Pink Tail Trigger Fish Koh Tao

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Learn about Pink Tailed Trigger Fish on Koh Tao

Pink Tail Triggerfish are a rare sight when scuba diving or snorkeling in the sea around Koh Tao.

Rare Encounter: Pink Tail Trigger Fish In Koh Tao | BlackTurtleDive.com

Where to find the Pink Tailed Trigger Fish on Koh Tao

The only location we continue to see these beautiful marine animals is north of Red Rock dive site in depths of 8-10 metres.

Pink Tailed Triggerfish Koh Tao Marine Life
Pink Tailed Triggerfish Koh Tao Marine Life

How to identify the Pink Tailed TriggerFish

Pink Tailed Triggerfish get their name from the pink tail, which is usually white where it joins the body and pink at the end.

The body color of Pink Tailed Triggerfish tends to be a dark green, although the ones we see north west of Red Rock are a black color with a yellow pectoral and front dorsal trigger fin and a white anal and soft dorsal fin with a black outline.

Trigger Fin

As with other species of Triggerfish, the Pink Tailed Triggerfish can lock their front dorsal fin, which it normally does when it feels threatened and this acts as a warning to other fish (or scuba divers) to stay away.

Pink Tailed Triggerfish are considered to be a moderately aggressive member of the Triggerfish family when compared to others.

Pink Tailed Triggerfish - Marine Life
Pink Tail Triggerfish – Marine Life

Pink Tailed Trigger Fish Characteristics & Behaviour

Pink Tailed Triggerfish can grow up to 40cm in length and the ones we see around Koh Tao are 20-30cms.

Pink Tailed Triggerfish eat algae, crabs, shrimp, fish, Octopus, sponges and detritus and Pink tailed Triggerfish are found either alone or in small loose groups.

They live in areas of the reef that are over exposed to currents, where there is healthy coral growth and the location that we see these beautiful marine animals on Koh Tao has both.

Interesting facts about the Pink Tailed Trigger Fish

When a Pink Tailed Trigger Fish sleeps, their hard spine dorsal fin is used to wedge them into place, usually in a crack in a rock or a crevasse, which makes it more difficult for predators to pull them out of their bed.

Pink Tailed Triggerfish Koh Tao
Pink Tailed Triggerfish Koh Tao