While the chances of a shark attacking you when you Scuba dive are about 1 in 11.5 million as we have seen in our previous post “Overcoming The ‘Jaws’ Factor When You Dive“, we wish we could say the same about the feisty Titan Trigger Fish. This seemingly harmless reef species of Triggerfish packs a mean bite and is more often the reason behind divers and snorkelers sporting teeth marks in their fins, skin, missing ears and the cause of many bruises. While only known to be aggressive and territorial during the reproduction season and when guarding it’s nest, the titan trigger fish has an infamous reputation that definitely increases a divers anxiety levels around it. Here’s more about the trigger happy Titan Triggerfish. (*Photo by – Boogies with Fish on flickr)

About the Titan Triggerfish
Scientifically known as Balistoides Viridescens, the Titan is the largest of the triggerfish species and can grow up to 75cm (30 inches) in length. Native to the Indo-Pacific region, the titan trigger can be found of in the coral reefs of Australia, Fiji, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and the Maldives also in the Red Sea. They are quite photogenic with a slightly elongated body which is usually a green to dark grey in color and have yellow or green fins with black tips and a purple lower jaw. What stands out most in this fish is it’s eyes. The Titans have independently rotating eye sockets and look like they are giving you the old evil eye just before they charge at you.

(*Photo by – tom.demeyer on flickr)

Titan triggerfish feed on shellfish, urchins, crustaceans and coral. They are the workers of the reef and can be seen busy turning over rocks, stirring up the sand and biting off pieces of branching coral, which is why other smaller fish species tag around it as they feed off the left overs.

Titan Aggression
Titan triggers are solitary creatures and like most reef fish, they are active during the day and will tuck themselves into the reef to sleep at night. It’s when they are nesting that they get very feisty and will rigorously protect these nests, which is not to say they don’t get territorial even in non breeding seasons. The ‘Danger Zone’ you wan to avoid being in, is a cone shape extending from their nest which usually in the sand adjacent to or within the coral.

A prominent sign of trouble to come is when the fish rolls onto its side to get a better look at you with its beady swiveling eyes some times your see its black fin tips raise in warning of the attack. You’re best action plan if you see one is to swim away horizontally as the zone they’re protecting is an upward cone and ascending is not going to stop the titan from defending its turf. Keep your eyes on the fish at all times, as hard as it may be as they are fast, also if they come close try and get your dive fins or a hard object like an underwater camera or a dive slate or other Scuba gear between you and the titan, needless to say it’s better to have a hole or in fins than your body! (*Photo by – Boogies with Fish on flickr)

Titan triggerfish won’t always resort to violence though on occasion they just charge straight at the person and ram into them to sort of escort them out of the nesting territory. However, that said it’s not advisable to stick around to find out the intensity of its attack and just quickly swim away horizontally to avoid it’s wrath.

If you are an unfortunate victim of a triggerfish bite it should not be treated lightly. Their bites can cause serious infection as they contain a natural poison called Ciguatoxin, which can have serious affects on humans and in extreme cases cause a heart attack or paralysis.

That said, it’s important to remember that Titan triggerfish are only defending what they believe are intruders in their territory and we shouldn’t harm them or behave aggressively towards them in any way as this will only make them even more weary of divers. Defend yourself and deal with this feisty fish non-aggressively and to each his own. (*Photo by – Boogies with Fish on flickr)