Aulostomus chinensis (Chinese trumpetfish)

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Facts

Latin name	Aulostomus chinensis
Local name	Chinese trumpetfish
Family	Aulostomidae - Aulostomus
Origin	East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, Indonesia, East Pacific, Central/West Pacific
Max length	80 cm (31.5")

As aquarium fish

Minimum volume	1500 l (396 gal)
Hardiness	Average
Suitable for aquarium	Suitable for special aquariums
Reef safe	Reef safe with caution
Aggressiveness	Mostly peaceful but might be aggressive towards similar species

Feed

Recommended	Fish Larger crustaceans (Shrimp, crabs...) Other invertebrates Small crustaceans (Krill, mysis, artemia...)

Jumps out of open aquaria

This species is known to jump out of open aquaria.

Can be a threat to small fish

This spicies might be a threat to smaller fishes.

Threat towards crustaceans

This species poses a threat towards shrimps and crabs etc., which are relatively small.

Demand a very large aquarium when fully grown

This species needs a very large aquarium when fully grown.

Exactly how big the aquarium should be is hard to say, but the size of this species is such, that it cannot normally be kept in a home aquarium.

Thrive best on their own

These fish flourish better without other members of the same species in the aquarium.

Live food

There is a greater chance of success with this species if one can supply a living feed to allow it to adapt to the tank.

Personality

This species often has a fun and interesting personality.

Hiding places

This species needs good hiding places, for example, between live rocks.

Requires plenty of space for swimming.

This species revels in swimming and requires an aquarium with ample space.

Initially shy

This species can be very shy when first introduced into a new aquarium.

More aggressive fish can be introduced after this species has acclimatized.

Family description (Aulostomidae)

Trumpetfish (Aulostomidae) are very amusing fish for the aquarium, but they do require a very large swimming area of 1000+ liters without pillars or similar obstructions, whilst still having places to hide.

Trumpetfish are predatory fish, that will mostly go after small fish, but crustaceans are also part of their diet.
Trumpetfish have a fun personality, and will become attached to the aquarist over time.

They must have live food to begin with, small guppies for example, and can then slowly be introduced to small pieces of frozen fish and crustaceans.

One should avoid having larger predatory fish and aggressive Damsels and Wrasses as well as Triggerfish and Pufferfish when keeping Trumpetfish.
Small ones can be kept together, but they do not often get along when becoming larger.

References and further reading

About references

Scott W. Michael. 2001. Reef Fishes volume 1 - TFH Publications / Microcosm Ltd. - (English)
2009. Reef Central - (English)