🐠 Wedgetail Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus rectangulus)
Marine Not-Reef-Safe Triggerfish • Cream Face With Black Diagonal Band & Wedge-Shaped Tail Mark • Genuinely Hawaii's State Fish • Advanced Marine Fish
 
⚠️ Important Information — Please Read First
We want to be genuinely direct on this one. This species is genuinely known to bite — including hands during tank maintenance — so please avoid placing hands in the aquarium unnecessarily, and use caution during netting since its rough scales can also make handling tricky. It's genuinely one of the more aggressive triggerfish genera, and while juveniles can be fairly peaceful, they typically become more assertive with age. It's also genuinely known to rearrange rockwork and dig through substrate, so secure, well-anchored aquascaping matters.
 
📋 The Wedgetail Triggerfish , also known as the Rectangle Triggerfish or by its Hawaiian name, Humuhumunukunukuāpua'a (genuinely Hawaii's official state fish), has a genuinely bold appearance — a pale cream-to-white face, a broad diagonal black band running from the eye to the anal fin, and a distinctive black wedge-shaped mark at the base of the tail preceded by two yellow V-shaped markings.
Native to a genuinely vast range across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and French Polynesia, this species inhabits shallow reef flats and rubble zones. A genuinely fascinating natural history detail: it hunts sea urchins by squirting jets of water to flip them over and attack the vulnerable underside, and it's also capable of producing audible grunting sounds.
 
⚫🟡 Highlights
🎨 Cream Face With Bold Black Band: A genuinely striking, iconic triggerfish pattern
🌺 Genuinely Hawaii's State Fish: Known locally as Humuhumunukunukuāpua'a
💦 Genuine Water-Jet Hunting Technique: Flips sea urchins to reach their underside
⚠️ Genuinely Known to Bite: Avoid placing hands in the tank unnecessarily
🌿 Not Reef Safe: Will consume invertebrates and nip at corals