the circling behavior, while the male fertilizes the eggs with his milt, or sperm. Male triggerfish create territories, build nests in the sand, and attract females into the nest to spawn. Spawning takes place from April to August. Triggerfish grow to be sexually mature by the time they are 2 years old. Males are typically larger than females as is the case with most other species of fish. Gray triggerfish can grow up to 13 pounds, 28 inches long, and 16 years old. When a triggerfish feels threatened it will dive into a tight crevice, and anchor itself into place by locking its’ rigid spine. The first spine is large, and when upright it remains that way until the fish relaxes the smaller second spine, “triggering” the first. Triggerfish get their name from spines on the dorsal fins that can be used as a predator defense and for holding themselves in place on rocky or coral bottom. The gray triggerfish is easy to tell apart from queen triggerfish, where gray’s have a drab coloration, and queen triggerfish have beautiful, rainbow spectrum of color along their bodies and fins. Unlike their cousin, the filefish (which are commonly confused with triggerfish), triggerfish have more than one dorsal spine. Gray triggerfish have large incisor teeth, and a deep laterally compressed body covered with tough sandpaper-like skin. Juveniles also have saddle markings, and light spots on their dorsal (top), and anal fins. Juvenile fish are yellowish with small violet dots, and can have large, irregular dark patches on their body and fins. Males turn dark charcoal gray, while nesting females vary with contrasting white and black color patterns. Adult fish have the ability to change color, particularly during the spawning season from April to August each year. Gray triggerfish are also known as taly, leatherjacket, leatherneck, or triggerfish.Īdult triggerfish are mainly olive-gray in color, and have blue spots and lines on the upper body, and dorsal fin, and the upper part of their eyes are blue. They live on ocean hard bottoms, reefs, and ledges, and near-shore, and off-shore locations, either alone, or in small groups, or schools. ![]() A second population also lives in the Gulf of Mexico. Gray triggerfish are found in the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia South to Argentina. The spine is also held erect as a warning to other fish to stay away.They are tenacious battlers on hook and line and favor baits like squid, clams and sea worms. When sleeping this spine is used to wedge them into place in a crevasse and so deter predators from pulling them out of their bed! Triggerfish have a hard spine Dorsal Fin that can be locked. This is why one often sees other smaller fish species around it who feed from the left overs. These are the workers of the reef, often busy turning over rocks, stirring up the sand and biting off pieces of branching coral. Juveniles found close to depressions and holes for hiding, over shallow rubble and sandy areas. They feed on benthic invertebrates, especially sea urchins, which they turn over and attack from underneath where the spines are shorter. Also known as Caribbean Triggerfish, Old Wife Fish, Queen Trigger, Turbot.įound singly or in schools, over grass and sandy areas, of coral and rocky reefs. ![]()
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