The Indian triggerfish (''Melichthys indicus''), also known as the black-finned triggerfish, has a brown body and black fins with white lines at the base of the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

s. It is found across the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. They can grow up to long. The Indian triggerfish usually feeds on hard-shelled

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s and

echinoderms An echinoderm () is any animal of the phylum Echinodermata (), which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as larv ...

, but some feed on

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

and

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

. They are often very aggressive over their

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

, but are otherwise harmless. Indian triggerfish are very easy to keep at home, Some are peaceful but some are very aggressive towards other fish. These are not to be confused with the Hawaiian black triggerfish or black durgon ('' Melichthys niger''), which is often mistaken as being Indian triggerfish within the trade. The Indian triggerfish has never been found near Hawaii, but the two species bear a striking resemblance between each other because of the similar shape and coloration.

References

Indian triggerfish Fish of the Indian Ocean Taxa named by John Ernest Randall Taxa named by Wolfgang Klausewitz Indian triggerfish {{triggerfish-stub