Body nearly oblong and much compressd, dorsal and ventral edges of body arcshaped, deepest point of body situated at origin of dorsal fin; head small and length far shorter than depth; snout obtuse, length of snout shorter than eye diamiter; mouth small, superior and lower jaw projected; lips well-developed; eyes comparatively large and located in anterior half of head; interorbital space wide, lower edge of preorbital free and serrated; outer edge of opercular with minute serration; head and body covered with larger ctenoid scales and lateral line scales 35-39; lateral lines sharply decurved. Dorsal fin with 7 spines; anal fin with 10-13 hard spines and 31-37 rays; pectoral fin rounded and pelvic fin thoracic, spine degenerated, first ray filiform and overpassing base of caudal fin; caudal fin forked. Body color bright, basal color silvery white with green; many slanted longitude stripes from snout to base of caudal fin; round blue spots scattered on center of sides and base of caudal fin; dorsal, anal and caudal fins with many brightly blue spots

The fish live mainly in pools, lakes and rivers with plenty of aquatic plants and live mainly on plankton. They spawn in March and April. The male fish spit foam to be mixed with fragmented weeds and build nests for reproduction among the floating weeds. They are small in size and beautiful in color. They are easy to breed and one of the ornamental fishes of the tropical zone, which are often seen locally and internationally

Xishuanbanna in Yunnan