Br ownish-olive to dark green with darkly mottledflanks and a yellowish to whitish belly. Head andflanks bronze or golden. A dusky-blue spot behind uppercorner of gill opening. Bases of pectoral, pelvic, anal andcaudal fins orange-red in breeding males. Iris bright yellow,orange or red. Two pairs of barbels. Snout roundwith inferior and crescentic mouth. Adhesive disc welldeveloped with a free anterior margin. Upper lip delicatelyfimbriated. A deep, tubercle-free groove on snout.Teeth hooked at tip. Short gill rakers. Gut long andcoiled. Peritoneum black. Large males heavily tuberculatedon snout. In lower reaches of rivers. Maximum age7 years and total length 24 cm. Sexual maturity at 2-3years, 10 cm total length and 15 g weight. Spawning inMay and June. Absolute fecundity 3,790 eggs with a diameterof up to 2 mm, deposited on vegetation and rocks.Most mature oocytes spawned at once. Food include detritus,diatoms, algae, insects and plants.