Back blue-black to olive-brown. Flanks brassyand belly silvery-white. Upper flank scales with dark bases.Tips of caudal, anal and pelvic fins bright red inspawning season. Iris yellow to orange or gold with a redspot at top. Peritoneum silvery with scattered melanophores.Pelvic axillary scale present. A scaled keel betweenpelvic fin to anus. Dorsal fin origin posterior topelvic fin origin. Mouth terminal and oblique. Scalessquarish. Gill rakers short and widely spaced, touchingadjacent one when appressed. Tubercles on head andbody in males. Pharyngeal teeth long, cylindrical, slightlyhooked and serrated. Favor vegetated areas in shallowwarm lakes or slow rivers. Hardy fish and adapted topolluted waters. Maximum age 17 years, total length 62cm and weight 3 kg. Maturity at 3-4 years, 17-29 cm and80-530 g. Females dominated in older age classes andmales in younger ones. Spawning at water temperaturesof at least 18°C in April-July. Each female accompaniedby two males. Some batches of eggs spawned on plants.Absolute fecundity up to 232,000 eggs with a diameterof 1.5 mm. Food include zooplankton, in young, andmostly aquatic macrophytes, insect larvae, crustaceans,molluscs, fish eggs and fry, in adults.