This week in Lembongan…. People often come to div in Lembongan for the large creatures and yes, we do have an abundances of them but we also have an abundances of the smaller fish as well. A perfect example of this is the trumpet fish.

Trumpetfish occur in waters between 0.5 and 30 meters (1.6 and 100 feet) deep, and can grow to 40 to 80 cm (15 to 31 in) in length. They are sometimes locally abundant over coral atoll reefs or in lagoons, where they may be caught even in areas of severe wave action. The spawning habits of the trumpetfish are unknown, but in the region around Madeira, the females are known to have mature eggs from March to June.

Trumpetfish are closely related to cornetfish. Trumpetfish can be a bit more than 36 inches (3 ft) long and have greatly elongated bodies with small jaws at the front end of their long, tubular snouts. The gills are pectinate, resembling the teeth of a comb, and a soft dorsal fin is found near the tail fin. A series of spines occurs in front of the dorsal fin. Trumpetfish vary in color from dark brown to greenish, but also yellow in some areas. A black streak, sometimes reduced to a dark spot, occurs along the jaw, and a pair of dark spots is sometimes found on the base of the tail fin.

Trumpetfish swim slowly, sneaking up on unsuspecting prey, or lying motionless like a floating stick, swaying back and forth with the wave action of the water. They are adept at camouflaging themselves and often swim in alignment with other, larger fishes. They feed almost exclusively on small fish, such as wrasses and Atheriniformes, by sucking them suddenly into their small mouths.

Although not so common in other reefs in the world, we are very lucky to call these fun creature common in our waters