Pale body with three to four body bars, bars tend to disappear at night. Dark streak at eye distinguishes it from similar looking doublebar goatfish.
Adept at color change. Most common phase is brown to reddish brown; can be blue-gray, bright yellow or many shades between. Have pale lines, scattered small black spots, and a black streak on upper jaw.
Blue-green with lavender shades, terminal phase often has dark blue cap on the forehead. Initial phase is gray-brown with no distinguishing marks.
