Fusilier

ID points

• Blue back and white belly, tail fin often tipped with black
• Slender spindle-shaped body, small mouth that extends forward
• Tens of thousands form a flowing wall of fish off the reef slope

Basics

Family

Caesionidae

Length

20–40 cm

Depth

1-60 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs

Distribution

Outer edges of Indian and Pacific Ocean coral reefs

Habitat

Outer reef slopes, mid-water

Diet

Zooplankton

Easily confused with

Flying FishHugely enlarged pectoral fins that spread like a pair of wingsMackerelBlue-green back covered with dark wavy barsMahi-mahiThe male's forehead rises steep and tall, as if cut off flat

Fun fact

Fusiliers feed on plankton in open water along the outer reef wall, in schools that can run to several thousand fish and swirl into spectacular silver-blue spirals. At the first hint of danger the whole school balls up tight in an instant.