Triggerfish
(Balistidae)
Balistidae
Credit: Jan Derk
Not far from the Cathedral dive site, I gave a quick glance at my diving buddy just to make sure that everything was ok. He was pointing his index finger at me, while moving it back and forth. You know, like a kid does when he is shooting at you with an imaginary gun. I quickly did a one eighty and saw it - not more than 10 meters away. Fat lips, prominent yellow and black dorsal and anal fins, maybe 60 centimeters in length.
Red toothed triggerfish
Credit: Jan Derk
The Titan triggerfish is not particularly deadly nor always aggressive but it is a fish that must be respected. It has powerful teeth that can inflict a nasty bite when riled. I kept my eye on it and gave it a wide berth as we made our way through a circling school of its fork-tailed and much smaller and gentler cousins, the red toothed triggerfish. Another day on the reef.
Sources:
Vedantu, https://www.vedantu.com/animal/triggerfishFishbase.se, https://www.fishbase.se/summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=445
Fishbase.se, https://www.fishbase.se/summary/1311
Fishbase.se, https://www.fishbase.se/summary/6026
Biology Dictionary, https://biologydictionary.net/triggerfish/
Animals Network, https://animals.net/triggerfish/
Reefkeeping, http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/dc/
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triggerfish
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_triggerfish
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redtoothed_triggerfish
National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/triggerfish
Seattle Aquarium, https://www.seattleaquarium.org/animals/triggerfish
Music Credits:
Day-O, Harry BelafonteDeep Underwater Relaxing Sleep Music in an Underwater Paradise, soothingrelaxation.com
Celtic Spirits - Irish Bodhran Drums and Classic Guitar, JuliusH, Pixabay
Underwater Ambience, Enevato Elements