Aggressive Saltwater Fish, Triggers, Damsels, Tangs, & More
- Nov 03, 2024
- Anshika Mishra
- 14 0 0
So many times when we are picking out fish to add to our tank, we stay clear of all the species labeled as semi-aggressive or aggressive. But what if we did? In this article, we list all the species of fish that are considered aggressive if you plan to build a tank with some cool fish.
Most of these fishes will not be reef-safe. However, before adding any of these fishes, make sure to do your research.
Groupers
While groupers are not going to be actively chasing other fishes or nipping, they do a bit more damage than that. They will eat anything that can fit in their mouth.
When you find them at local fish stores, they are small-looking. As they grow, so does the size of their mouth and anything that can fit in it.
Domino Damsel
These fish are famous not only for harassing other fish but also for chasing after hands. They are very territorial.
Pinnaple Triggers
Sometimes, they are also called Queen Triggers. This is one of the most aggressive fishes in the hobby. You can even spot them in videos with scuba divers where they are actively coming off the reef chasing the divers' fins.
Blue Damsel
This fish will constantly go after other fishes - biting and nipping them. Like most of the Damsels, they are also territorial.
Maroon Clownfish
Marrons are some of the largest species of clowns, and they fit the bill of an aggressive fish. So, if that is your need - a proud fish to guard its Anemone - then this is the fish for you.
Flame Hawk
They are grumpy, spending most of their time perched on rock work, watching and observing everything go down. However, these guys will go after inverts in the tank.
Queen Angle
They fall under the category of larger Angelfish. They get fairly big, thus ideal for a larger tank. Though they are aggressive, and I consider them not necessarily safe with some other species, they could be kept within those larger tanks.
If you have sharks in your tank or some of those small Stingrays, these guys tend to be very aggressive and will poke and eat out eyes sticking up in the sand. That is why they have landed themselves on this list of aggressive species.
Picasso Trigger and Angelina Triggers
These are two different species of more minor triggers that are pretty aggressive. They are interested in fish, but with that curiosity, they can get bored and thus a little bit aggressive.
Dog-face Puffer
This species is loved, but when they get bored, they can be mean and bite into other fishes, nipping fins. They can nip corals; they are not reef-safe species. They are feisty, aggressive fish, but if you have time to spend with them, they have a huge personality that you'll be rewarded with as you provide them enrichment and entertainment.
Tangs
If you scroll through forums, you can hear numerous people talking about how aggressive their Tangs are, but aggressive Tangs don't just end with the Yellow Tang. It includes Clown, Achilies, the Soho, Purple, Gem Tangs, and more.
Many of these fish are reef-safe so that you can have them in the reef tank. But you wouldn't want to put them with many peaceful, significantly smaller fish that can't hold on their own.
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