Description: moderately slender; frontal profile slightly concave; neither sex has noticeably elongated dorsal or anal fin rays (Ref. 52307).

Coloration: polychromatic color pattern unique among Tilapia; 6 color morphs currently recognized: dark blue, blue striped, olive, olive striped, pale blue and black; throat, belly and anal fin dusky to blackish in first 2 morphs mentioned; blue morph with blue head, body, dorsal and caudal fin; olive striped morph more bluish-silvery with olive-yellow dots and stripes on body, and with bluish mouth; pale morph with pale throat and some darker shading on belly, its flanks whitish to pale blue, upper parts of head, opercles and back are dusky blue, pelvic, dorsal, anal and caudal fins also pale except anterior part of dorsal fin which is dusky; "tilapia"-spot only visible in small specimens, absent from sub-adult and adult fish (Ref. 52307).