Back dar k gr ey or gr een to br ownish, flankslight, silvery or silvery-grey, or yellowish. Belly andlower head surface pearly-white to dirty yellow. Iris silveryor golden. Peritoneum black. A pelvic axillary scalepresent. Pharyngeal teeth with a hooked tip. Last unbrancheddorsal fin ray strong with denticles along onehalf to two-thirds of its length. 2-4 barbels. Tubercles onsnout and scales and rays of anal fin in males. Inhabitsbackwaters and channels with weak current and silt bedsas well as reservoirs. Maximum age 10 years, total length50 cm and weight 3.5 kg. Males smaller than femalesand mature earlier. Sex ratio 1.5Males:1female. Sexualmaturity at 2-4 years and total lengths of 10-14 cm.Spawning from March to September and intermittent.Absolute fecundity up to 93,860 eggs of up to 2.2 mm indiameter. Eggs laid at 50-60 cm deep pits on sand andstone beds and in water temperatures of 16-23°C. Intestinealmost 7 times longer than body total length. Foodinclude detritus, plants, algae and small benthic invertebrates.