The eggs and free embryos are riffle dwellers. The eggs are non-adhesive and fall between the cobbles and gravel of the spawning bed. Larvae and early juveniles are edge dwellers. Adults are pool dwellers most often found in clear, rocky pools, or deeper reaches, often with strong flow. The yellowfish is an omnivore with a diet of algae, aquatic invertebrates and larger fish will eat small fish and frogs.
Males dart out from cover, align with the female, vibrate, spawn and then return to cover.
Which are rock and gravel spawners with benthic free embryos. The species is threatened by invasive alien fish, loss of habitat due to water abstraction and damming. Main channel dam walls have fragmented the stocks and have reduced the length of the possible spawning migrations and mixing of populations. It is unfortunate that some of the hatchery bred B. capensis have been moved beyond their natural range in the system and will therefore impact on the smaller threatened species in this river system. Properly managed water releases from Clanwilliam Dam can be used to trigger spawning and lead to higher recruitment levels.