Titan triggerfish

Photo: Frank Krasovec · CC BY-NC

Titan triggerfish are the reef's most assertive residents at Stone Town, creating nest depressions in the sand at 8 to 14 m and aggressively defending a cone-shaped territory above the nest that extends upward through the water column — the important safety rule is to swim away horizontally, not upward. Their powerful beak-like teeth can crush sea urchins, coral, and the shells of large molluscs, making them engineers of the sand flat habitat. Despite their reputation, titans are simply protecting a nest and settle immediately once the breeding season ends.