Banded kokopu the dorsal and anal fins are positioned close to the tail fin, which is short and square. The caudal peduncle is short and deep, with thick fleshy flanges which join the tail fin. Adults are usually a dark, earthy brown or olive brown, with pale yellow vertical bands along the body. The belly is light coloured and unpatterned. Behind the operculum and above the pectoral fin is a silver or white mark, and sometimes a darker mark behind this. The bands either fade out top and bottom, or fork and crisscross the back of the fish. In small fish the
Copella (genus) observation. The pectoral fins are positioned immediately behind the operculum or gill cover, while the pelvic fins are further back along the body, about midway between the head and the caudal peduncle. The dorsal fin is positioned above and slightly behind the pelvic fins, and midway between the pelvic fins and the tail fin is the anal fin. The tail fin is forked in shape. Males usually possess more elongated and ornate unpaired fins than females. In the case of "C. arnoldi", the tail fin of the male is somewhat asymmetrical, the upper lobe being larger than the lower lobe,