Orangestriped Triggerfish

Facts about the Orangestriped Triggerfish, it is a demersal sea fish that belongs to the genus Balistapus of the Balistidae family. The scientific name of the fish is Balistapus undulatus, and it is also commonly called the Orange-lined triggerfish. It is the only associate that belongs to Balistapus genus, which is monotypic. The Orangestriped Triggerfish species are largely seen on coral reefs in tropical sea waters of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Oceans.

Features

The Orangestriped Triggerfish is capable of growing to maximum length of 12 inches (30 cm). The body of the Orangestriped Triggerfish features a stock look, oval in shape and is condensed laterally. Its body is dark green in color with orange color lines. The Orangestriped Triggerfish has a big size head, with a size equal to one third of its body length. The mouth of the Orangestriped Triggerfish species is small and lethal and it has physically powerful teeth.

The Orangestriped Triggerfish has 3 dorsal spines with 24 to 27 dorsal soft rays. Though the Orangestriped Triggerfish species has no anal spines, it contains 20 to 24 anal soft rays. The scales of the fish are enlarged above the base of its pectoral fin just at the back of its gill opening to shape a flexible tympanum. The scales of its caudal peduncle include two longitudinal rows of big anterior-protruding spines. The Orangestriped Triggerfish has no grooves in front of its eyes.

The primary dorsal fin of the Orangestriped Triggerfish contains three spines, and one among them is stronger and longer. It is erectile and set aside in a dorsal channel at rest. The fish’s second dorsal fin is analogous in size and shape to that of its anal fin that is symmetrically against it. The pelvic fin of the Orangestriped Triggerfish is abridged to a ventral projection.

The male Orangestriped Triggerfish loses the lines on his nose while he matures. There is a black mark on its caudal peduncle, and it has an orange colored caudal fin. It is extensively distributed all through the tropical and subtropical sea waters of the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The Orangestriped Triggerfish lives in coral reefs, ponds, and outside reef slopes at depth that ranges from 6.6 feet to 165 feet (2 meters to 50 meters).

The Orangestriped triggerfish species are scam swimmers that are capable of moving diagonally, horizontally and even float above the reefs where they exist. This Orangestriped Triggerfish have a strange protection mechanism. When endangered, the fish will wedge itself into a burrow in the reef by raising its big dorsal spine on top of his head. It locks this into a place by means of its second, tinier spine behind it. The Orangestriped triggerfish will unlock its fins itself only when wedged this manner. The Orangestriped Triggerfish species make a grunting noise, similar to a pig, when threat approaches. Their physically powerful teeth allow them to consume hard food, such as sea urchins and mollusks.

Spawning behavior in Orangestriped Triggerfish species may entail slack aggregations and nesting takes place in channels. The female fish will lay eggs in one spongy bunch in a shallow mine in sand or rubble. Hatching of eggs usually happens at night.

Diet

The Orangestriped triggerfish is an omnivorous fish and in the wild, it mostly feeds on approximately anything as well as algae, sea urchins, corals, crabs, mollusks, tunicates, and other species of fish.

The average lifespan of the Orangestriped Triggerfish ranges from 2 years to 4 years.