Trumpetfish

Trumpetfish are long, slender, tube-shaped reef fish that hover vertically among sea fans and gorgonians, perfectly disguised as a coral branch. They're masters of 'shadow-stalking' — they swim alongside larger non-predatory fish (groupers, parrotfish) using the bigger fish as a moving blind to approach prey.

Their colour-shifting is impressive: blue-green, yellow, brown, sometimes solid red — they match the substrate and reef they're hunting in. The strike is sudden — the tubular mouth expands rapidly and vacuums in small fish whole.

Found everywhere in our region: Maldives, Andaman, Bali, Red Sea. Their vertical pose against sea fans makes them deceptively easy to miss until you train your eye for the long thin silhouette.