Leptocephalus... or not

[Camille Vuillaume]

While snorkeling in Shikine island in Japan I took the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfhAf1MQ5L4

I was wondering what kind of fish it could be, until a friend showed me a video with exactly the very same two guys showing up. The location is actually not very far from where I went.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq7W3vi5Bbc

Leptocephalus it is I thought... except that it does not really look like other pics or videos of leptocephali that I have found.
A leptocephalus is the larva of an eel, and is a long transparent fish. But if you look a the picture (taken from my video) below, it seems that there is nothing between the two strings, where the (transparent but visible) body of the leptocephalus should be. The absence of body between the strings is kind of confirmed by the swimming style of the fish. Also, I think that there is a caudal fin.
Can anyone guess what these strange but beautiful fishes are?

 

[Kupu]

I would guess that is a juvenile Alectis ciliaris? I don't have my copy of Reef Fish ID by Deloach and co. handy for reference, but I believe it has a photo of the juvenile which shows the trailing filaments.

 

[mntlblok]

I would guess that is a juvenile Alectis ciliaris? I don't have my copy of Reef Fish ID by Deloach and co. handy for reference, but I believe it has a photo of the juvenile which shows the trailing filaments.

Yep. And when they get to "intermediate", they still have some amazing fins. These from a Nekton trip to "Medio Reef" on the way to Cay Sal Banks. IMG_8837acs | Flickr - Photo Sharing! They supposedly like divers' bubbles. They hung around for quite a while. Also saw a batch of them once at Tarpon Alley on a Cayman trip. Some of the coolest things I've seen under water.

Kevin

 

[Camille Vuillaume]

Thanks, this is it!

 

[Camille Vuillaume]

Yep. And when they get to "intermediate", they still have some amazing fins. These from a Nekton trip to "Medio Reef" on the way to Cay Sal Banks. IMG_8837acs | Flickr - Photo Sharing! They supposedly like divers' bubbles. They hung around for quite a while. Also saw a batch of them once at Tarpon Alley on a Cayman trip. Some of the coolest things I've seen under water.

Kevin

Beautiful pictures!