# need help on Bursa Trigger



## petdude

i need help. my bursa trigger (ex.pic) has changed color







the top of it is a moss color. is it algae growing or is it normal? it has recently 
been rubbing its mouth against a certain lime rock in my tank but its totally clean.
its in a 55 gal.with two damsel fish, plenty of space with some limerocks, tested for ph.8.2,slight ammonia,nitrites & nitrates, is that probably it?
i would like to show you a pic but i dont have a cam. with me,sorry.


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## Ziek

can you post any more info about your tank? like size of it, size of the trigger, ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. things like that? look closely at the mouth for any abnormal whiteness. many fish will often get lighter or darker according to "mood" whether they are stressed or not but more information would help with a better answer. also is that a picture of your trigger or the same species that you found for reference? keep in mind there is a good chance your trigger is fine so don't worry to much about it at this point :thumbsup:


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## joeshmoe

petdude said:


> i need help. my bursa trigger (ex.pic) has changed color
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> the top of it is a moss color. is it algae growing or is it normal? it has recently
> been rubbing its mouth against a certain lime rock in my tank but its totally clean.
> its in a *55 gal*.with two damsel fish, plenty of space with some limerocks, tested for ph.8.2,slight ammonia,nitrites & nitrates, is that probably it?
> i would like to show you a pic but i dont have a cam. with me,sorry.


 55 as stated above. how long has the tank been setup for?


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## caferacermike

The rubbing would indicate a stressor. Maybe ich something similar. The color change would go hand in hand with a stressor. Could be nothing at all. Pics would help. Look for any signs of irritated skin. Maybe a patch of whiteness that looks like a rash. Maybe a scrape in the face from smacking into something sharp. Can you see the color of it's gills? Or maybe there is a parasite in the gills?

Fortunately marine ich doesn't seem to kill off marine fish like freshwater. If possible you might try multiple smaller feedings throughout the day. This will increase the overall metabolism of the fish helping to boost it's immune system and possibly flush out whatever is bothering it.


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## Ziek

i must be blind that i missed that info but anywho

to add to what caferacermike said. any amounts of ammonia are pretty toxic so there is a very good chance that is the stresser so key to solving the proplem, should there be one, would be removing the stresser.

when you say limerocks do you mean liverocks? if not where did you get it?


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## petdude

tank has been set up for at least halve a year


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## petdude

it is real lime rock. its been ''cured''


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## caferacermike

Lime rock? I did stay away from bringing it up last night. 
OK OK 2 possible theories. Could be either limestone holey rock or "live" rock. 

Limestone is ok but not great. True ocean cured live rock is better. You said it was "cured" so it must be live rock that is being referred to. 

You took the time to tell us what type of rock you have but it would have been bigger help to tell us how the fish was doing today. Did you notice any of the idas shared?


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## bettababy

How big is the trigger and how old is it? They will typically go through some color change when/as they mature. When you say it's rubbing it's mouth against the rock, is it causing tissue damage around the mouth area or is it possibly sharpening it's teeth on the rock? A trigger needs to have something to "chew" on to keep the teeth sharp and in good condition. Their natural diet usually does this for them in the wild, as they are big eaters of shellfishes and snails. I mention this only because I didn't see any mention of injury concerns, and the fish seems to have chosen a favorite "hard" rock to use. It would really help a lot for everyone to see a picture of the fish and the tank. If you don't have a camera, is it possible to borrow one or ask a friend to take the picture and email it to you?
This sort of problem is very difficult to sort out without being able to see what is going on. The more you can offer us for info, the easier and faster we can help you.


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## petdude

HeHe,sorry about the pic not being my own trigger, but I did a GREAT water change and added a whole lot of missing salt and the fish seemed to gain beautiful color changes. my ph was raised from 8.2 to 8.4 a bit high but it worked. all it took was Instant Ocean salt supplied courtesy of my cousin working at Pet Extreme. so yeah....thanks for your replies!


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## Melissa

I just wanted to add that as your trigger gets bigger it will more than likely try to eat your damsels or any other small fish.


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## bettababy

I just noticed, none of us has warned you yet that your trigger is going to outgrow that 55 gallon tank. It's probably a good idea for you to start planning a larger tank, cuz once these guys start growing, it goes fast, and they get really big. A safe tank size for 1 trigger is 125 gallons.


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