This fish has a long, flattened body (elongate and compressed) with a pointed head. It has a single stiff spine followed by 7 softer rays in its dorsal fin and no spines with 10 to 11 soft rays in its anal fin. As adults, these fish have long maxillary barbels. Their coloring is grayish, with a stripe running along the middle of their side that can be faint or quite distinct (more or less well-defined mid-lateral longitudinal stripe). Just in front of the first stiff ray in the dorsal fin, there’s a dark spot that’s highlighted by a white or pale border along its ventral margin. The fish’s dorsal fin, adipose fin and caudal fin all have melanophores giving them a shaded appearance.