The male lyretail is a especially handsome fellow. The general body colour is a light brownish-green, darkening on the back to sepia, and lightening to bluish-green on the belly. The body is spotted with irregular carmine marks. Both the dorsal and anal fins are edged with a carmine and blue-green stripe. As might be expected, the tail is most stunning, the outer rays are pink to orange terminating in white suggestions and within the outer rays two broad stripes of carmine form a box-like pattern encompassing a blue-green panel and this is spotted with carmine dots. The outer rays of the tail, dorsal and anal fins decrease into filaments.
The female has a comparable body colour, and is marked with a couple of carmine spots on the body and unpaired fins, otherwise she is fairly plain.
This species grow to about 2.5 inch in length. They should be kept in slightly acid old water of pH 6-8. The breeding temperature should be 78°F, and also the eggs hatch in 12-14 days. The eggs are unlikely to be eaten by the adults, but remove them when the spawning has been completed as a precautionary measure.