My father teaches marine biology and oceanography at a college in Maine (an obvious gateway to this hobby), and something interesting is always happening in his lab. This week a friend brought in a species not generally considered native to the Gulf of Maine, a Balistes capriscus, the gray triggerfish.
It is a gray triggerfish, Balistes capriscus, and is about 12" long. They have a wide diet including algae, invertebrate (worms and sand dollars) banacles and arthropods. We're feeding it shrimp right now. It comes to the surface to take it but I've read they can give you a good nip with that beak and strong teeth. Apparantly they can produce some interesting sounds by grinding their teeth that are amplified by the swim bladder. They have been found from Nova Scotia to Brazil but 60 degrees F seems to be the minimum temperature they can endure. Picture is attached.
