FishCommonVisible while snorkeling

Bluespotted cornetfish

Fistularia commersonii

A swimming silver wand with neon-blue stripes: the metre-and-a-half cornetfish hovers almost invisibly below the surface, then strikes small fish like lightning.

Photo: iNaturalist – (c) francescodj, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

The bluespotted cornetfish (Fistularia commersonii) is one of the strangest-shaped reef residents: its incredibly elongated, pencil-thin body reaches a metre and a half, a good quarter of which is tubular snout, while a long filament trails from its tail. Its silvery-green base colour is decorated with two blue stripes and rows of small blue spots – hence the name. It is a close relative of the trumpetfish, but far longer, slimmer and more drawn to open water.

It is a daytime predator: hovering near the surface or over sand it stays practically unnoticed, because its thin silhouette all but disappears head-on. It hunts small fish – anthias, sardines, gobies – sucking them in with its pipette-like tubular mouth. It often drifts towards prey mimicking the sway of the swell, and sometimes small groups herd fish schools in coordination. The tail filament carries lateral-line sensors, so the fish effectively "sees" behind itself.

It is common around Hurghada and one of the snorkeler's most frequent big-fish encounters: it glides just beneath the surface over shallow lagoons and reef tops, often venturing remarkably close to people. A few individuals are almost always cruising over the shallow plateaus of Shaab Sabina and Dolphin House and the lagoons of El Fanadir. As a diver you meet it over the sand patches, standing motionless in the water, watching.

Did you know?

It is a world conqueror: swimming from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, it spread from Israel to Spain within a few decades – ranking among the most successful of all "Lessepsian migrant" species.

Where can you meet it?

A constant patroller of Hurghada's shallow reef tops: you see it on almost every outing over the plateaus of Shaab Sabina and Dolphin House and in the lagoons of El Fanadir and Giftun.

Frequently asked questions

No, it is completely harmless: despite its metre and a half, its mouth can only slurp up fish a few centimetres long, and it has no venomous spines. If it swims close, that is pure curiosity – or it is using your shadow as an ambush spot.

It is one of the best snorkeling species: it loves to hunt right beneath the surface over the shallow reef tops. Often it notices you first and tags along – just glance sideways and there floats the silver wand.

They are relatives but easy to tell apart: the cornetfish is longer, silvery with blue stripes, trails a filament from its tail and cruises open water. The trumpetfish is shorter and stockier, brownish or yellow, and hunts from ambush among the coral branches.