Assasi Triggerfish

The Assasi Triggerfish is the Red Sea and Indian Ocean cousin of the famous Picasso Triggerfish, sharing a remarkably similar geometric body pattern but with distinct regional differences in coloration and marking intensity. The body displays bold stripes and bars of blue, black, tan, and yellow arranged in an abstract pattern, with a characteristic dark wedge-shaped mark on the posterior body. The facial markings tend to be somewhat bolder and more contrasting than those of the Indo-Pacific Picasso Triggerfish, with more pronounced blue and yellow lip stripes.

In the wild, the Assasi Triggerfish is found on shallow reef flats, lagoons, and rubble zones throughout the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean. It is a bold and assertive species that defends its territory vigorously, particularly during the breeding season. Like all Rhinecanthus triggerfish, it feeds on a wide variety of benthic organisms including crustaceans, mollusks, worms, echinoderms, and algae, using its powerful jaws to crush hard-shelled prey.

The Assasi Triggerfish is a hardy and long-lived aquarium species that brings tremendous personality to any fish-only or FOWLR system. It is intelligent, curious, and often interactive with its keeper, learning to recognize feeding times and approaching the glass when someone nears the tank. However, it is an aggressive species that will rearrange rockwork, bully timid tankmates, and consume all invertebrates. It is emphatically not reef-safe and is best housed with other robust, assertive fish that can tolerate its territorial behavior.