Nunu peke--Coronetfish--Slender with Large Eyes

What a start to see this unusual fish. Cute little fish--very slender with large eyes.

The cornetfishes are a small family Fistulariidae of extremely elongated fishes in the order Syngnathiformes.

Ranging up to 200 centimetres (6.6 ft) in length, cornetfishes are as thin and elongate as many eels, but are distinguished by a very long snout, distinct dorsal and anal fins, and a forked caudal fin whose center rays form a lengthy filament.

They generally live in coastal waters or on coral reefs, where they feed on small fishes, crustaceans and other invertebrates.^[2]

Cornetfish are of minor interest for fishing, and can be found in local markets within their range.

Another of the trumpetfish's hunting strategies is to travel in a school of plant-feeding surgeonfishes. A prey fish approaching the school head-on is unable to spot the skinny trumpetfish hiding in the middle of the pack. As the school parts around the prey fish, the trumpetfish has only to open its mouth to suck the prey fish inside.

Divers often see a trumpetfish closely following or hovering over a decoy fish such as a parrotfish. This is yet another clever trick designed to fool a prey fish or shrimp into venturing too close to a marine inhabitant that normally poses no risk to them. Trumpetfishes hunt both day and night, but have the greatest success at dusk, dawn, and twilight.

Little is known of the reproductive habits of the trumpetfish who is related to an order of fishes that include cornetfishes, seahorses, pipefishes, shrimpfishes, snipefishes, and ghost pipefishes. All of these have similar, flaring mouths reminiscent of a trumpet but may have little else in common.

A popular local name for elongated fishes of all types is "stickfishes". The trumpetfish differs from its closest relative the cornet fish in that the trumpetfish is truly stick-like and inflexible, while the cornet fish has a sinuous body that flexes from side to side as it swims. A trumpetfish can grow to 27 inches but a cornetfish can reach 4.5 feet. Trumpetfishes are usually solitary but cornetfishes seem to prefer the company of one or more companions, all of whom have long, whip-like filaments trailing behind them. They have flattened bodies tinged a greenish-blue and sport blue lines and dots on their backs.