Peacock bass have elongate bodies with a deeply notched dorsal fin. Their mouth is large, the lower jaw
projects beyond the upper jaw. They have a characteristic large black spot encircled by a silver colored halo on their caudal fin. Their
coloration is olive-green dorsally fading to yellow-white ventrally, with three dark bars on their sides, between which are a series of
dark spots. The first dorsal, upper caudal, and pectoral fins are gray or black, the anal, pelvic and the lower caudal fins are red. White
spots are present on the second dorsal and the upper lobe of the caudal fin. Large adults have a yellow-orange stripe which extends
from their mouth to their caudal fin. Their iris is red
such as those of the Everglades, could be at risk