Juvenile fish
The congolli is a slender, mottled fish, with a silvery-white underside. Its head is slightly flattened, with eyes positioned towards the top and the snout is pointed. It has two separate dorsal fins. The colour varies according to where it lives: it may be bluish, purplish or reddish-brown, marbled with greenish-brown above, and a yellowish white to silvery colour below. Juvenile fish have black saddles on their dorsal surfaces.