Saltwater
Black triggerfish
Melichthys niger
Balistidae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 50 cm
- Body shape
- Deep-bodied
Care
- Group
- Missing
- Smallest aquarium
- 2,657 liters
- Diet
- Missing
Know what is missing? Suggest it in the app.
Behavior
Water values
Smallest tank
Range
Native
Lives wild in American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, and 66 more countries.
More about the species
Description
Inhabit clear seaward reefs. More common around oceanic islands. Found on inner and outer reef crests, usually near the slope or drop-off to deeper water, where in small but loose aggregations. Sometimes swim high above substrate feeding on zooplankton. May also be solitary. Benthopelagic. Diet consists primarily of calcareous algae and zooplankton; also feed on phytoplankton. At Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, southeast Atlantic, groups of about 100 individuals join groups of spinner dolphins to feed on feces and vomits of the cetaceans when they congregate in a shallow bay for rest and social interactions. The postures a dolphin adopts prior to defecating or vomiting are recognized, and the fish begin to converge to the dolphin shortly before the actual voiding. Offal feeding may be regarded as a simple behavioral shift from plankton feeding to drifting offal picking. Marketed fresh. Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Other names
Other scientific names
- Balistes buniva
- Balistes fuscolineatus
- Balistes kib
- Balistes kibitar
- Balistes niger
- Balistes piceus
In other languages
- Sort aftrækkerfisk
- Black durgeon, Black durgon, Black durgon triggerfish, Black oldwife, Blackfish, Ebony triggerfish, Niger head, Niggerfish, Pigger
Articles
All articles
Fish that get along4 min read
Temperament, fin nippers, fish that eat other fish, and fish that need the same water. And what the Harmony mark in the app means.
How to add new fish4 min read
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.
Quarantine for new fish3 min read
Why new fish should live in a tank of their own for a few weeks before they move in, what you need, and what to look for.
From freshwater to saltwater3 min read
What is different in a saltwater aquarium: salt, refractometer, live rock and corals. An introduction for anyone thinking of giving it a try.