Body yellowish to a light olive-green with 9-18 dark bands. Caudal fin with 3-4 dark wavy bars and abar at its base. Dorsal fin with 2-3 dark bars and a blackspot at anterior fin base. Fins light orange or pinkish.Peritoneum light grey. Lateral line incomplete, ending infront of dorsal fin level. Anterior body scaleless. Posteriornostril ovoid. Three pairs of large barbels, usuallythird pair and sometimes second pair the largest. Lowerlip divided, lips corrugated, and upper jaw processrounded, overlapping lower one. A fleshy pelvic axillaryprocess present. Caudal fin slightly emarginated. Maleswith a characteristic, moveable protuberance directeddownward on preorbital bone at anterioventral corner ofeye and with tubercles on pectoral fin rays and opercule.First branch-ed pectoral fin ray greatly expanded. Maximumtotal length 53 mm. Spawning in March-May at 36mm total length. Food include aquatic invertebrates and filamentousalgae.