This breeding male of this species (under the subgenus Doration) is distinguished by the following characters: a spinous dorsal fin with blue marginal and submedial bands, orange medial band, basal band with bright orange pigment; the soft dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins have distinct bright orange spots on rays; soft dorsal and anal fins with blue in base of fin; anal fin sometimes with orange spots or streaks on rays; the face and lower head tangerine orange with blue on operculum, preoperculum, cheek, and suborbital bar (but not on lips and mid-gular region); quadrate lateral blue blotches extending ventrad from lateral line scale row; the basicaudal blue bar extending from dorsal to ventral margin of caudal fin; no frenum; incomplete lateral line, unpored scales modally >10 (12); cheek partially scaled; palatine teeth usually absent; present in 29% of specimens; modal counts for D XII-XIII,12, A 9, pectoral fin 15, principal caudal 15, caudal peduncle scales 16, preoperculomandibular canal pores 10; allozyme products of sIdh-A locus are characterized by relative mobilities b, e, and g (Ref. 92294).